I am about to purchase the roadbed material for the rebuilding of my layout. I am wondering how people like the Woodland Scenic foam over cork. It looks like it's about the same in price...$17 for 25 pieces of 3' cork and $15 for 36 pieces of 2' foam. I've always used cork in the past. Maybe it's time for this old dog to learn a new trick? BTW, the substrate is 2" insulation foam. Any suggestions? Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.pegnsean.net/~revnjeff
Those that I know that use it seem happy with it. WS foam is a bit quieter than cork. Because I used MDF as my base, I am using AMI. If I had used other materials like foam, I would have used the WS foam road bed.
As I have posted recently, I like cork roadbed on masonite spline....a nice solid base for the track. The cork we use at NWNTRAK is from rolls available at Home Depot or Menards (home improvement stores in Chicago area). It is less expensive than commercial products and we like the way it works better. Commercial roadbed has beveled edges for the ballast slope. I have always had a hard time getting the ballast to stick to the cork bevel in a uniform and convincing manner. It is easier to let the ballast form the slope by cutting the cork the width of the N Scale flex track ties (we use 5/8" wide). You can form a very uniform and sharp edged ballast slope, forming it much the same way the prototype does in real life. We lay the cork in one strip using artist's matt medium as an adhesive for both the cork and the flex track. There are two thicknesses of cork available... the cork on the huge rolls in bulk is thicker than the cork we use which comes in bagged rolls. Both are usable, although I prefer the thinner variety. Charlie
Hi Jeff, If you're on a budget like me, give the WS a try. I thought it looked convincing on the display at the local HS. I will be using it on my layout so if you go this route, keep us informed as to how you like it and what you did with it. Charlie makes a very valid point but in my case my layout is too small to warrant the use of masonite spline. So with that in mine, I'll be using the WS products.
Jeff. I am using the Woodland Scenic Foam Roadbed and wished I had never heard of it. I finished laying 1 complete round of my double main line track. I used the white glue to fasten it to the styrafoam and the track to the roadbed. After about 2 weeks, any stress point in the rail pulled off the roadbed. Upon checking I discovered that the white glue does not hold on foam. Even the foam is comming loose from the tabletop styrafoam. I am going to have to find something else. Maybe liquid nails.
I'm using the WS roadbed on plywood, glued with white glue, and haven't had any problems with it coming loose (yet). Jesper
Sorry to hear of the trouble Telegrapher but thanks for the post. I'll wait to see how others do with it before I buy it. Maybe I'll just go back to cork.
charlie i'm getting ready to build a yard for the heritage group and was wondering how big these cork rolls are. the yard is going to be total 20' and have 3-4 yard tracks for each line besides the mains. my next dilema will be using either atlas custom lines or go with pecos with the sprung points.
Thanks for all the input so far. I too have had trouble with white glue and insulation foam. I would use liquid nails even with the cork. I know some folks swear by a hot glue gun, but any efforts I have had with that leave major lumpiness (not a good thing for track laying). Still debating, but nothing on the pro-cork side seems to be too convincing right now. Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.pegnsean.net/~revnjeff
But a layout is never too small to benefit from spline roadbed! I built a 4'x7' layout for a hobby shop, and used spline roadbed for it. Traditional plywood tops give a sturdy roadbed surface, but are more difficult to shape sceneray around the track and be able to stay away from plywood plains. A solid foam surface makes scenery contouring easy, but also makes it easy to set an elbow on the track and cause a dip. Spline roadbed isn't that much harder or time consuming to do, and combines the best of both worlds, hard track surface and easy contouring!
I have been using white glue to bond cork and extruded styrofoam for over 20 years wirh absolutely no problems. Could it be because I use only small amounts and pin the stuff together for a day. before doing more.
I use a product found at Lowe's called Rubatex. It is a 2" wide black foam strip 25'-30' long that has an adhesive on one side. I use it for my roadbed. I lay it down, and then nail the track every foot or so. After I ballast the track, I will remove the nails. It costs about $5.00(US). BTW, It also bends easily to go around curves as sharp as 9" radius. It cuts easily into strips for single track lines or use it full width for double track.
My layout uses WS foam glued down to a 2" foam base- I've used white glue with no real problems. I'e glued foam to wood with Liquid Nails, so perhaps I may look at LN for an adhesive. Jeff- I'd definitely consider the WS stuff. IMHO, trains run quieter.
To answer neighboring Heritage NTRAK Clubmember's question.... The cork in bagged rolls is about 24" wide.... for a major yard I think I would use the bulk roll cork (which is 48" wide by as long as you want it).... the extra thickness would not be a problem for a yard where the entire footprint of the yard is covered. You could still use the thinner stuff for the mainline on top of the thicker cork base. Contact me off list cvlk@attbi.... I would like to extend an invitation to you guys! Charlie
Hi Mike, Thanks for the insight. I always figured spine was for the big layouts. I never considered it for anything small but your comments are compelling so I will look into this. Thanks also to Charlie for your wisdom! You guys are making me grow!
RevnJeff, go with the WS roadbed. I've had VERY good results with it. Telagrapher, glue the WS foam roadbed down with the WS Tack Glue. I use that, and it works great! And, you can pull up the roadbed easily if you want to make any changes.
Hi Jeff! I use thre WS type over my 2 inch foam base. It works quite nicely for me and makes things quieter (sp?). [ 02. September 2002, 15:00: Message edited by: ROMAFERN ]
