There are several areas or my layout where sidings need to be on flat land without the raised roadbed. I’m using 2" thick foam for my layout base and I want the track in some areas to lie directly on this.
The effect I’m trying to achieve is to end up with several sidings at street level that will be either embedded in concrete or packed earth for street/parking lot running.
I’m using WS foam roadbed on the mainline but how do I transition to the flat non-roadbed areas? One thought is to just use WS foam sheets that cover large areas but I don’t really want to go to the expense of those. Plus I’d just end up with larger raised areas rather that the flat lowered areas (below mainline grade) that I’m looking for.
I just plastered my layout last weekend. I used Woodland Scenics foam risers and inclines. To transistion to the lower flat section I just used newspaper wadded up and sloped down to table level. After I covered it all with plaster dipped paper towels it looked fine. (fine to me anyway)
Wait I think I misread your question…to transition the track from 2" riser to the board level use Woodland Scenics Incline sets and incline starters.
I added a couple pictures to my web site. The link below will get you there if you want to see it.
You could either use cardstock to shim the difference from the foam roadbed to the flat surface by layering it with staggered ends, or you can find wooden shims that will taper from about 1/4" to nothing in about 12". I picked up a bundle (about 40, I think) of these wooden shims at Home Depot for just a couple of bucks. Look in either the window/door or the cabinet department. Although there may be some inconsistency in thickness and degree of slope, enough shims are in the bundle to find some matching peices. Also - the shims are about 1 1/2" wide, which is just right for use under HO track.
Do you eat cereal in your house? Save the boxes - endless supply of free cardstock! I use strips cut from cereal boxes to ramp up my sidings to the mainline level. I use WS HO roaadbed om my mains and their N scale on the sidings. It might not be exactly prototypical but the effect is there and looks neat. My yard area is done using the big sheets. I cut some of the regualr roadbed down the middle and put that around as a perimeter around the sheet areas so all edges have a sloped shoulder. I haven’t ballasted yet, but I think it will look good when done.
I found something really cool at Sears of all places that I’m giving a try to transition from the WS foam roadbed to foam board level: Craftsman brand Portable Chest Drawer Liners made out of what else? Foam!
Looks and feels just like the WS stuff, but it is thinner and comes in sheets of 20 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches. Four sheets per pack. P/N 65217. I think it was $3.99 or thereabouts.
Three layers of this stuff equals the height of the WS HO foam roadbed. Because it isn’t as thin as cardstock the transition isn’t as smooth and the track doesn’t fit as tight as it would to more layers of cardstock, but for me I think it will do just fine. Given that the ballast will hide it there is no issue with it visually.
You can use it as sheets for multiple tracks or cut it into strips to match the width of the WS or any other roadbed. So far so good.
Use 2" wide masking tape or painters tape and create the gentle ramp that you’d like. Once you are happy with the general lie, spread a thin layer of either Hydrocal or, better, Sculptamold over the tape and smooth it with a paint scraper or similar object. Let it dry, put shims under it for support, and then gently sand it to get the curve you want. Sounds like some work, but it will give you a super transition that even your 10-drivered steamers will love.
I just finished doing exactly what you describe. I made up some sculptamold and spread it on the foam surface the length I needed. As it dried, I placed the siding track on it , pressing down slightly, to find any high/low spots and smoothed it out w/a putty knife. Looks great…
After a little trial and error with the Sears foam sheets I went back to good old cardstock as Randy suggested. The cardstock is thinner, makes for a much smoother transition and it’s free. Simple is good and it doesn’t get much simpler than cereal boxes and wood glue.
On the other hand, new modeling techniques would never be developed if the hobbyists didn’t try new things. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
I didn’t even use shims to transition from mainline to siding. Using push pins or t-pins pushed in with increasing pressure, I was able to make the gradual slope to the foam level. I prefer the t-pins because you can actually roll cars over the track without the pins being in the way. Once ballasted, the track holds its grade. Either way, before you ballast your track, test the transition (the point where the change in elevation starts and ends) with a locomotive and rolling stock. You want to make sure that the change is so gradual that you don’t end up with the couplers uncoupling when the cars go over these sections.