I have a bit of a strange question I’m soliciting opinion on.
I’m formalizing the track plan for an 8X10 HO layout. The theme is a short line, and part of the operation has bad track: kinky rail, no ballast profile, weeds, etc. I’ll be building on 2" foam for a general surface. My question is, if you were putting down track where the effect is no ballast profile, would you use a roadbed product anyway, or lay track directly to foam?
I can think of 2 reasons for roadbed: noise abatement, and ease of laying track with respect to adhesives. The big reason against would be having to hide the profile, either by sinking the roadbed into the foam, or by building up the surface with something like foamcore.
I’d use plywood rather than foam, but, in either case, skip the roadbed. Distress your rails and ties as desired, then secure your track to the foam using latex caulk. I’d paint most of the ties to represent ones near the end of their service life, then add plenty of “dirt”, weeds, etc. If the track is as bad as you describe, speeds will be low (5-10mph) and noise is unlikely to be an issue.
The tracks shown below are sidings in good repair, but they are laid directly on the plywood subroadbed. There’s some ballast, some dirt, and a few weeds, but nothing too drastic - don’t want injured employees. [swg]
Here again, all of the track is directly on the plywood, but the main line through this industrial area is ballasted and well-maintained, while the sidings have little ballast and more weeds.
Even if the tracks are now in bad repair they would have been balasted in some way when they were new. You may want to throw some balast in the mix just to simulate this. Also the worn out ties at the end of their life will prolly be a grey color with some black mixed in from the oil dripping off the engines and the creosote that is still in the wood. Using roadbed is your choice, Even in locations like a yard where the balast would be level across all the tracks I use cork sheet as a roadbed. This allows me to bury pushrods for the switches in a much easier material to use. When I am done balasting and setting the track I can decorate between the ties and rails how I need. It works pretty good. The sheets can be bought at your local favorite office supply store, they are the same thickness of the Midwest and Woodland Scenics roadbeds and only cost about $8 for 4 sq feet.
The prototype purpose for raising the railroad above the general terrain level is to encourage proper drainage. Even lines which have gon completely to weeds and wildflowers will show the equivalent of a thickness of cork roadbed above the local terrain level. Those berms persist, without any kind of maintenance, for years after the rails are lifted. (My authority for this statement is the old Rock Island grade parallel to I-40 through Texas and into New Mexico.)
I would raise the main tracks, possibly on N-scale cork or equivalent, then `ballast’ with ground goop and ground foam. Don’t overdue the kinky rail - you still want your rolling stock to stay on the rails. Spurs and yard tracks can go directly on the surface - or, if you’re modeling a certain Conrail yard in Illinois circa 1975, even under the surface. A few tracks, sunk out of sight in the mud, had been embargoed by nailing scrap wood in X pattern to the switch targets. A good-size bush, or even a sapling growing between the rails, would be appropriate for such tracks.
