HELP!!Newbie Building First HO Layout!!!

[SPfan]

I'm attempting to put together my first layout. Should I use cork roadbed for the whole layout? What are the pros and cons for using roadbed at all? I was thinking about not laying any roadbed at all, but wanted some opinions first. ANY advice is appreciated!

 

[Dualcore]

If you use foam board as a base, and mount your track directly to it, the foam will get in the gears and wheels of all your locos and rolling stock. If you mount directly to plywood, it will be noisy and sound like a toy train, not a model RR.
A lot of ppl like the roadbed made by Woodland Scenics. It's a little pricier, but it is supposed be easier to work with, and easier to remove if it becomes neccessary.

 

[modeltrainstuff]

Few ?'s

How big of a layout?
Are you planning on scenery?

 

[jbaakko]

I got my stuff sitting on foam, and I have no issues of it getting into the gears... I'd assume that would only be a problem if you don't clean the foam off first.

WS Foam: Softer, absorbs more noise, more expensive (not by much though), requires use a adhesive to attach track.
Cork: the classic, cheaper, can be spiked into (such as hand laying track, or using spikes to secure the track), can dry out and become brittle if not used properly.

 

[UP2CSX]

Josh pretty much covered it. I use the Woodland Scenics roadbed for my mainline tracks. It's softer than cork, easily formed for curves, and absorbs track noise better than cork. I'm using extruded foam as the layout top surface so I lay my sidings, yard, and industrial trackage right on the foam and have had no problems, especially once the ballast is down. You really want to use some type of roadbed material for mainline tracks to give you some elevation above the surrounding terrain and a realistic ballast profile. Secondary trackage doesn't need additional roadbed if your layout is built on extruded foam.

 

[SPfan]

More Info

Sorry-! I'm planning for a 5 x 9 layout with scenery, and the base material will most likely be plastic. Thanks!!!

 

[Dualcore]

Do you mean track with plastic roadbed like Atlas Right Track?

 

[SPfan]

Actually, I'm hoping to use regular Atlas Snap Track on a cork (or something close to it) roadbed. The base itself is one of those "Terrain For Trains" set ups which I think is some kind of plastic. Does this change anything?

 

[UP2CSX]

Are you talking about the Woodland Scenics terrain kits for layouts or what? I'm not familiar with that exact brand name. I'm also not sure what you mean when you say the layout surface will be plastic. If it's really plastic, like a table top, that's a really bad idea. You will have to glue everything down and it will be almost impossible to add below terrain features like streams or highway underpasses. Can you give us an exact idea on your track plan, the type of benchwork or table, and the terrain product you're thinking of using? That woud be a big help in giving you good answers to your questions.

 

[SPfan]

Well, I think the name of the layout is Timber Ridge (by a company called American Plastics) but I think it's the same concept as what Woodland Scenics makes. From my understanding it is a 4 piece set up of pre-molded painted plastic that is assembled and put onto a table, or some other flat surface. The terrain is already pre-molded onto 5 x 9 layout, and supposedly you then add your track and scenery (buildings, trees, etc). The plastic seems like some kind of ABS plastic that does have some give to it (not hard plastic). Please let me know if you think NOT putting down a roadbed (cork or otherwise) would be a big mistake (sound, performance, etc). Also, is there a roadbed that is made of some other material than cork that would be beneficial?(Woodland Scenics Track Bed, etc) I hope to run HO 4 and six axle (if I'm lucky) diesels.

 

[UP2CSX]

Have you actually bought this layout yet? If you have, can you return it? This is about the worst idea I can imagine for building a layout. Everything is built with sheet styrene, which is hard plastic. You'll be building thier idea of a layout, not yours. Making any changes to the track plan or topography will be difficult if not impossible. Even if you got this at a discount price, you're still paying over $700 for what's basically four pieces of injection molded plastic. No trains, tracks, scenery, not even a bridge or building. You even have to provide your own ping-pong table. I can tell you from experience that ping-pong tables make terrible supports for model railroads and, bcause the average reach is 30", you'll have difficulty even reaching parts of the layout to do all the work, and this assumes access on all four sides.

It's your money, SPfan, but this is really a rip-off. For the money you're spending on these hunks of plastic, you can build some really nice benchwork, buy all your track and purchase most of your scenery. The best thing is that it will be a layout you like, not one that some other outfit decides is best for you. Do what you think is best but I think you'll really regret this purchase if your heart is set on it.

 

[hamltnblue]

I agree with Up2csx. If you bought it already then you might be stuck with someone elses design. Otherwise, why not trust yourself to do it? Anyhow if you already purchased it we can go from there. Just let us know if you have it already.

