I prefer Homasote but have not been able to find it for years, so I end up using cork. I used the Woodland Scenics foam once and it worked OK, but I would like to have the option to spike or nail if I need to. I think it would be very difficult to hand lay track on the foam since there is not enough firmness to put in the spikes and, once again, the spikes would only have the tiny HO tie to seat themselves in. The foam is certainly not going to hold them.Okay, I probably could have found this by searching, but which do you like? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Can you explain in a little more detailI notice you didn't mention plywood but that is what I used for all my roadbed. It is readily available and holds the track well as I used brads to attach the flex track on curves to avoid kinks.
I tend to agree with you on the clikety-clack, particularly for older steam engine layoutsSome don't like the noise of plywood but I think it sounds more like a real train when the wheels go over it, especially at a join where there is a slight gap and you get the clikety clack.
Turn on the volume with this 30 second run by and get an idea of what it sounds like:
I notice you didn't mention plywood but that is what I used for all my roadbed. It is readily available and holds the track well as I used brads to attach the flex track on curves to avoid kinks. Also, all my railroad is rural and the mainline type roadbed is not featured.
You certainly have enough temperature variation to match my requirements. So that is good to know. In other words laying it tight in hot weather, it will be fine in colder times.I have used cork glued to plywood for four different layouts in the last 35 years without any problems. When my trainroom was in a non-climate controlled building (previous 3 layouts), here in Texas, (temperature range between 10 and 115) I didn't have any real problems. If I am laying track in hot conditions, I butt it together as a previous poster recommended. During colder periods, I use a business card as a spacer. I don't solder rail, however I attach feeders to every piece of track. I think that Homasote would work just as well but wear a dust mask if you use power tools to cut or shape it.
Willie
Can you explain in a little more detail
I tend to agree with you on the clikety-clack, particularly for older steam engine layouts
How about laying track in a non-temp/humidity controlled environment???
You certainly have enough temperature variation to match my requirements. So that is good to know. In other words laying it tight in hot weather, it will be fine in colder times.
I assume you still need the rail joiners just to keep rail ends aligned,...just don't solder them.
That 'foam board' is an interesting idea.I use a foam board on top of plywood. It is not the normal pink or white foam board you generally find at Home Depot. It is about an inch thick with paper backing on each side. One side has a metallic surface on it. Either way the foam is easy to cut and shape and I was able to glue my track right to it and haven't had a problem. I had a couple areas where I needed to lower the grade of the rail to get high cube boxcars to clear roof lines and a Stanley suroform was the perfect tool. It is also nice because I have pretty decent temperature swings in my layout room and with that foam board being an insulation material I don't have any trouble with it moving around.