90-year-old mom moving in with wife and I (you know where this is headed, right?) so a big chunk of the layout goes into storage. I am removing cork roadbed which was tacked down, not glued. As it comes off, it seems to “remember” its shape rather than restraightening. I’m wondering if it can be straightened or if its worth saving.
What’s your vote?
A) Used roadbed belongs in the trashcan.
B) Save it – here’s how to straighten it.
C) Save it, but forget about trying to straighten or reshape it.
Thanks for the help!
Oh by the way, I’m nothing but happy to have mom here! [:)]
cork thats been down a while is probably dried out. you could try spraying it with warm soapy water and then tack it down to a board straight until it dries but then you will have to do the same when you go to relay it. it might be better to just toss it as it’s not expensive.
But seriously folks… pull it up, but don’t worry about it’s condition. You can throw it in a plastic bag and keep it handy for bits and pieces you might need later for fillers or shims.
When you’re rebuilding your layout, and you run out of new cork at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night, you’ll be glad you have it!
If you plan on rebuilding in the near future, I would try to salvage as much as possible. Even though it is fairly inexpensive, it can be reused for cut up pieces for turnouts and sidings. Strore it flat, even forcing to straighten. A box from flex track would work. Strips of masonite, ply or even wood can help block for storage.
I would save it but not try to re-condition it. I think as mentioned it would be useful for turnouts etc. Even if it has dried out it could be useful on the layout. Maybe it could be ground up and used for…???
The only way I can think that you might straighten this is to construct some sort of a guide and force your salvaged pieces into this fabricated channel, soak liberally, and apply weight to the top until everything dries out. I don’t know that this will work - its the only thing I can think of.
Currently cork is going for about $0.60 a linear foot, not that expensive and I would probably chuck the whole kitncaboodle, but there is no sense spending any more than we have too. Throw the stuff in a plastic bag, periodically throw in some MOIST paper towels to keep the cork from drying out, and keep it handy for future construction. The chances are pretty good that your future layout is going to have the same radii curves as the one you are in the process of demolishing and this cork can be reused.
I had this happen when we took down the old 20x6. I had just laid the roadbed when we acquired a new layout. I just took it up, and threw it into one of those mailing tubes (works great for flextrack too)
And, yes. Even with a fully sceniced and complete layout, I still find myself using roadbed for misc purposes.