Agreed.
I glue down my track, but considering I hand layed track for years gluing individual ties onto homasote, gluing down flex tack is not as revolutionary as some think. But even there I part from the crowd. I don’t use simple painters caulk like many do.
I use PolySeamSeal adhesive caulk which also largely seals the homasote.
And no, you are not peeling the track up and reusing it.
So please point out the advantages of foam, because I don’t see any.
of course, if none of these are important or of value to you, then it’s easy to understand why you prefer other materials
Weight and portability. My layout is 2” foam on 1/4” plywood over 1”x2” joists on approximately 16” centers, which I can lean on without damage to the scenic base. I use cork roadbed, gluing it and the track down with yellow carpenter’s glue.
I’ve done Homasote on plywood subroadbed, and it definitely works. But, foam construction is what works better for me. You do you.
DFF
The single drawback of being fragile/soft out weighs the few of those advantages that might have value. I build all my rolling terrain as hard shell scenery over open grid benchwork. I only use table top construction for places where the scenery is generally level.
Some percentage of my scenery has hidden track below so open grid with hard shell provides better access to that trackage.
Weight is not a factor, the layout cannot be moved easily even if it was sectioned up.
I have worked with wood and power tools all my life, those fa tirs related to cutting, weight, tools are meaningless to me.
Foam is messy in a way I don’t like.
Sheldon
Everything is a trade off. Thick foam based subroadbed complicates under mount switch machines (about 50 of them) and is too soft to mount my home made slide switch ground throws (about 50 of these also).
I know a lot of modern layouts are shelf types where access is easier. I know lots of people avoid hidden track, but that’s not the layout I want, so the older methods are better. Most of my scenery is 3-4 feet deep, even though most of the track is in the front 24-30 inches.
My train room is temperature and humidity stable year round, occupied or not.
Again, I will show this picture, open grid with hard shell
construction for any areas where others would “stack and carve foam”.
Here is a shot of some new benchwork under construction, there will not be much table top in this area.
This peninsula is over 8 feet across for the 40" radius curves.
The tabletop section against the wall is 4’ deep.
Sheldon
Sorry to hear, Midwest Cork roadbed is my fav. Seem to recall something rubber like mixed into cork roadbed during the so called ‘cork shortage,’ around 2013. Made the roadbed stiffer and negatively affected the sand-ability. I’ve some in my ‘fiddle yard’, not ballasted, but painted and it’s all good. I think key to cork surviving the long haul is sealing it, whether by glued ballast or some other coating.
Regards, Peter
If every person waited until they could build a layout in an ideal environment there’d be a lot less Model Railroaders and lot less fun and learning being had.
Regards, Peter
So OK, do whatever you think is best in your situation.
All I did was recommend an alternative that has a 60 plus year track record of mostly happy successful users - only to be challenged.
So Greg, the problems at this club - was it whole sheets? Commercial strip roadbed? Strip roadbed they made?
If I have seen one layout built with homasote, I have seen 300. None of my friends have had any issues. A few of them did paint the homasote, most did not. I am talking a 40-50 year history of model train layouts.
Sheldon
Hello All,
I’m relatively new in returning to this great hobby so I don’t have any preconceptions of track, roadbed, base material and construction methods.
That being said…
In my previous occupation, I worked with cellulose-based fiber wall board, A.K.A.- -Homasote®.
Because of my previous experiences with this material I swore I would never use it in any form.
With my first foray into this hobby in the early 1970s, cork roadbed had a reputation for drying and disintegrating unless “sealed.”
My current 4’x8’ HO pike must sit on top of the spare bed in the computer/train/spare bedroom.
This was dictated by “She Who Must Be Obeyed” along with the size- -with no possibility of future expansion.
The construction is open grid with no legs. Over this is 1/4" plywood supporting Blue XPS foam.
This creates a three-sided walk around with a 4’ end against the wall. I have no need for the pike to support my weight without damage
I use Woodland Scenics foam roadbed held in place with GE Silicone I or II caulk- -yeah, that’s another hotly contested topic.
