N scale track with built in plastic roadbed?????

But if you go gluing down ballast on top of it and wedging it down into the foam, you're going to have the same mess when you go to pull it apart.

all im doing is counter sinking the track into the base, the ballast is only clued to the foam, no glue ever touches the track. this way the only thing i have to throw out is the foam, witch is cheap, and im not throwing out 300.00 to 600.00 worth of track each time i go to start a new layout.
 

pikeyser

New Member
Double the track radius to get the 180 degree turn

Hello everyone,
I have been using Kato Unitrack for about a year. People who enjoy ultra realism will not be happy with any track that comes with its own road bed. The plastic roadbeds can probably be airbrushed. I have rearranged my track several times and the connections always seem tight. The turnouts are also very reliable. I have a little trouble with 2-8-4 Berkshire steam engine on just one of my twelve turnouts. None of my diesel locomotives have any problems on my road bed or turnouts.

Kato seems to have enough choices of track radii from 9-3/4 to 28-1/4, with several degree choices for each. This means that a radius of 9-3/4 inches requires 19-1/2 inches total to make the "U" turn. The 28-1/4 inch radius requires 56-1/2 inches to make the "U" turn. Kato also uses different degrees to form the curve. To make a right hand turn, you require 90 degrees. When Kato uses a 45 degree curve, it requires two curved pieces to make the turn. When Kato uses a 15 degree curve, it requires six curved pieces to make the right hand turn. A full circle using 15 degree curves require 24 pieces of track.

I hope this helps. I got a little sloppy in my calculations before my editing. This should be right. Paul
 

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
all im doing is counter sinking the track into the base, the ballast is only clued to the foam, no glue ever touches the track. this way the only thing i have to throw out is the foam, witch is cheap, and im not throwing out 300.00 to 600.00 worth of track each time i go to start a new layout.

OK... I see what you're getting at now.
Still seems like a lot of bother to me. I'd just put down the plastic roadbed and be done with it. Of course, If I had any real modeling talent, I'd be using flex track. :D
 
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