For your yards do most of you guys have roadbed or just attach the track to the sub-roadbed. This will be a visible yard/staging area. I will most likely use plywood for the subroad bed. What do you guys have on your layouts and why?
OK, just read your user id - cool!
For the next layout, I will use either cork (big wide sheet) or WS foam bed Super Sheets. rather than individual road-bed strips. I intend to trim, bevel, etc. as needed before adding ballast.
This all remains to be seen, as I have been very guilty of several Q&D railroads (OPERATIONS! - man) with only track, wires, and trains!
I will do this for several reasons:
- quiet the railroad down… even N-Scale can be loud on wood (massive, mondo trains)
- realistic appearance
- gain valuable experience with ballasting, etc.
HTH --Ed
What I did was to use Homasote for the whole yard. This allowed you to reposition the track as needed. Homasote allows you to do the scenery also.
Mike Dickinson ELHS#837
Hey thanks.
Your the first one to say anything about it.[:)]
So the cork sheets how thick are those how high if you were to lay them flat. Are they alot thinner than the individual cork sheets made now?
I am using the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed for my layout. I use the HO under my main lines (the layout is HO scale), and the N scale stuff under sidings, with a transition in between, shimmed with cardboard so it’s not a sudden drop-off. Under my yard, I am using the N scale WS foam sheets, basically paving the entire yard area with sheets of foam.
The height difference between the main and sidings may not exactly match prototypical practice, but the effect is nice, and you CAN see it, at least when the layout height is up around 48" so you’re not looking down on everything.
–Randy
Huh you use the WS stuff throughout your layout. It would be my guess that it would be really expensive compaired to other things.
I used the individual strips of cork in the past but this time, I am going to buy some wider sheets and then add the strips to the outside edges.
The roadbed is no more expensive than cork, and is quieter and MUCH easier to use, especially if you get the 24’ rolls, I can put down long runs all at one time since I don’t have to piece 3’ sections together. Plus no seams makes is smoother. I don’t pay retail, either, even though I DO buy from my LHS. My shop gives a reasonable discount - thus I continue to shop there.
Also look at it this way. I use extruded foam for the benchwork - compare the price of that to quality plywood. The savings there more than offsets the difference between cork and WS foam roadbed.
–Randy
My yard will sit on a 1" extruded foam base and the main line through the yard will sit on cork.
I use sheet cork under my yards, and I cut all of my roadbet out of sheet cork. It is cheaper than the pre-cut stuff and when I cut the edges square I get a better looking result from my ballast. You can buy the stuff at most home building stores as well as at carpet/flooring stores. My local building supplier carries it in 1/8" and 3/16" thicknesses. I use both–3/16" for mainline and 1/8" for sidings and industries (this is in N scale).
Ron
I’ve used cork sheets in the past but will use homasoate for the new layout. The main will be on cork or Woodland Scenics (WS) roadbed going past the yard. I’m planning on using cardboard and/or masking tape to build up the transition between the two levels.
I have a small yard directly adjacent to the double-track main. I use regular HO cork for the mainline and N-scale cork strips for the yard tracks. As someone above just stated, the difference is not startling but just enough to distingui***he main from the yard. I used a short section of a tapered wood shim for the height transition on the lead.
My layout is under construction, and I plan on useing Homasote for the classification yard, and where the main parallels the yard, either cork roadbed or more homasote. Small town yards are set slightly lower then the main, and are on Homasote.
I used 4 x8 sheets of Homasote, glued (with nearly a gallon of Weldwood contact cement) atop 1/2 inch plywood, for the entire yard but after the track (O-scale, hand laid) was finished I felt it was too flat – no drainage, dontcha know – so I laboriously carved (with X-Acto knives) shallow drainage trenches along side each track (to avoid imagined standing puddles after imagined rainstorms). Next time I will trim the Homasote into individual strips and shape shallow shoulders with a rasp before gluing it to the plywood.
I used foam rubber sheet on mine. It’s quiet, easy to work with.
Since I live in the south and Homasote is not only hard to find, it’s outragously expensive, I’m going with 1/2 " MDF ( Medium Density Fiberboard). It’s a little harder but more rigid than Homasote,still holds nails easily ( can push in with pliers) and although would hold well on its own support I still use a 3/8" plywood under it for support across open grid benchwork with cross braces every 16-18".
For staging yards I’ll just nail the track direct to the sub-bed, for scenicked yards I use a dark brown MDF and will groom the ballast for drainage separations…another trick is to lay some shirtbox cardboard under the track for a higher profile.
After much inquiry, I went with 2" extruded foam, much to my delight. It is very supportive, easily attached to benchwork with foam-friendly caulk, can be easily carved into landscape(ditches, etc.); foam tack glue holds cork bed very well to foam; 5/8" nails hold well. Because the foam is too thick for the length of the Turtle motor push wires to reach the surface, I mount the motor on 1/8" aircraft ply and glue it in a recess I’ve cut up into the foam. Sounds messy but if a 68-yr old can do, you can too! When I run into a wooden bench suport I run a Turtle extension link horizontally and hook up where convenient.
This is my first foray into HO (formerly O) so I’m “plodding” slowly. I’ve already installed full cork in the yards (of course, it does not look protypical); the idea of thinner bed in the yards sounds like a good idea. May switch. The black Landscape foam looks workable. WallyChooChoo
On my layout extension (phase2) I use the 12’’ x 24" Woodland scenic foam road bed for my yard area…My main line is on the same level as the yard since I am modeling a short line running on a former ranch line.I only needed 6 pieces to fill the yard area since my layout extensions will be a foot wide and round the walls type…I am not sure of what type of road bed I will be using on the next 2 sections.-BTW…Each section is 10’ long…
Reading the earlier postings I find that cork and foam are very popular. I, on the other hand, use quarter inch plywood on top of half inch plywood for yards and engine terminals. Quarter inch ply is exactly the same elevation as cork which I use under my mainlines. I lay the cork supported mainline up to the yard and butt it to the plywood. I spike the yard track directly to the plywood since I don’t want a ballast shoulder in the yards or engine terminals. The two advantages of this system are strength and cheapness. You get three quarters of an inch of plywood under your yards and the material is very stable regarding changes of temp and humidity. A local cabinet maker gives me his scrap luan plywood in handy sized chunks so the cost in nil. After laying the track I spray it with Rustoleum ruddy red primer and add dirt and gravel ballast over diluted white glue, taking care to keep paint and glue out of switch points. This makes for a nice grunge look. Spray engine terminal track and ground cover with flat black to simulate locomotive grease on the ground.
I actually broke with etiquette and laid my spurs and low-traffic sections directly on the plywood. If you look at old sidings, the track has sunk to ground level, and for the most part, there is no drainage or carefully maintained ballast since the industries served can’t or don’t deal with the cost involved.
As far as the noise issue, since no trains would move very fast on a siding or spur anyway, what does it matter? I never did see what the big deal with that was all about. The main line is a different story of course.
Using Homosote as the subroadbed would be a good idea, since it allows you to nail the track down easily before you ballast it.