roadbed

emt49

Member
ok i got all my bench work done this weekend for my HO layout and all i can say wow its bigger than i thought .its 11' by 11' overall mesurements with a 5'hole in the centerand the bench work is 3feet wide. i will post pics in the gauge party #5 when i can probly next weekend


but this is what i need to ask on top of my wooden bench work i put 1" blue foam do i still need to put roadbed under my track i am using ws foam roadbed and will be using there riser system also?

one more qustion how do you guys put your track lines on the foam to plan your track on your layout. so when you put it down its right the frist time ?
i look at all the layout room i have and i got mind boggeld as how to start.

i planded it out on paper but when you see it in real life its like wow ok were and how do i start.
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
You do not need roadbed (foam or cork) on the blue foam if you do not want. Finely maintained raised roadbed is prototypical for main lines, but many branches and sidings do not seem to have any (it's there of course, but under weeds and grass, and sunk into the ground). Sidings are also sometimes lower, so you can model that by sloping down from the mainline on its high roadbed to none at all. Yards are "all roadbed" with some allowances for drainage. So it is really up to you how you'd like things to appear.

I would use roadbed on the risers, or at least cover them with something before putting on the track, since they have gaps in them that allow them to flex, and you can not afford to fill them up with ballast ;).

To fix the roadbed in place wherever you want to use it, you can try adhesive caulking. Spread a very thin layer with a tiling trowel (the kind with little notches in the end) and press the raodbed into it. Once that is dry, do the same for the track. I would start with the turnouts, and then you can cut the rest (roadbed and flex track) to fit in between.

Hope that helps.

Andrew
 

emt49

Member
so what you are saying is only put roadbed under the main line and were the risers are other than that just glue right to the foam with out roadbed and balist? how do i handle the lip going from nonroadbed to roadbed and back this wont derail a train ?
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
emt...

You will have to shim the roadbed, or (if it was cork) you could sand it. In this case, I would cut a sliver of the blue foam from some leftover bits and use that. The change should be gradual, and you should also not interfere with any turnouts (i.e. no change in slope under a turnout). I suggested this only because you asked if you should use roadbed or not - the answer is yes... :rolleyes: :D

Another option is to forget the foam roadbed altogether, and lay all the track right on the foam. If you want ditches, etc, along your mainline, you can just carve them right into the foam.

That's the problem with model railroading - there is always more than one "right" answer...! ;)

Hope this (still) helps.

Andrew
 
Interesting article in this month's MR where a guy used N-gauge roadbed for a lower (but still raised) profile. Had to add a strip down the center to get the right width, so struck me as more trouble than it's worth, but...

For my own part, I use "liquid nails" adhesive in caulk-style tubes to hold down the roadbed. Just lay a bead down the centerline, mash the roadbed down to spread it out, voila. Works great for me.
 

emt49

Member
MasonJar said:
emt...

You will have to shim the roadbed, or (if it was cork) you could sand it. In this case, I would cut a sliver of the blue foam from some leftover bits and use that. The change should be gradual, and you should also not interfere with any turnouts (i.e. no change in slope under a turnout). I suggested this only because you asked if you should use roadbed or not - the answer is yes... :rolleyes: :D

Another option is to forget the foam roadbed altogether, and lay all the track right on the foam. If you want ditches, etc, along your mainline, you can just carve them right into the foam.

That's the problem with model railroading - there is always more than one "right" answer...! ;)

Hope this (still) helps.

Andrew


yup thank for the help and i guess i woulda figured out the shim part along the way it just didnt come to me whin i typed the last response :thumb:
 
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