I use homasote, and Homabed roadbed. Homasote in yards and flat areas, and Homabed everywhere else. It is quiet, and since I spike my track down, it holds spikes very well. I have never had any problem with it. Works great.
Kissmethod,
If you are happy with your roadbed choice that is all that matters. There are many discussions of roadbed choices if you use the search function to see what other modelers are using.
KISSMETHOD,
I have been using that method,for years,1/2 ply and 1/2 Homosote,never ever had any problem’s. I have at least,20 Caboose ground throws,that I screw right to the homosote,with #1,black,round head,wood screws,I don’t pre-drill holes,the wood screws,start on their own… The kicker is,I am in HO-scale and the ground throws,are N-Scale…A lot of people say that,it won’t work…But I have been using them,ever since,I learned how to do it… They look a lot closer to scale,then the,HO-scale ones… I do not use,the pins that are on them,I cut them off and drill a starter,hole ,in the throw on the ground throw and the drawbar and use the same screws to attach them and cut off any excise… If one should happen to fail,it takes,10 minutes to,replace one…
Cheers,
Frank
So have I, been using Homasote for the past 20 some years!
No problems in holding the track down - Caboose throws or even Turtle Machines!
YET! just about every week we get those asking questions how to attach their Track - Caboose Throws and Turtle Machines to FOAM!
Some must like the challenge - as they keep trying to figure out the answer.
While they are fighting the ongoing problem - I will be running my trains!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I’ve been thinking that I will doing some custom track work on my layout and that homasote is the best approach. I’ve never used it, never even seen it as raw material. So I have a couple questions:
What thickness sheet do you get for roadbed? 1/2 as mentioned above seems high, particularly when you are looking to line up your loading docks with rolling stock.
How do you cut it? Do you angle the edges? Does it bend like cork or do you have to cut it to shape when using cookie cutter sub-roadbed.
Do you nail it to the plywood, glue it, or fuse it with nuclear cohesion?
Chip
I have only ever seen it in 1/2 thick 4 x 8ft sheets.
Our local Lumber supply stocks the stuff - so it is easy for me or the Clarion Club to get it!
I usually Glue mine down to Plywood or OSB (which I use almost exclusively) but to hold the Homasote down until the glue dries I screw it down with Drywall Screws (and I remove the Drywall Screws once the glue is dry)! On small pieces when filling areas I will just use the Drywall Screws.
I cut it with a new blade Utility knife.
There is ZERO mess compared with trying to use a table saw .
I can cut pieces right next to the layout (using the Utility Knife) so I can cut and fit the pieces as needed!
I usually cut pieces 4" wide for under single track which allows lots of room to place scenery next to the track.
As for curves - I cut short straight sections with the ends at an angle to for a curve and with the Homasote being wider allows me to easily piece these sections together and I then place the scenery covering up the straight lines in the curve.
In using a bunch of short straight pieces there is ZERO waste as one would have cutting radius pieces!
I can easily remove high spots with the old style wood rasp as the Homasote will vary in thickness between sheets of different lots. This is why I usually try to purchase enough to do a new project area and only have to grind down maybe one area when transitioning from the old part of the layout to the new project area!
I will usually paint the surface of the Homasote to seal down the surface especially in any area I have had to grind down.
I have been using Homasote for the past 20 years and have also tried using Pink/Blue Foam.
