I find myself second guessing myself a lot as I go through the building process of my latest layout - 11x15, two level HO…
For mainline trackage, I’m using the traditional cork roadbed laid over 1/2 inch ply. The mains and lower level are complete, and the combination came out just fine. So now I’m ready to put in the yard and terminal tracks and the industrial sidings.
I originally figured I would cover the areas with 2.5 mm sheet cork. Then, I would then run the tracks on the 5 mm cork roadbed down a slight grade to get to the sheet cork area, and lay the tracks directly on the sheet cork. But as I get ready to do this, I just don’t know if I want those tracks on “ground level”.
Soooo, now I’m thinking I will put those tracks on a second layer of 2.5 mm sheet cork (cut the width of the trackage), which will negate the need for the grades, and yet place those tracks 2.5 mm above the “ground level”.
Where are you finding sheet cork? I always thought that you could get it at a flooring place, but none of them around here seem to carry it. And I haven’t found it at Lowes or Home Depot either.
I did the same thing you’re thinking about doing, and, I did not like the look of the tracks on ground level. So, I used a box cutter to make two cuts in the cork along the track on each side. I then removed the cork by using the blade of a screwdriver like a scraper, which created a groove along the tracks that kind of looked like the tracks were on roadbed. The ballast filled in the groove but left a depression deep enough to give some depth to the side of the rails/roadbed. Not deep enough to look like mainline roadbed, but not completely flat either. Kind of looked like a shallow drainage ditch. Try that along a short portion of track to see if you like the look. I liked it.
I think the double stacking of the cork should give you a good profile also, like you’re planning to do.
I got sheet cork on sale at Hobby Lobby. Its kind of pricey if its not on sale. It came in a roll but was a real pain to straighten out to lie flat without buckling or tearing in places. Personally, I wouldn’t use it again.
Maxman, I found some cork at my local hobby dealer that he got thru Walthers. It is 8" x 3 '. Might be just what your looking for. Check it out in the Walthers catalog if you have one.
Thanks. I just checked the Walthers on-line catalog and I see that they have some sheets about 12 x 36 inches, regular price $9.00. I was hoping to get a lead on some generic stuff that they use as floor underlayment, thinking that it might be a little less expensive. But I can’t find anyone that has it so I can compare cost.
Mobilman 44, that’s what I used for my yard. I bought rolls of 1/8" cork at AC Moore and covered the area for the yard, and used wood shims to transition from the main. DJ.
Thanks for the vote of confidence. At age 66, I am fairly certain this will be my last layout and I want to do it “right” - at least right for me.
My previous layout (11x15, HO, two level) was built in 1993/4 and I used 1/8 inch cork for a yard/terminal base and did the inclines down from the traditional cork roadbed. Frankly, it was a pain as most of the inclines had turnouts on them and a lot of adjustments were needed to prevent derailments. That sheet cork was bought at Lowes (or possibly Home Depot).
For this layout, I quickly found that Lowes/HD didn’t have any sheet cork, but the office supply stores did. I got mine at Office Depot, and its called “finegrain corkroll”, and is 3/32 x24 x48 inches and while I forget the price, it wasn’t cheap.
One note of caution… there are many different thicknesses of sheet cork. It is a good idea (in my case anyway) to have them the same. In any case, be aware of the thickness.
I am using the 5"(6"?) x 36" midwest cork sheets that are the same material as their roadbed. I don’t cover the entire yard with it, just where I have a lot of parallel tracks (I have some curves and spaces between tracks.). Other places I am using regular roadbed and will fill in the larger spaces with some foam board, which is easy to cut and fit. Once this is glued down it will be easy to fill the gaps and ballast over. Just another method to get to the same end results.
Hi there~ I am new at this and can only tell you that I found the cork needed at a Stationary store, called Staples. The sheet comes in 1/8th thickness and is 2 feet by 4 feet, all rolled up.