 

[SPfan]

Unfortunately, I have already purchased it (it's still in boxes). I'm not able to return it, so hopefully I can make do. I agree with you UP2CSX & Hamltnblue, it will not be my ideal layout. I'm hoping since this is my first layout, (and hopefully not my last ) that I can still make it into something I can enjoy. Initially, that was my biggest concern, not having my own plans & ideas-and I did LOTS of homework trying to decide which route to take. I know like most things, one of the best parts is to look back on your finished product, and know that YOU did all the work and it's all your ideas. I decided to go this route because of space limitations and overall appearance (I wasn't quite sure how my handywork would display in our living room). Lord willing sometime down the road, I would DEFINITELY like to create my own design, but I'm hoping I can get my feet wet with this one. I would still appreciate ANY thoughts and helpful advice to get me started. Heck, I'm still stuck at which roadbed to use, if any at all!

Thanks.

 

[modeltrainstuff]

Recommended track

Use the code 83 for a more realistic look...

I would go with the woodland scenic's roadbed or a cork like midwest.

 

[UP2CSX]

You do still need roadbed, especially since you're going to be running on a hard plastic surface. The WS soft foam roadbed would do a much better job on this kind of layout. It will run much quieter than cork and it's easy to glue in place with latex caulk. MTS's recommendation for code 83 track is also good. I'd personally replace most of the sectional track with flex track as well. You'll have less joints to deal with and that means less overall noise.

 

[SPfan]

Experience With True Track?

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Now that I know I need roadbed, I think I've got it narrowed down to WS roadbed or Atlas True Track. Does anyone have any opinions on this stuff? Also, there are a few sizes I can't find in True Track (1/3" 18" radius, 3/4" straight, 1" straight, 1-1/4" straight, 2-1/2" straight). Does anyone know where to find these, or how to maybe use different sized pieces combined that would be the equivalent? Sorry for all the basic questions.

 

[SpaceMouse]

These may not be commercially available in which case you will have to cut them out of normal track. For the small pieces, I would cut two larger pieces. For instance if the track calls for one 9" piece and one 1/4" piece I might cut two 4 5/8" pieces.

In the other hand, you haven't mentioned flex track which will solve a lot of thee problems. sectional track can be difficult. The plastic ballasted tracks like the Tru-Track can be a pain in the butt as well. I just ripped up my last layout because I couldn't stand the limitations of the plastic ballasted tracks.

 

[Dualcore]

Before I knew what I was doing, I went to my local hobby store; "Just to look around"........faous last words. I walked out of there with enough of Bachmann E-Z Trackto build a 6x12.
By coincedence, the first copy of MR I picked up had the review of the just released BLI Class A 2-6-6-4. Gotta have that on my layout. So I bought 33 1/4in curve, 22in curve a whole box of 9in straight, switches......I went the whole route.
Now I'm stuck with it. Too much money invested in it to throw it out.

 

[UP2CSX]

There's nothing wrong with E-Z track or TruTrack. The issue with SPfan's layout is he has to fit the track to a premade base. TruTrack has a slightly different geometry than standard Atlas sectional track and may not fit the premade roadbed. That's why both Chip and I recommended flex track for SPfan. OTOH, about 80% of my layout is made laid with E-Z track and it has worked very well. The only thing I would change is their switches. They don't have a positive spring mechanism to hold the points against the stock rails so tend to cause derailments when you got through a facing point switch. I've solved most of my problems with a lot of filing to make the points razor sharp but they are the most poorly thought out part of the E-Z track system.

 

[Jess Red Horse]

I'm attempting to put together my first layout. Should I use cork roadbed for the whole layout? What are the pros and cons for using roadbed at all? I was thinking about not laying any roadbed at all, but wanted some opinions first. ANY advice is appreciated!

I have used cork road bed and I'm happy for the advantages of having my tracks raised up from ground level because that is the way it is in real life, my past layouts were done directly to wood or foam and the sound the trains give off while running on just wood is unnatural and noisy, I did one where the track was mounted on just foam and I found this hard to keep my tracks level due to pinning the tracks down, after a while the foam gets dented and tracks start to misalign.

I've followed the advice of many here and I'm happy that I did and put the extra time in, the cork road bed is easy to spike my tracks down too, the trains sound more natural while running on the cork, all around I'd always use cork in the future.

At some point towards the end of the build I'll be laying down track ballast and the uniform height of the cork road bed will help when it comes time to add the ballast, and give it a more realistic look.

Good luck on your first build, take your time, this site is a great resource for every step of your build, the folks here are very experienced and if you’re the type of person who doesn't have to learn by your own mistakes these folks can save you a world of aggravation and a pile of cash.

Let us know how it turns out.