A couple of questions regarding roadbed;
I think I saw that YankeeDabbler.com has Midwest cork instock?
I used WS foam roadbed on my previous layout.
Pros: It installs really fast/easy
Cons: It’s pretty soft and deflects easily when working on track. Easy to melt when soldering track feeders if not very careful.
For my new layout I plan to use sound deadening foam roadbed sold on EBay. It is noticeably more dense than the WS roadbed. Look for seller sparks00033 on ebay.
I going to use new Walthers roadbed
Here is a much better option than cork or foam. Environmentally friendly too…
Homasote is a very good roadbed material. However it costs about 6X as much as the sound foam roadbed I referenced and it has an 8+ week lead time.
why do you think it is “much better” than cork?
i’ve heard that homasote may expands if not painted, depending on environment.
Because I have used it for 50 years with no issues.
Myself, and most of the modelers I know use it in sheet form for yards, etc, and in roadbed form for mainline trackage.
The Severna Park Model Railroad Club layout is built with it. The layout is in a 100 year old train station that is only heated or cooled when people are there - no issues in 60 years…
Once you properly ballast it, it is pretty much sealed unless you are in a really bad environment. Not to sound too arrogant here, but I don’t build model train layouts is crappy environments and recommend that other not do it either.
Sheldon
Additionally, I would never lay track on ANY kind of foam, nor would I use foam and the basic base for a layout. I want/need for my layout structure to support my weight without damage.
The new layout, like most of my previous layouts, will have many areas of deep scenery.
Sheldon
Is their anything wrong with Cork or 3D printed roadbed?
so it doesn’t sound like you have much experience with other materials.
i understand that homasote is the “conventional” approach. I’ve used it on my own layout and used it on a club layout. But now i’ve worked on 2 layouts where they’ve had and have problems with homasote.
i using cork on foam on my current layout. i doubt either can expand or warp. since i caulk the cork to the foam, i’ve found it easy to peel up and redo if i need to (I realize some modelers strongly feel they have no need to be able to do this). But because it’s so easy, i’m more willing to redo something rather than live with it, this avoid procrastination
what’s that?
So I’m lazy sometimes and I 3D print gravel textured roadbed
I think YD may still have some HO cork in stock but I’m an N scaler. Nobody I’ve seen has the N scale (including Midwest Products themselves) other than some overpriced options on Amazon and eBay.
I did check out Sparks00033, he should be sending me a sample of the Sound Foam. Thanks for that tip, though I’m slightly weary of choosing an option that as far as I’ve been able to tell is only available from one guy out of his garage. If he gets bored, or worse, ill, which seems to happen often in this hobby, I’d be up the river without a roadbed…
Well that depends on which other materials you are talking about. I have used cork on a number of layouts. I have helped a number of modelers built layouts other than my own.
I also have considerable experience with wood roadbed made years ago by TruScale. I can post a picture latter if you are not familiar. It was the premium track system in the 50’s and 60’s.
I do however reject the idea of soft spongy materials that I can press/damage with my finger. I don’t need to try them, it is unsound engineering, even for model trains.
Sounds like people having issues with homasote need to invest in a dehumidifier and/or properly prepare the space first. If an environment is that bad, do you really want thousands of dollars of expensive locomotives sitting around in high humidity and dramatic temperature swings?
My daddy taught me to take care of my things. Maybe that’s why I still have trains he built.
Sheldon
so you would need to know the curvature required before printing
have you any experience with any?
the club here in Cumberland switched to a rubbery material (surplus from Northrup Grumman) after having problems with the homasote warping. the rubbery roadbed is impervious to humidity and termperature which has a been a problem in the past. it seems to have held up on the 20 year old layout
I have never printed curves 
It’s too much work to get the right curvature but I’m giving it a try after Geo and Theo’s funeral tonight
It is just my opinion and preference that the track be on a firm foundation to maintain things like superelevated curves, grade transitions, etc.
And that it not be subject to damage or movement if I have to lean my weight on it.
I’m not questioning what others have had success with that suits them. But at this stage of my modeling life I have no interest in replacing/experimenting with methods that have worked perfectly for me for 40 plus years.
So I won’t be building a scenery out of foam either.
I hate the occasional time we use it in construction, I’m not bringing any home.
New ideas are not automatically “better”, many times they are just “different”, with a new set of advantages and disadvantages.
Sheldon
Sounds like it was not properly installed, or, their environment is crappy.
One other thought. I hear this all the time about various new methods “it is easy to take up and change”. Doesn’t that make you question its long term durability?
Maybe I’m just above average in planning and knowing what works and what I want, but I seldom have to change anything.
Sheldon
i’m sure you have more that one tool in your tool box. Just need to know which tool is not necessarily best, but good enough for the job. A new tool may have a significant benefit in a particular situation
