Midwest vs. Model Power cork roadbed?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Anybody have any opinions about the quality of one versus the other?

I’ve used Midwest before and it seemed OK. Never used Model Power, but the places I’ve seen it for sale, it generally seems a few dollars less expensive. Just wondering if there’s any reason why I shouldn’t use MP cork.

2

i didn’t know model power had cork but i 'm usimg midwest and i love it it looks much like ballast midwest is available at hobbylinc.com for $6.69 for 15ft

3

I’ve used both, and see essentially zero difference except that MP is cheaper… So that “both” would actually mean I used to use midwest and now use MP.

4

Model Power Cork would be my pix, seems to have more potential.

5

You’d think that cork is cork, and there couldn’t be that much difference in brands, but there are a couple of quality control problems with Model Power cork. The few pieces I have seen were not cut straight in the center, and the beveled edge is at too steep a dropoff. After separating the two halves, the cut was so wavy that after turning one piece around and putting them back side by side, there were some places that were too wide and others were too narrow. The MP cork seems to be more brittle, too.

6

I must have bought some of the same “cork” you did cacole. The only difference was mine reminded me of ground-up recycled rubber. That stuff was a pain to cut!

Now I use Midwest cork or Woodland Scenics foam roadbed.

7

I just bought some cork for a few sidings at my warehouse project and to be honest… I never glanced at the price or brand name…

sheesh 30+ years just go in to the LHS and grab the cork roadbed and put it down on the counter before paying the bill.

Now I gotta go back and look for the name and cost LOL

8

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Sorry, I didn’t respond sooner, but I was offline for a couple of days!

So, I guess the moral of the story is that there might not be any real significant difference. I plan on covering it all with ballast anyway, so it probably won’t matter that much anyway.