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I was asking about Homasote at a local hardware store and they recommended I try High Density Roof Fiberboard instead. This particular material is made by Georgia Pacific and has a black coating. It feels like a similar material and has a similar weight.
Has anyone tried or heard about using this for model railroading? It's significantly less expensive than homasote (about half the price locally) and for me would avoid a 30 mile haul. I'm modeling in O gauge and need to be able to stand on the layout to reach some areas, so I want to avoid foam for this particular project.
I've seen this at our local HoDo, and am thinking about buying a sheet to try. Since I handlay, the denser the material my spikes go into the better it holds.
Right now I have to finish using the insulated sheathing I have. Its not quite as dense as I would like, but its cheap, ($5.88 a 4x8 sheet). Our club used this on our first modular layout, and all the track was handlaid. The layout lasted almost 12 years before it was dismantled.
It should work fine but pay the extra money and get the High Density Grade 2 variety. The 1/2 in thick Grade 2 is stronger than the one inch grade 1 in both tensile strength and transverse load, so you have less of a chance of cracking the material when it's being transferred and handled. At 150 lbs PSI, you should be able to walk on it if the benchwork will take the load.
FYI when your cutting it wear a dust mask as it makes a much finer dust then normal wood. I've used it and MDF a large amount over the years in car and home audio stuff
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