Cork or Foam roadbed?

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It really is a matter of personal preference. Ive noticed that if someone has been in the hobby for years and years, they tend to lean towards cork over foam, and i think its just because that is what they have used for years on there model railroad empires and thats what works for them and there used to working with.....

most of the new guys who have just come into the hobby in the past decade (like me, started about 5 years ago) or so tend to lean towards foam, but dont get me wrong, plenty of people use cork and love it. I happen to be a foam roadbed guy, never tried cork so i cant say anything about it, i just chose to go with foam when i started in the hobby. My grandpa on the other hand, who had built a layout serveral years ago when i was about 2 or 3, used cork and thats what he told me he would use if he ever built another layout, just because he knows how to work with it and it works for him. So in the end, yes, it really is a matter of personal preference, both work just as well as the other.... :D
 
Neither, I use homasote. For hand laying track it's hard to beat homasote. Cork dries out over time and is in my opinion anyway a bit noisey, and foam melts when exposed to a soldering iron or solvents. Homasote is quiet, durable, holds nails well, is not succeptable to heat, aging, or solvents, and in the long run is cheaper.
 
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Overall, I prefer cork. I've had issues with foam (tried both when I started my home layout) but that could just be me and/or the way I do things. For one thing I like to nail my track and it's very hard to nail consistently on the foam. I also couldn't get the foam to glue down consistently, but could be I wasn't using the right glue. Still, I had more trouble getting it to lay flat on curves. I also put my sidings on my tabletop (lower than the mainlines) and use a sander to create the grade ....you can't do that with foam. The foam DOES seem quieter. One place I use foam is on my NTRAK modules.....I still prefer cork, but I use 3 inches of foam at each end of each line....the "give" of the foam minimizes problems with variations between modules.
 
I'm in the foam crowd. I'm sure cork is fine but I see it as being similar to NCE or Digitrax. Foam is very pliable and easy to work with. I haven't tried cork and I'm sure it would be a great back-up :D
 
If you do decide to go with foam if you split it down the middle when laying curves (it is pre slit jut pulls apart) it is alot easier to get it to lay flat on curves. Also if you glue it down (I would think it would eventually rip if you tried it with nails) you can sand foam to meet transitions with cork, sidings, etc.
 
Well, thanks for all the opinions, I may just see it I can get a hold of a little of each and see which I prefer since the consensus seems to learn towards the users preference. Thanks...:cool:
 
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Cork here. Some people like Homasote but the one thing usually not mentioned when a thread like this comes up is Homasote if untreated/sealed will swell and come apart in moisture. After all, it's a pressed paper product. And not every one lives in a desert climate or has a dehumidifier. And depending on what you do for ballasting methods the mositure from that will tend to make the Homasote come apart or turn soft as well. I've never had cork dry out and lose spikes or track nails.
 
I used to use nothing but cork but Woodland Scenics foam roadbed converted me. It's easy to lay, takes latex caulk as a glue for both the roadbed and the track, and is much quieter than cork roadbed. I have had problems with cork getting dry and splitting. Since I don't use track nails except to hold the track in place temporarily until the caulk dries, the need for a good spiking surface goes away. If I was handlaying track, cork would obviously still be the material of choice.
 
jackn2mpu said:
Cork here. Some people like Homasote but the one thing usually not mentioned when a thread like this comes up is Homasote if untreated/sealed will swell and come apart in moisture. After all, it's a pressed paper product. And not every one lives in a desert climate or has a dehumidifier. And depending on what you do for ballasting methods the mositure from that will tend to make the Homasote come apart or turn soft as well. I've never had cork dry out and lose spikes or track nails.
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I live in Houston, with the layout being located in my garage. Needless to say expansion and humidity are my daily bane. I find that by painting the homasote, both roadbed and table top with a good quality paint before scenicing or ballasting, the problem of swelling and softening are non-issues. Thats another plus to homasote, the heat expansion/contraction is minimal as it is an insulator to begin with. I guess it comes down to what you expect your roadbed to endure. Mine must endure heat, humidity, chemicals and hand layed track. All of these factors are rough on a road surface as well as a table top.
 
I've found that cork can take a beating where foam can be depressed with "over zealous track cleaning" and loosen the ballast. Observations from the club layout.
 
Well I decided to go "old school" on my first layout and nail down some cork roadbed. I really suck at laying roadbed under turnouts, but it will have to do for my first layout...:D

I will try foam on my next layout when I decide to expand my first:D one...
 
I've used foam, but like the cork better as it can be removed with relative ease. I lay mine on pink foam using either elmers glue or caulk spread thin. Doing it like this, I use small nails to hold it in place till it sets and you can easily remove the cork at anytime using a putty knife and its reusable.:cool:
 
Screwjack said:
Well I decided to go "old school" on my first layout and nail down some cork roadbed. I really suck at laying roadbed under turnouts, but it will have to do for my first layout...:D

I will try foam on my next layout when I decide to expand my first:D one...
Click to expand...
Itty Bitty Lines makes preformed cork pieces to go under turnouts. One piece and it's done. Mates well with Midwest Supplies cork which is what I'm using on the HO layout I'm building now. I glue mine down with hot melt glue, which, if you know EXACTLY where you want your roadbed to go allows one to lay cork quickly. Full strength caulk also works well, but sets slower and requires weight to hold the cork in place for some time.
 


I have used cork, but on my present layout I used Homasote. I don't know if the manufacturer is still in business, but the brand is "Homabed". Thought I was always going to use cork until I tried this. It's so much easier to work with.
 
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