I know the subject of roadbed height in yards comes up often, but I have a very specific question that I don’t think has been covered before as best I can tell.
I’m planning to build a HO scale classification yard on relatively narrow benchwork (20"-24" deep). The yard includes a single main track that runs alongside the yard. The main, arrival/departure, and classification tracks are all at or close to minimum spacing of 2", maybe a little more to separate the main.
My question is this: Should the main track be elevated with respect to the yard tracks? I was wondering if I should for example cover the entire area with 1/4" homabed and then raise the main line further with 1/4" “main line” strips to elevate it well above the yard, or perhaps use 1/8" “branch line” strips to provide just a little bit of elevation. Alternatively, I could just put the yard tracks directly on the plywood and then put the main on homabed. Or I could just keep everything at the same level (homabed or direct on plywood).
What I am concerned about is that with such close spacing of the tracks it will be difficult to provide a proper transition even with just 1/8" elevation separating the main from the yard tracks.
I am interested in hearing opinions on this. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
I found rolled self adhesive cork for walls & used it for my yards/sidings etc. I used regular cork roadbed for the mainline.
It wasn’t difficult to provide a transition as there’s at least a foot of grade between. I laid regular roadbed & then sanded it down until i got a decent grade between the two. Read about this in MR as Pelle Soeberg used this technique on his desert layout. It’s kinda cool to have the mainline higher than the sidings.
There’s no one “right way” to handle the situation you face. Some main tracks sit above adjacent yard tracks, while others are at the same level. Outside of the yards, I use 1/4" roadbed for mains and 1/8" for secondary tracks, but transitioned to 1/2" Homasote sheet for the main yard area (the risers under the yard can be shorter than those elsewhere to compensate). On the last layout I used Homabed strips for yard roadbed and decided not to mess with that again.
In one yard, I elevated the main about 1/16" above the yard tracks just by using regular HO cork on the main and a thinner cork sheet from Hobby Lobby for the yard. There’s enough difference to be noticeable without needing wider track centers to handle the differntial ballast slope. In the other yard I just installed everything on the same 1/2" Homasote.
Personally, I’d opt for the yard tracks right on the plywood, with the mainline elevated 1/8". The transition between the two levels has little to do with the width of the area, but rather with the length available. Your turnout off the main for access to the yard needs to be level throughout its length, but the grade down need only be about a foot long - a little more perhaps with vertical easements included. This is roughly a 1% grade, not particularly unusual nor onerous for a loco and train. All of the other turnouts affording access to the various tracks will then be at the same level as the tracks which they service.
In the photo below, the mainline, in the foreground, is on cork roadbed, while the industrial trackage beyond is laid directly on the plywood subroadbed. The transition is accomplished within the distance between the end of the turnout off the mainline to the beginning of the turnout just ahead of the boxcar in the right background, a distance of about 14" and includes vertical easements.
I simply glued cork roadbed in place where I wanted the transition to be, allowed the glue to dry completely (at least overnight), then used #36 sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood to sand it to shape - about 4 or 5 minutes of very easy work.
Another option is to make everything the same height, but disguise it to appear otherwise. In the photo below (a continuation of the mainline shown in the first photo, but looking in the opposite direction) the cork roadbed has been sanded-down on both tracks, starting at a point just this side of the turnout on the right-hand track. The length of this transition is just over 3’, and extends towards the viewer beyond what’s shown in the photo. The turnout on the left-hand track is on the transition, and its diverging route continues downward, too. Note the
It really comes down to what you want to do, but there are a couple of thoughts that I would like to add for your consideration.
Yards on real railroads are somewhat lower than the mainline. Do you want to model that or simulate it?
To actually model it, you should raise your mainline a little with respect to the yard.
If you want to simulate it, just use different color ballast. Lighter for the mainline and darker for the yard, but provide a ditch between the mainline track and any yard tracks. This creates an optical illusion that most people won’t pick up on.
Both methods work, but it depends on how much detail you want on your model railroad, and how much you are willing to work for it. As for laying the track, no change in elevation is easier to do and get right. When you change elevations, you must have a smooth transition between the two or you will have trouble.
Since we make our own topography we do not have to contend with grading and excavating our road bed to conform like the prototype had to.
Like most modelers I laid my mains on cork and yard and industrial track from them on the base itself. The only deviation from that is my caboose track on my home layout that is above the departure track to coast a caboose to the departing trains. Just remember that any track where a car can roll and foul the main must have some sort of derail.
The transitions from ground level to the 3/16 cork height is not really a problem unless it it not done smoothly and level. Curved height transitions are better if one rail is not super elevated and level. I have used card stock, wood shims and even graded ballast as transitions. All of them work nicely.
Thanks everyone for the very detailed and helpful responses.
I think I might try a hybrid approach with a slightly elevated main but also use some deception as well. I am thinking of putting the yard directly on the plywood (using Birch plywood to provide a smooth base) and elevating the main just slightly with 1/8" homabed. That way I can make the transition within only a foot so. I will try to combine that with the technique that Wayne described. I think this is probably the best approach for me. My modeling skills aren’t too advanced but I think this is something I can probably do. Trying to make a bigger grade change in such a limited space scares me. I really do not want to have any track problems when I’m done.
I just joined this forum today but already I really like it!