When track re-alignments are needed, the caulk allows the foam roadbed to be easily removed from the foam base without damage to either.
I solder the rail joiners and feeders to the track and have no issues with the foam roadbed melting.
If you are applying that much heat to the solder joints, the plastic ties are more likely to melt before the foam underneath.
For ballast adhesion, I use a discontinued powdered resin glue.
A similar product is available by the brand name of “Ballast Magic” from Delux Materials.
The powdered adhesive is mixed with the dry ballast, applied by your favorite method, then sprayed with “wet water” to activate the adhesive.
By using this product to adhere the ballast, it creates a hard shell over the foam roadbed and provides rigidity for things like super elevation without track deflection.
To remove the ballast, I soak the area with “wet water” just as you would with white or yellow glue.
To paraphrase a Monty Python skit,
“My method, that I use- -that is to say which is mine- -is mine.”
Hope this helps.
Post Script: Full disclosure, we live at 10.430’ (3,179m). Even in the summer, relative humidity, is approximately 20%. If the temperature ever reaches 90ºƒ it will break records since they have been kept.
H.T.H., J.J.D.I.
I don’t think anyone is intentionally challenging anyone or any idea here. I think we all agree that there is no one way to build a model railroad. For you, foam is messy. To me, mixing plaster is messy. And, weight is a concern for me, because, if something happens to me, I don’t want my family to be stuck cutting up and hauling hundreds of pounds of plaster out of the basement.
Keep in mind that the only reason that I responded was because you asked for the advantages of foam. I had no intention of starting a debate or belittling anyone. As I said in my prior post, “You do you.” Your method clearly works for you, and it works well for you. My method works well for me. Nobody here is going to convince anyone to change the means in which they build their layout.
DFF
Dave, I was not referring to any of your comments.
i believe it was a yard area, so probably sheets.
the club building at the fairgrounds, may not have been heated that well at that time. Since then, electric heaters are installed to maintain temps in the winter (the county pays the electric, but not the oil bill)
So what are the other choices? I’m not laying my 25’ long, 8 track yard directly on foam.
So it will be homasote just like every other one I have built.
You know some area do not have homasote in s .you have to order it then set amount
And in some areas rigid foam is hard to buy, so what?
Only a few places around here stock Homasote, but it can be had. Sometimes you just have to drive across town.
These days you will not find it in the “box stores”, you have to go to a “real” building supply company.
Sheldon
I have always used cork mostly from Midwest. It works well for me. I especially like how easily my surform plane smooths it at the joints.
For my current S scale layout I am using N scale (instead of HO) because it is 1/8" thick which is closer to what the Maryland and Pennsylvania RR used.
I bought 6 boxes a few years ago so the current shortage is not a problem.
I haven’t tried other types, but other people like them. So they must work for them.
Paul
When I was building my first layout (a spare bedroom size) I decided to use homasote road bed and ordered a bunch from ‘California Roadbed’. After waiting about 2 months for my order I gave up and bought/installed cork roadbed.
For layout #2 I used 1/2" homesote sheets for the roadbed in the main yard and loco service areas. Unfortunately I found the homasote sheets were not perfectly flat and I had to spend a lot of time/effort patching/leveling them.
For the new layout I plan to use homasote sheets for the lower and upper return loops (hidden). And I plan to use 1/2 foamular rigid foam for the geographically ‘flat’ areas like the main yard/loco service/passenger station/service/city base/etc.
I still have the homasote roadbed which arrived 3 months after I ordered.
California Roadbed is long ago out of business. He was the second owner of the original “Homabed” company.
The current producer is a completely new company. I have no financial interest in the company but I did speak the ow er before he started the company and offered my thoughts about product sizes and features.
He is making me a batch right now that combined with what I have should be everything I need for the visible portions of the new layout.
What thickness is the excess product you have?
Sheldon
My homasote roadbed is 1/4" thick.