The night before I will unwrap it and re-roll it the opposite way to undo the curved cork. In the morning it is usually easier to use. If you don’t you will end up working harder than you should just fighting it.
Staples stationary store sells it for $16 dollars a roll.
Then my wife found herself in Ace’s Hardware store and they have it for $14 per roll.
I am also using the conventional cork road bed which takes a bit more time. But using the 1/8th cork roll, being that I am doing an N-scale layout, well that thin sheet is very helpful for adding that extra trim here and there and making the grades more tolerable for a train going up a steep grade. Its just that finishing touch I was looking for. Cutting the cork is very easy with a pair of sizzors.
One side note, you can buy a thicker sheet of cork on ebay, but its a bit more expensive due to shipping costs, but you will be able to pick your thickness.
That’s the exact sheet cork I used. I could never roll it the opposite way without it tearing or breaking it some way. Even then, it never lost its curve and tend to rise up away from the plywood if there were pockets underneath where I missed spots when spreading the adhesive. You must be better at it than I was.
I would prefer to get the sheet cork flat rather than rolled.
Douglas, and right you are. It is a son of a gun to work with. In no way did I interpret your response as a negative. Neither is my reply. Here’s what I know, what I did, and what I am trying to remember as I gather my thoughts. I know you would rather NOT use it and I couldn’t agree more on the 'flatness of the mateial. Although it did save me some money, (to me anyways) and also time. I have very hard to reach areas that will not be seen deep in the mountains. I have over 100 feet of cork laying in either direction, just to get to the next station. So money was an important factor as well as ease of application for the hard to reach areas. So here we go as I try to recollect my thougths.
The cork I bought at Staples was wrapped only once.
The cork my wife bought at Ace Hardware was double wrapped as if they were trying to keep it from drying out.
I live in extreme dry climate, so my approach was slow, and careful.
I too have noticed the cracks that can develope and would suggest just unraveling the cork and just laying it flat and holding it down with some 2x4’s. To do it all at once might be a bit.
After a spell, later on that day… or the next day I would re-roll it in the opposite way. I have plenty of areas that I can tag team during any phase of my layout building. So waiting another day for the kinks to come out was no problem. If there is anything I have learned is… Take your time. As you can see, in the above pic, it can lay fairly flat.
Cost being a factor of a large layout, I even used the New Improved Elmer’s White glue. When gluing the cork I had noticed the cork taking up the glue. Therefore I rubbed the glue down into the cork and let that sit a bit and
On my previous layout and at the club I used cork roadbed and sheet cork purchased in AC Moore.
Your thoughts of transitioning to the yard panel are perfectly fine I used a sureform file on the roadbed after the glue had set up . I used the same method to transition from the main to the branch lines.
My material of choice now is Homabed,they have taken all that into account for you and provide shims to go form mainline to branch line and or to a yard panel. very very little is requires to make a smooth transition as Homabed is CNC milled to .125 for branch line and .240 for main line. a little more expensive then cork but a really nice product and it saves you a lot of time and money in th elong run but your origianl idea with cork will work fine. I myself fine that most of the time after i get all confused and start suffering form information overload I use what I the idea or material originally intended to.
A year ago I was fortunate enough to find 4 foot wide sheet cork on a roll at one particular Home Depot in my area. They mentioned that they were phasing it out as a regular item- this was spring of 2009.
I know about Office Depot and there is also some at Michael’s Crafts stores, but those are smaller sheets or squares, used for bulletin board-type applications.
I checked Lowes and other homes stores and there is no sheet cork to be found, as I had a year ago.
I am thinking that perhaps home flooring centers or contractor supply stores might be a better option if you are looking for larger and wider sheets of flooring cork…
It worked great for my use (a locomotive servicing yard facility), and I wish I had purchased more at the time when I could get it.
Best of luck!
Cedarwoodron- Minnesota, Sioux Lake & Western Railroad
