There are different product of WS roadbed, as strips,as roll and a 5" strip in width which as i understand is for double track.My question is which is better for use,the strips or roll?And the shape of the roadbed is ready for use?
I use the rolls for double-tracks and just spce them on 2.5" centers (for HO). I’ve never used the 5" strips. I have used the 12" x 24" pieces for yards. The rolls come ready for use. The 12" x 24" pieces do not have beveled edges.
I think the 5" stuff is for switch pads. This stuff is difficult to bevel the edges on. I tried it and hated it and went back to cork.[2c]
I’ve used the 25-foot rolls and the 3-foot strips. Both are beveled. It’s probably more personal preference and availability than anything else. Since you glue and ballast everything, the continuous strip doesn’t make much of a difference.
I like this stuff better than cork. Again, it’s a personal thing and no reflection on either product.
My WS foam tended to launch the ballast when brushed even so litely. Cork seams to be better to ballast. The foam was easy to work and less expensive till I tried to ballast. It was a real pain in the butt.
Pete
[#ditto]
I really like the rolls.
Also, the roadbed can be cut with a good sheetrock (drywall) knife and a fresh blade. Single edge razor blades work well too. exactos work OK. The bevel becomes easy to “eyeball” with practice. Once a blade gets dull it will tear the material a bit. New blades are cheap.
I also use diluted matt medium to hold the ballast. Properly applied the ballast stays put just fine.
Karl
I prefer the WS to cork. I use strips which are beveled and sheets which are not beveled for yards. I don’t have the patience to cut a bevel on the sheets so I just use a little plaster, etc to feather or bevel the sheet edges.
I’ve had no problem with ballasting and I’ve experimented with WS ballast, sand, and sanded grout.
I encountered a slight problem with the Woodland Scenics foam roll roadbed when I inadvertently pressed down on a section of roadbed while trying to reach an item on the back of the layout. The foam mashed down and did not recover. I had to cut out that section and re-do it.
There’s also a slight difference in the thickless of the foam roadbed and cork roadbed, so if you intermix them the foam has to be shimmed up on the end. I fastened the foam and track with latex caulking and it seems to be holding up very well. The sections of track with foam roadbed are a little quieter than where I used cork.
I use the rolls where possible, fewer joints. The strips work equally well though. I used the large pads under my yard. No bevel is the complaint? I took some of the strips and split them down the middle and voila, a bevel around the perimeter.
–Randy
I prefer the foam roadbed over cork however the inconsistancy can be a real pain. I’m N and the 3’ single track foam can vary at times as much as 1/8", sometimes more. That and for whatever the reason, the last few I bought, the foam kept wanting to roll up, so laying it was a real pain because it kept wanting to roll up.
This last batch I bought out of the countless others was the first time I had the “roll up” problem though.
Perhaps the HO stuff doesn’t exhibit the same problems though.
Thank for your help.I’ll try the roll stuff.
I received today the WS roadbed roll and i see that i can not bend it for curves.Is there a trick for curves or i have to use it only for straight sections?
There is a half-cut down the middle of the roadbed. I’ve seen some rolls with the cut on the top, and some with it on the bottom. It doesn’t matter which. When you get to a curve, take a utility knife and cut all the way through. This will give you two thinner strips of roadbed, which you can bend around the curve pretty easily. As you go through the curve, you’l notice how much more roadbed you use on the outside of the curve vs. the inside, and you can see why you need two strips.
[#ditto]
It also depends on the radius of your curve. I found i didnt need to seperate the 2 halves down to about a 26" radius. I supose much tighter though and you may need to do this.
Thanks!
I use cork and have no problem. I do have one question, aren’t the roll and the 30" strip WS roadbed the exact same product, just one is longer than the other?
Yes, they’re exactly the same product. I did the math at my LHS once, and they came out to the same price per foot, too.
I am using WS roadbed, and curves are no problem, bends quite easily, though my curves are a 36 inch radius along the outside of the layout so far…
Ed