That is the question.
Rich
I vote for cork. I used Midwest HO cork for my layout and I have always found it very easy to lay especially for curves. With split cork the center line for the track is there. I used a wooden yardstick as a guide for the straight cork. Track nails go easily into the cork and come out easily after ballasting.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
There are some advantages to Homasote. I used it on the very frst part of my layout, Red Mountain, then I switched to cork. Why? The advantages didn’t outweigh the inconveniences and mess. If I was handlying lots of track, then Homasote is worth the hassle, otherwise, mmmm YMMV.
My mileage varys. I don’t use glue or adhesive to lay track and sheet homasote is not messy - just cut it with a box knife [;)] Of course if you go outside and use a sabre saw, it’s dusty but the wind can blow it away but the box cutter works fine if you don’t want hardly any mess.
Bonus: I had to tear my layout down for moving, and because I used Homasote and spiked/nailed my track down, it was a snap to remove and save without any damage to the track. I saved virtually all the track, nails, materials for re-use. If I would have used adhesive, it’ likely would have meant a lot of loss and money flushed down the drain.
Why Homasote? It holds spike and/or Atlas track nails well and you can simply lay yout track on it. I gave mine a base coat to help it resist moisture and give it a basic color. I fasten it down with 1" drywall screws driven just a bit below the surface and fill with a bit of spackle or drywall mud. Homasote isn’t just for handlying track but it’s good for that too.
Worth the hassle? Building a layout is hassle. But I didn’t find it a hassle to work with - no more than any other part of layout building. [8D]
But once you ballast the track, alot of that reuse goes out the window. I was surprised that I was able to save most of the turnouts with cork on foam caulked down on my large layout, even after balasting and using matt medium for the ballast, just cut them out and soaked them. with the cork still attached.
You’d be surprised how many layouts get built and trains run and are torn down and moved before ballast is applied. Case in point see above.
I wouldn’t be surprised by that at all, but after my track was in place and thoroughly tested for reliability, I added the basic landforms (Durabond patching plaster over aluminum screen) then ballasted the tracks. Since then, I’ve altered the trackplan in a couple of places, pulling out two curved turnouts from a crossover/run-around that proved redundant, and moving a turnout in an industrial area in order to accommodate a larger industry. Because I used diluted white glue for both the ballast and trackside scenic ground cover, soaking the area with some sprayed-on “wet” water allowed me to lift turnouts and track as necessary (after unsoldering the rail joints, of course). After a little clean-up with a brush and some water, the removed track and turnouts were completely re-useable.
Wayne
Ditto Wayne. When I shpritzed the ballasted track to remove it from the layout, which was affixed with white glue, the track came up out of the ballast easily leaving most of the ballast still on the roadbed and plywood. More water and a scrub brush made all of the track reusable. All you need is to remove it from the bottom so it re-lays flat. The ballast still clinging in between the ties just gets ballasted over.
As far as the main question.
I have never used Homasote, only used cork (a bit of WS foam bed). Cork is fine.
But I’ll use the Cascade roadbed product because I want the lower profile and 30 degree shoulder that would be more in keeping with the branchline/shortline layouts I like. I’ll use 1/2 ply for a table top, then a layer of sheet homasote, then the homabed which I believe will produce a very quiet combination.
One can glue or spike in either, it’s just that if I needed to do a lot of spiking, I’d prefer Homasote. It also allows a bit more precision, a good feature when hand layoing
On the other hand, you don’t need many spikes if you’re putting down flex on either, they “grab” instantly, and reuse is very easy. I chose a combination of spike and cork that allows just the tip of the spoke to penetrate into the wood. It holds securely, but doesn’t require the spike be driven all the way in.
The biggest advanatge to cork is its ease of use. Unless one buys the precut Homasote blocks, each piece needs to be shaped and fitted. And I can see that as engaging for other folks, but just like handlaying, I’ll leave that to those with a taste for it except when it’s needed for some reason where cork won’t suffice.
True enough. But you do what you feel you need to do and prioritize accordingly. I’d just rather not spend much time on roadbed and more…on something else. Depending on how one deals with the Homasote, it can take anywhere from “more time” to “lots more time” using it vs cork.
The question may be moot. I’ve sent Cascade Rail Supply a couple of questions in the last two weeks and received no response. Has anyone heard from them recently? Are they still in business?
Carl,
I’m here. My apologies if I missed your emails. I was out of town for a family emergency and have been preoccupied. I will go back and find your email now.
Steve Cox
Cascade Rail Supply
Excellent. Sorry for the false alarm. I really like this stuff and would be hugely disappointed if it suddenly became unavailable. If you decide to get hit by a bus, please give me advance notice so I can get one last order. [:)]
Homasote and Homabed, period.
HO scale 1/8" Homabed mounted on O scale thick Homabed with a 1/4 inch spacer in the middle gives you a perfect ballast/roadbed profile for HO scale.
Use the 30 degree material.
Well, I guess that I am a bit surprised by all of the support for Homasote.
I have nothing against Homasote, just never considered it until Sheldon talked about it on another thread.
