What else is being used for road bed besides cork, camper tape, easy mat, and homasote? These are either not available, or too expensive.
I use Woodland Scenics Track Bed. It’s foam.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/TrackBed
You don’t have to use anything. Just fasten the track down to whatever you are using for benchwork. If you are going to worry about the prices of this hobby ,1. find another hobby, 2. stay in school so you can get a good job and make more money, 3. get a second job. Nothing is cheap. If you go to Staples or other office supplier, or an auto parts store you may find sheet cork for bulletin boards or gasket material that may or may not be cheaper. These roadbed materials give the track some eleavation and contours and also deaden the sound somewhat. It is not an absolute necessity.
I also use the Woodland Scenics foam. It works for me. I used to use cork, many years ago, but I like the foam better.
You could use other materials. MR had an article a few months back about a guy who used something like carpet-backing material, which he cut with a home-made knife jig. A simple alternative would be foam board, available from craft shops like Michaels or A.C. Moore. It’s about the same thickness, but you have to cut it to shape yourself, since it comes in big sheets and doesn’t bend.
I buy a sheet of damaged panelng at a place like Home Depot for 2 or 3 bucks and rip it in 1" strips. That gives you about 380’ of roadbed about 1/8" thick. Stack some of it on edge and put slots about 3/4" deep and you can bend it for curves. Nail it down and lay track.
Homasote often takes a little looking for. Check the Homasote web site for possible suppliers, then call before going. I found it for $25 a 4x8 sheet at a Denver lumber yard. Home Depot sells Homasote for about $3.80 for a 3.5" wide 10ft strip - it’s in the concrete area where the Homasote is sold for expansion cracks and concrete forms. Homasote is my first choice in roadbed, nothing else lasts as well or is as versatile.
Reasonable Homasote substitutes are various sound insulation boards and boards made from fibers. Home Depot sells a brown-colored sound insulation board made from sugar cane fiber for about $8 a 4x8 sheet. Not as solid as Homasote, but it has been successfully used. Upson board and Celotex are other brand name substitutes that I have used in the past. They are generally cheaper than Homasote, but are not quite as suited for roadbed as Homasote.
I don’t use cork because it dries out and crumbles internally with age. It may look OK, but after 5-10 years, it’s no longer providing any cushion or structural integrity. I learned this the hard way, and tried it 3 times before giving up. I keep a case where the cork roadbed has crumbled in the box (in the humid Alaska maritime climate) to remind myself when I get tempted for the fast fix at the hobby shop.
In the old days of the hobby, pine boards were sawn into roadbed. I’ve actually used scrap redwood pieces myself. There are some who use 1/8" thick door skin veneer for roadbed.
I’ve not tried the other products, so I can’t comment on where to find or how expensive.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
I’ve come to the conclusion over the years that the biggest factor is temperature and humidity as to the longevity of almost any roadbed product. A large part of this equation has to do with whether or not the area where you are building your layout is in a temperature and humidity controlled enviroment, that is to say is it in an outside garage, in an attic, or in an unheated or non air conditioned basement. These are all very important factors not only for your basic layout itself but also for any of your equipment.
Another factor to consider is your location, humid climate, dry climate, mostly warm, mostly cold, these are all things to be considered when choosing such things as which roadbed you plan to use.
Most anything will work well if the area in which it is placed is temperature and humidity controlled, if not, then you will have to make the appropriate choices.
Personally I use ready cut cork roadbed and in over 45+ years have never had any problems. As a matter of fact my first layout used Atlas flex-track with fiber ties and I had no problems, I also kept the humity about 50% and the temperature as close to 70 degrees as possible.
So my suggestion would be to think about the area in which you live and about the area in which you plan on building your layout, these will be the most important factors in determing which type of roadbed you use.
Mark
You have a lot of choices you can make in this hobby. Going ‘cheap’ on the foundation for your layout is not a good choice. Cork & foam roadbed is time tested and gives good results if laid correctly. Humidity is the bane of many model railroads. My layout is in the basment area of a split foyer home. The humidity varies between 15%(winter) and 65%(summer). The temp is about 65-70 degrees year around. I have used Homabed roadbed on 1/2" plywood. The layout has been there since 1987, and I have had no issues with warping or expansion. Homabed is roadbed milled out of sheet Homasote, and is more expensive than cork or foam roadbed. I glued it down with Titebond glue, and the track is either tacked down with large M-E spikes or 1/2" wire brads. I went to the M-E spikes as they do not go into the plywood and transmitted noise. After ballasting , I pulled most of the 1/2" wire brads. Another product is Vinylbed - a friend used it on his layout. It provides a very quiet roadbed, but the cost is about the same as Homabed - more expensive than the traditional cork/foam roadbed.
Jim
Carpet installation services often use a yellow vinyl underlay that is about 3/16" thick. I was told that it is most often used directly on cement pads, such as would be found in basements or in stores leased for retail space, particularly in more modern malls and such. The people who installed my basement carpeting had a fair bit of a chunk left over and asked if I could find a use for it on my railroad. I answered somewhat enthusiastically in the affirmative, and used a large swatch of it under my yard. It is glued with wood glue directly to 5/8" ply, and I assure you it is dead silent. Maybe it is the combination of sifted garden soil all around the tracks covering this yellow underlay, but my tracks are sitting directly on the underlay. I intend to salvage the underlay and use it in strips for roadbed later.
Crandell
Assuming you are talking HO {or even if you are talking N scale} I, too, suggest Woodland Scenics foam roadbed. Its available here:
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?Scale=HO&Item=TRACKBED&ID=200409445
and the price is not bad either.
If you have larger areas to do such as under switches or yards, craft foam sheets available at AC MOORE or Michaels for .99 cents or less for an 81/2 x 11 sheet {or there abouts}, if on sale 2 for one are abut the same heigth and work well. aLso it can take awhile, but AC Moore and Michaels ususally have a 40%or 50% off coupon in the Sunday paper, and will usually honor competetitor’s coupons.