Im from the U.K and im just about to embark on my second layout. The first was a U.K based layout but the plan was full of holes from the start and i dont wish to make the same mistakes again.
I can see that the hardest part is going to be proper research to settle on a workable track plan for U.S based layout.
Its sure gona hurt ripping up some 20 odd hand built switches and binning them!!
Il have about a 12x8 room and want to operate from the centre. I also try to avoid curves less than 30".
About the only thing i know about U.S railroads at the moment are that the trains are dam huge and most have very large engines on the front, yep, thats about it! Im looking at moddeling the 1990s and find intermodel trafic interesting.
My first question is what road bed material do you guys use? I used neoprene on my first layout, the same stuff they make wet suits out of, about 16th of an inch thick. While its great for silent running, its not so good for ensuring your track is dead flat as its prety soft rubber and with small wheel flanges, derailments can be a problem. Ive therefore decided not to use it again. Im thinking about cork tiles or are there any other materials to use for the road bed?
Every now and then this question pops up and the conclusion is always the same. There are 3 materials that are cheap, widely available and work well.
The old standby, manufactured cork roadbed. Comes in 2-3 foot strips and when you put the two halves together it has beveled edges, ready for ballasting.
WS manufactured foam roadbed. Its made of squishy black foam and its about the same price as the cork stuff. It is quieter at first, but once you ballast it there is no real difference. It works like cork, and the cork vs foam argument is endless since its just a matter of preference.
Sheet cork. This is the cheapest way but it involves the most work. You can buy big sheets of thin cork and cut your own roadbed. If you are really budget-minded this might be the way for you.
I am also modeling the 90s in the northeast US. I think you have made a great era choice, and yes some of the cars/engines are huge!
Cork is a great way to go, . Something to think about, give it a coat of paint before you layout down. I sprayed all of my cork with gray automotive primer.
Nice way to cheat a little. Also, goes along way to hide thin spots in the ballast
Joe left a couple of other tried and true roadbed materials:
clear pine or other soft wood. It’s still available commercially from Trout (Tru-Scale), but most rip/cut their own. Tends to be expensive (hard to find knot-free wood at decent prices) and not particularly sound deadening. However, most roadbeds lose their sound deadening qualites when ballasted. Very sturdy, can be self supporting for limited distances. Can use track nails and spikes instead of glue for easy relocation of track at later date.
my favorite is Homasote. Some say becasue it is a paper-based product that it swells and contracts with moisture content. I’m coming to think that’s an old wive’s tale. While true of its competitor, Upson board, nobody (including myself) that I know of (waiting to be proved wrong) using the real Homasote has reported problems. Experimenters have tossed it into buckets of water to let it soak with no ill effects (Upson board failed these tests). Superb surface for spiking/nailing track, probably the quitest solution after ballasting - assumes the ballast shell doesn’t reach the subroadbed. Available commercially as Homabed in different thicknesses and profiles. Sawing/cutting is a dusty mess. Thickness is not always consistent across a sheet, creating more dust if this happens. Available in US as 4x8 (1/2 inch thick) sheets and 3.5 inch wide, 1/2 inch thick strips.
Vinylbed. A commercial product made of recycled rubber. Some love it, some found inconsistencies in the “rubberiness” from piece to piece. Have never tried it myself.
A note on cork. A few - including myself - have experienced the cork drying out and crumbling/disintegrating over time (about 5 years in my case). Others (probably most) have never seen this. May be brand dependent, or may have been resolved by newer manufacturing processes. My last batch to go bad was purchased
AMI roadbed. This comes in a roll, so you can just roll it out in one peice, and it’s sticky on both sides, so you don’t have to fasten it down. It’s black; and made of rubber. However, some people like it, and some people don’t.
I used that AMI stuff and thought it was good and easy to ballast.If you are using flextrack you will still probably have to fasten it down with something though.
If your from the U.K., it shouldn’t be hard to get your hands on “Ballast inlay” or Merkur (or something like that) made by Noch. I’t foam, and preballast. Look at Noch for a lot of your needs. They are like Walther’s in the UK. They also have plain foam bed and sheet. It may be hard for you to get cork and others from the U.S as it just as hard for us to obtain products made in the UK. Alot of Hobby store here in the US wouldn’t carry UK products. They may say they will have to order it for you. Then you got to estimate how much is needed. Too much of a hassle for me.
Here in the US more floors are being put down with laminate flooring than hardwood. Part of the system calls for a foam layer to allow the floor to float. 100 sq. ft. rolls are about $30.00 and are about 1/8" thick closed cell foam. The material is also extremely uniform in thickness. Don’t know if it could be glued down but I don’t see why not. It should be very quiet and once the track is laid they excess can be removed by cutting outside the track. I would pin the track, remove the excess foam and ballast using the ballast to hold everything in place. Cork ages and dries out becoming very brittle and noisy with time.
I’m in N scale and I went to the local home improvement store and bought sheets of 1/4 inch thick foam insulation. It was pretty cheap too. I can cut the sheets to any radius I need and secure it with caulk.
For HO you could use the same thing, or, a cheaper solution to the Woodland Scenics type roadbed is to go to the auto parts store and ask for truck camper topper tape. It’s an adhesive backed foam tape that you put around the top of the bed of your pickup, and then you put the camper shell on top of that. You can buy it in big rolls and it’s way cheaper then the WS stuff.
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