As background, I have always used Woodland Scenics Foam Track Bed. Why? Because way back 14 years ago when I first entered the HO scale side of the hobby (an American Flyer guy as a kid), my LHS guys told me that foam roadbed was the way to go.
All these years later, I don’t dislike foam, but it is soft and not as firm as cork. So, when I decided recently to build a new layout, I figured that cork was the way to go. But, now, I am reading that Homasote may be the way to go.
So, let me ask this question. What are the disadvantages of using cork as roadbed?
Rich
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Cork does not hold spikes well (not dense enough). This is really only a concern for handlaying.
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You have an extra step with cork to trim the edge off of one piece.
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Homasote cuts very cleanly with a fresh, sharp number 11 blade. Cork does not cut as cleanly in my experience.
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Cork has a tendancy to dry out over a long time, and may become brittle. The curvable homasote roadbed does have a tendancy to break if you try to bend it the oppostie direction than it is intended (there is only a small section of paper on the inside piece) or handle it roughly. It is still useable after it breaks.
Those are the only disadvantages I can think of…
I like using homabed. Very little mess and easy to use. Yellow glue soaks in pretty well and makes a firm joint.
Rich,
Others will chime in here but for me it’s not so much the disadvantages of cork as the advantages of Homasote. Now, I’m talking about my products which I was a user of long before I became a manufacturer so understand my bias. First is density. You notice the difference between foam and cork as far as squish goes? Homasote is denser yet while still being soft enough for good sound deadening. I don’t think there is any material in model railroad use with as good a combination of sound deadening and support. Second is accuracy and variety. I can provide HO roadbed in three thicknesses for anything from a light duty branch to super heavy duty such as Horseshoe Curve. There are sheets of varying widths to match each of those thicknesses. I also have transition ramps between the thicknesses and sub roadbed level for industry spurs, etc. The bevel on the edge of roadbed is traditionally 45 degrees. I sell that style. But I also sell roadbed with a 30 degree or nearly 2:1 bevel which more accurately represents “natural slope” that real ballast falls into after a while. That uses less ballast and ballast is easier to apply than with the steeper angle. Turnout pads can be ordered for specific turnouts in all thicknesses. That kind of variety is simply not available with cork. Whether you want or need it is up to you. Some users of cork have reported it drying out and crumbling with age. I have seen it but I have not seen it consistently so YMMV. Homasote will not do that.
Many very nice layouts have been built with cork roadbed. It’s not a bad material (I will not say the same about foam roadbed). Many nice layouts have been built with Atlas code 100 track but I will make the effort and expense because I think smaller rail looks better. I think Homasote provides a better foundation for my trains to run on especially long term, and for me, EVERYTHING com
Id say the bigest advantage of Homasote is its ease of use. I buy Homasote in 4x8’ sheets. Then screw it down and give it a coat of base color. No shaping or fitting. Snicker snack lay the track. Not any more time consuming than cork.
I’d imagine Homasote isnt any more time than cork all things considered.
Steve Cox makes some very good points above about Homasote too which speak for themself.
BMMECNYC wrote the following post 2 hours ago:
- Cork does not hold spikes well (not dense enough). This is really only a concern for handlaying.
Some of my hand laid track has been in for years on cork. Never had any spikes come loose. And this is in the basement where the humidity changes by the week.
- You have an extra step with cork to trim the edge off of one piece.
I’m confused. I use Midwest cork and never had to trim any of it? What needs trimming?
True, if even the suggestion of a ballast profile and ditching aen’t important. Then you can just slice and dice like plywood. Some folks use cork sheets for their yards, too, but that tends to be somewhat uninteresting. I don’t go to much trouble, but even just laying the cork strips loosely and doing a little trimming with the hobby knife does wonders.
But this may be a standard gauge vs narrowgauge thing to some degree. Most of the Rio Grande’s narrowgauge yards never saw a bulldozer, they were leveled by hand and scraper (power by horse power, not HP), not a Cat like many of the standard gauge yards were reworked with to the extent one can ignore suggestions of drainage as less impressive than the overall flatness of many newer yards. You have to have something other than smooth to be believable visually with NG, though.
Still, if you do want to duplicate the ballast profile, then you either pay someone to cut it or you do it yourself. With cork you get it by pulling the halves of the cork strip apart. I assumed this was generally the case with users of both, but I understand not everyone feels the need. It’s one of those many things about the hobby where there’s not really any “best” answer (although a few may believe that’s so), but one that suits our needs and preferences.
Well, I guess my club is overbuilding our new layout. We are using 3/4" plywood subroadbed with 1/2" Homasote on top, and Midwest cork on top of that! Why? The layout room walls are concrete. We have a hard enough time hearing each other now when several people are talking, let alone adding in sound locomotives and metal wheels.
Of course the addition of the Homasote does also allow for building track profiles and ditches easily.
One thing I will mention is that the oft quoted problem with Homasote generating huge quantities of sawdust is no longer a reality. I bought some Bosch jig saw blades that are taper ground as opposed to having the teeth ‘set’ for clearance. The blades generated very little sawdust and what was generated was easy to clean up. I can’t identify the blades from Bosch’s website and the package is at the club. I’ll have a look at the package on Monday night and let you know what the model number is.
Dave