I’m building a multi-track passenger terminal. What should I use for roadbed? My mainline is on HO cork. Should I transition to an N-scale cork sheet or go all the way down to the foam? If the former would the profile be flat across the tracks or should each one be on N-scale roadbed with dips in between? Any and all suggestions much appreciated. Thanks.
Brad
I did just the opposite. I kept the HO foam roadbed going for the tracks and put the platforms on an adjacent piece of foam roadbed. I turned these pieces upside down so they would sit flush against the track roadbed. This way my platforms are at the correct height in relation to the track and I don’t have to mess with transition tracks. If your station is also at track level, you could put roadbed under that foundation as well or put a sheet of 1/8" extruded foam under it to bring it to the proper level.
American low-level platforms are at or just above railhead height, so the entire area should be level. There should also be level areas at ballast height beyond the platforms if any switching of any kind is to be done, including hand-throwing of turnouts (as done by scale-size railroaders, even if the Tortoise under the roadbed is actually controlled from elsewhere.)
Through passenger terminals were usually aligned for running through at speed. The great named trains of the past blasted right through innumerable intermediate stations, some of which were major terminals for local and intermediate traffic.