None of them have a clear cut advantage over the other as they all have their own set of problems!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Chip,
It’s a little hard,to explain,for others,may use it differently than I… In my circumstance,I do not have any elevation changes,the whole layout is perfectly flat,in the urban section,which is roughly,6ft by 14ft,like a 1/3 of a dogbone,6ft tappers to 31/2 ft, all that is 1/2 ply,with1/2 Homosote on top,held on with 3/4 inch drywall screws, sanding any high spots if there are,I did not encounter any,the track is held in place by Micro Eng. nails through the center holes in the flex track,about every 6 inches and ends…The nails are the fine,round head ones. You don’t need a hammer,just a pair of needle nose pliers…When I’m satisfied with the work,I weather the track with a air brush,test with a few trains running,could be days…When I am in the mood,I ballast it and I’ll tell you the track is not going no where… When you leave the urban area,only the road bed is on Homosote,with the ply under it,that area,is open grid,benchwork,it is attached in the same way… I am fortunate to have a 10inch table saw to make the cuts,no mess because,my saw has a shop-vac attachment the angles are made when I make the first cut,they are double track,all one piece…I then lower the blade,and with the router attached under the table,I make the center angle with one swipe, when I need them for curves,I kerf them on both sides and install the same way I dId the other side…Didn’t mention that before I weather the track,all the wiring is finished…I am one of those ‘‘die hard DC guys’’. Three cab, and will never change,not in my lifetime…
Hope I didn’t confuse anyone,once you get the hang of it,it’s really quite simple…
Cheers,
Frank
I’ve always used WS TrackBed.
Me too Homasote and a long time ago, came back to the hobby 8 years ago and never asked what was being used for roadbed. My dad even used it, I’m 69 years old, back in the 50’s. I made my own layout in the 70’s when my youngn’s were rug rats, funny they enjoy it more now than before, DCC made that difference. LOL when I came back to the hobby upon retiring, the guy in the hobby shop didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked for the push button electric uncouplers, he didn’t know what they were and an older gent then began showing me the improvements with magnetic uncouplers and introduced me to, of all things, DCC and sound, sold me in a New York Heartbeat.
I glued my homasote with Elmers like wood glue, bought a gallon of the stuff, but built my framework using 1 X 4"‘s glued and screwed. LIkes been said cut my roadbed 4" wide and biased using a table saw with a shop vac, dusty stuff. Cut my curves and biased on a band saw. The only other flat area was my yard that has homasote. I found out about the pink stuff and used it for my mountain areas and other flat area’s. I even used broken pieces of ceiling tile for some mountain area’s and tunnels, makes the inside look very real. Pushed track nails with a pair of long nosed pliers to attach track and yes had some bumps that I removed carefully with my dremel tool, dusty though. Provides nice quiet operation. I live in a humid area, West Virginia, up in the mountains. Temps can reach 100 degrees in the summer and below zero in the winter. My train room is heated, no AC at this time but I have 10’ ceiling height and fluorescent light fixtures, it’s an old store front, I keep the heat on to about 60 degrees. I live in the house attached to the rear of the store front. I also have an attached garage.
Oh my layout is U shaped and is 17’ long and 11’ wide overall, the penninsula’s are about 7’ wide, I also have a NY City subway, 2 lines running under it and its 4&#
An alternative to the standard “bare” 1/2" Homosote is check out roofing suppliers for Rubber roof underlayment. http://www.blueridgefiberboard.com/ The Structodeck is coated one side, (other manufacturers have both sides) teh 4x8 sheet is comparable in $$ and offer a substancial sealing for less moisture absorbtion. Cuts extremely well w/ a couple of passes w/ a “sharp” utility blade. Hint: have a honing/ sharpening stone handy as after a few cuts the Homosote will dull the blade. For acurate cutting of the beveled roadbed shoulders fabricate a guide for the utility knife from a block of wood to act like a block plane to chamfer the sides of your roadbed. Since the underlayment is already sealed, paint the edges and top a gray close to your ballast color. This will stand up to the most exteremes of damp/ humid locations.
How does it hold track nails–like for hand-laying?
Chip, that “cheaper” fiber Structodek is the same as regular homosote only has a waterproof coating applied. The more $$ grades are foam/ fiberglas based and may not work for our needs
Actually had some scrap left over from a recent rubber roof job last week., tested it out w/ driving some finish nails, may not be as dense as reg board, but should be fine especially if track is only pinned for gluing w/ caulk. If one is to strickly “hand lay” should use the “tried and true” Regulr stuff.
Alexstan – while many of us use other materials for the subroadbed and roadbed, and this thread is more about using homasote than actually choosing something, as the thread has evolved , thy’re talking about handlaying track. Depending on what you use as a subroadbed, Ws foam trackbed would not work in this case.
Oops, sorry, I just went by the thread title.