I'm building a new layout and am inclined to build my yard area directly on particle board rather than buying a lot of sheet cork that will just be covered with scenic materials anyway. What are the pros and cons? Alternatives? And if I do go this way, how do I transition from cork roadbed down to the surface of the particle board? I haven't seen any "transition pieces" offered by the roadbed vendors. Thanks in advance for your advice. Dan
Dan: I put the main line on cork and the yards/sidings flat on the board. (I use construction insulation foam sheets for a base.) I shimmed or "ramped" down in two ways. First, I used the shims sold in hardware stores for installing doors. They are about one foot long and one inch wide; one-fourth inch on one end and taper down to nothing on the other end. Second method (and a better one), I used the construction foam in a thin sheet and just sanded it to the taper that I wanted.. This only took about one minute to sand down as the foam is readily shaped. Maybe someone has a picture of their method. I do not, because, as you say, it is all covered by scenery at the end. I believe that this would work equally well for both HO and N scale. I see you are in Belmont, CA. Come to the Belmont Shore Open House today (Saturday) and tomorrow at Angel's Gate Park in San Pedro. Lots of N scale to see and a lot of info on construction. Hope to see you there. Flash Blackman San Antonio, Texas
You can also use a 'construction' foam board available at any arts and crafts supply store. It comes in 4 x 8 ft. sheets and in several thicknesses. It has a nice smoothe surface on each side and the foam interior muffles wheel to rail noise very well. I have used this stuff for my mainline roadbed for years without any problem.
I've used expandable foam. With the cork or other roadbed in place, simply attach some wax paper to one side of a piece of wood, if the track will be curved I use a piece of plywood cut to the curve. Spray the expandable foam and cover immediately with the wood, fasten it down with weight or screws. Wait a half hour or so and remove the wood, sand the surface smooth and you are all set. You can make the transistion several feet long this way. Gary
I found that door shims are too much transition. To steep. They will cause your trains to uncouple. Unless you're modeling N or Z scale. The door shims might work with those scales.
I was able to find some door shims with a less severe grade - 1/4" in about 18". My transition is on a slight curve, so I had to cut the shims into 3" sections and make the turn in sections. All in all it works fine; trains run smoothly over it with no uncoupling problems. Thanks to everyone for some great suggestions. Dan
Try the masking tape method. It is also great for superelevating the outside rail on long curves. Cut long strips of masking tape into 1/8" (for curves) to 1/4" strips. Lay the strips on the roadbed under the rails for the length you'll need for the taper. Repeat with another strip on top of it, leaving it short a couple of inches. Repeat until you achieve the desired heighth of the taper, making sure to start each strip of tape a few inches back from the one directly below it (on curves, lay them under the outside rail only, leaving a few inches of the previous layer at both ends). Lay your track, pin it down, and test it before ballasting and gluing.
<font color="336633">I have used MDF as a baseboard with no real problems, its cheap and easy to use, only drawback is if you want deep ballast slopes then you will have to use a roadbed of some kind.</font>
