I’m soon going to lay down my trackbed and wonder, is Woodland Scenics HO trackbed good or bad? The importent thing for me is quiet and smooth operation. Have anyone here used this trackbed? Is there better things to use?
I used it in a small foam section and like it. It was glued to the foam foundation with Aileens Tacky Glue (the thick type in the purple bottle at Wally World, will save you $$$ over WS glue) and the track was glued to the roadbed with the same. This makes ballasting easy!
I just tried it and liked it. I have used milled pine, and cork. This was better than both. I glued it with caulk from Menards. When I learned to used little enough it was easy. I layed it on plywood and glued some track and nailed the rest. The nailing was easier. It is quieter than cork but not much. It bends nice through 18 " and I just cut turnout blocks. When I got it wrong, it easily pryed up with a plastic putty knife. I didn’t compare price, because it is what I wanted and its what I will do expansions with.
I’m using it for my layout. I don’t have much to compare it with other than 40-year-old memories of cork. This is easier, and I think it’s more “forgiving” than cork. It comes pre-scored down the middle, so you can easily cut the rest of the way through to make it easier to run around curves. At my LHS, I think it was cheaper than either regular cork or spline.
I used it. Found it very easy to work with, and I was able to take some of it back off the layout pretty easily when I needed to make some “adjustments”.
I used it on my layout and am pleased with it. It is easy to work with and easily bends for curves. I glued it to a foam base with WS cement.
I love the stuff. The big rolls are great, fewer seams = smoother roadbed = smoother trackwork. I use the HO stuff under my (HO) main, and the N scale stuff under sidings with a short transition grade, gives a great effect. I fasten everything with cheap latex caulk. Roadbed to the foam base - caulk. Track to the roadbed - caulk. I can’t imagine anything else being as fast and easy. And cheap - the tubes are like $1.99 and I ran everything but my yard on one tube so far. I’m sold.
–Randy
Randy:
I looked at some pictures at your webpage, the ws trackbed looks really nice. One question, you have n scale trackbed at the sidings, this is lower and that’s good but I don’t understand how you solved the different height without a ‘bump’ in the track. Can you please explain?
I cut some carboard from cereal boxes to build up a gradual ramp down. The N scale roadbed starts immediately, but directly adjacent tot he end of the HO scale stuff, it’s sitting on enough layers of cardboard to be at the same level. Over a car length or so, this decrease until the N scale roadbed is sitting on the foam base all by itself.
The biggest loco we have is a PRR M1, and it does not lift off the rails or tilt when entering the sidings. Nor do any of a number of GG1’s.
The yard area I am currently working on will be paved over so to speak with the wide strips of N scale track-bed, rather than have individual strips of the regular N scale stuff.
–Randy
Electrolove, the track in the pic of the SD7 is Woodland Scenics Foam. It’s heavily ballasted but the dark color is great if any shows thru the ballast. A light grey ballast looks great on it too. If I were doing it all again, I’d probably use foam roadbed exclusively.
grande man:
Looks great with that trackbed! Very nice picture.
Randy:
Ok, now I understand, there is not much difference in the thickness between the HO and N scale trackbed, right? Do you have a picture of the gradual ramp, before ballasting to share, would be nice.
I want to thank you all for answering this question so nicely. This forum is incredible. I’m going to use WS trackbed and glue it down with caulk. Thanks again [:D]
Sorry, I don’t. I always remember to take pictures AFTER I glued it down. Or neatened up all the wiring in the DCC install. At some point I will be expanding the layout and doing a lot more roadbed, but who knows when.
–Randy
Randy, it’s ok 
Thanks
isnt that stuff a soft foamy material? if so what happens when you use bright boy to clean ballasted track? does it compress and break ballast loose? I have seen the stuff but never tried it, I enjoy the cork.
Nope, doesn’t break loose. I haven’t ballasted the main layout yet, but I did do my test section, two different ways. On one part I tried the usual glue/water with detergent, didn’t like it. On the other part I mixed the glue with 70% rubbing alcohol - MUCH better flow, less disturbance on the loose ballast. And that piece gets set up, stood up on end, moved all around - nothing has fallen off or broken loose to date. I even poked at it with my finger to see if it would flex and flake off - nope, at least not at any reasonable pressure. I’m sure if I really tried I could peel it off, but then why would you be doing that to your layout?
–Randy
Randy, why did you go to N gauge roadbed, why not stay with HO in yard?
Lower profile - take a look at real sidings, they tend to sit lower than the mains. I’m not interested in micrometer precisions - the difference in height of the HO and N scale roadbeds is enough to give the effect. If I don;t already have a picture of it, I will try to remember to take one during my next update, with a car or two on a siding with a train on the main behind it. I think it looks great like that.
–Randy