I have been interested in Model Railroad for years and even built layout years ago and now I am going to build a 4 x 8 setup for me and my Grandson to work on and had a question or two. I see the layouts in Model Railroader and on the diagram it shows labeling ever so often of 5” and 6” along the tracks. What does that denote? It can’t be the grade can it? Also on my new layout I and using a ¼” sheet of plywood covered with a sheet of foam board. I was told this would help cut down on the noise. And last question, what is better, the cord roadbed or the Bachman track with the gray or black roadbed already attached.
I believe the 5" & 6" labels you are refering to are the height of the track above the tabletop.
Normally I would think that 1/4" plywood is a little on the thin side, but if you are using 1" or 2:" foam over it you might be ok. I’m sure someone with more experiance with foam will chime in on this.
Personally, I would go with cork roadbed & either snap track or flex track. I’ve never cared for the Bachmann E-Z track because once you start with it you are pretty much limited to that brand of track.
1/4" plywood under 1 1/2" or 2" foam should work just fine. I would suggest a modest frame of 1"x3" under the table with a minimum of 24" centers for your cross braces. It will strengthen the top against some oops’s, give you a place to run wires and a place to attach legs.
I think Michael is right about the numbers indicating inches of rise above the “level” of the layut. Some I have seen list a larger number such as 48 or 52. This in indicating the track level above the floor.
Using flex track and cork or WS foam roadbed gives you more options for curves on the layout. The EZ track is good if you are doing a layout that will be taken apart often. It connects securely, but is made to be taken apart. The gray roadbed is nickel silver track, black is steel track which is prone to rusting. The black is less expensive, BUT often does not hold up according to other threads. If you have some EZ track you can use it on a regular layout. It is good for where you want straight and if the curves fit your plan, I’d use them. I would suggest that you use it connected to itself as much as possible, saving you making any more transitions than necessary. I thing there is a slight difference in height and you have to cut your cork to fit against the EX track end.
yeah do as told about the eztrack. my granpa got me a eztrack set about a year ago it’s been great cause ive been abloe to run a train on it that whole time whil planning my actual layout. i am going to use a mix of sectinoal track and flex track from atlas on my layout. their code 83 line i like it better than the code 100 but if you have a bunch of old equpment you should stick with the code 100. Because the big pizza cutter flanges will not do well on the thinner rail. hope this helps csx.
Thanks for the info. I decided to go with the cork roadbed and use flex track. Now what type of ballast would you recommend? I have been looking at the ones that Woodland Scenics makes but not sure about the type, corse or medium.
The woodland scenics stuff is pretty good. I’ve used it several times. It’s actually made of crushed walnut shells. Don’t use the Coarse, it’s for O scale. I made the mistake once and it didn’t look right. Medium or even fine is correct for HO.