track laying question

[WO&DNUT]

hi guys,
this is my first post, so bear with me. anyway,the railroad im modeling had a roadbed that followed the contour of the land, nowhere along the 72 mile run of the line was there a raised bed. my question, what is the best material to use as a foundation for my set? im going to use code 100 flex track, there will be a few creek crossings, but nothing major, build it on straight plywood, or add some sort of foam?

thanks

kevin

 

[Grant F]

you can have a foam or plywood base

followed by cork, then lay your track and then ballast

 

[UP2CSX]

Kevin, what railroad was this? Except for temporary logging railroads, all railroads had to do some grading and raise the tracks above the gound enough so that they weren't running through standing water. Even dead straight tracks across the desert had a raised grade. I may not have been like what you see on a mainline railroad today, but it was something. I wouldn't lay tracks directly on plywood just because the plywood transmits a lot of noise. Track laid directly on foam would be better in terms of noise but it's going to look like one long industrial spur without some grading and ballast profile. I'm thinking you could use some N scale cork or Woodland Scenics foam roadbed. It would be just wide enough for the track and it's only 3mm high. Ballast would form an almost automatic low shoulder, depicting a track running on a minimally graded line.

 

[WO&DNUT]

hi jim,
it was the washington &old dominion railroad, that ran thu northern va, from 1859-1968,it is now a bike trail,i think the reason it looked the way it did, was because it wasnt maintained. pretty much thru its history, going thru many owners, probably had gravel laid down then ties, but by the end, of its run,, weeds were growng up thru the ties,, they were rotten,in alot of places, many of the bridge crosses speed had to be dropped down to 10, or even 5 miles an hour, because of the deterioration of the line.

kevin

 

[UP2CSX]

Kevin, understood, but the line was still graded and ballasted. What you see now is all that's left after the ballast has been removed, the trail was regraded for the handicapped, and much of the line is still left in its final, deteriorated state. Even in its final days, when maintenance was non-existant, the original contour of the grade and ballast remained. Take a look at http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/wod57.jpg, a picture from 1956. The line was all light rail but you can see the track raised up on a slight grade and ballast still in place between the ties. If you are modeling the W&OD from the 50's on, this is the look I would go for.

 

[WO&DNUT]

jim,
damn, i have over 499 photos of the line, but i dont have that one,thanks, yeah, that was in its maintained years, by 1961, it was getting ragged, most, if not all the stations by that time were looking pretty bad, they wernt getting painted, and by 1965, maintance was nill. funny little side story,, in the spring of 69, when they were pulling the rails and ties from directly in front of the vienna station,(now the northern va model railroaders club) my dad and uncle pilfered about 10 ties, and 2, 8 foot section of rail, at night from the site,, up till about 10 years ago,, the ties lined my moms flower beds. and i can honestly say, i have probably the only exsisting piece of w&od 8 foot piece of rail known to exist..lol im pretty sure there is more,

kevin

 

[Western Star]

what is the best material to use as a foundation for my set? ..., there will be a few creek crossings, but nothing major, build it on straight plywood, or add some sort of foam?

I don't know if it is "best" or not, but 1/4" or 3/8" plywood with 2" of foam on the top should give you the depth needed for the creek crossings and any other slight variations. Plus it is so much easier to scenic on foam than it is a plywood. Of course I am assuming there is still some sort of frame under the foundation. If not and the foundation you speak of is the whole thing then you might have to go up to 3/4" to make it sturdy enough.

Personally, I tried used just foam on one layout and was left with no place to mount things under the layout. Another layout I went with cookie-cutter ribbons of plywood under the track over an open fram and just foam everywhere else. That was a nightmare of getting support for the foam where I needed it. I had all sorts of shims and extra branches of wood all over the place. Would have been much easier to just underlay the foam with a thin board. that is why I recommend what I do above.

 

[WO&DNUT]

thanks,,
i will
give it a try,i think im going to change my area on the w&od. i was going with rosslyn yard. but being a beginner, im going try somthing differnt, probably a station with its sideing, might be a little easier. for a first timer.

kevin