Do I need a roadbed in a yard?

My layout is comprised of four yard ladders. Two create the yard and two create spurs for adjacent industries. The entire layout as described above measures 2 foot x 4 foot with a small extension for the mainline that goes by. I will be using some ballast and some yard cinder throughout the entire layout with a bit of foliage here and there. I did intend to use a thin foam for the roadbed of the mainline that passes by all this, but thought I should attach the track directly to my plywood surface throughout the yard and the close by industries. the intention of the layout is to provide a platform for low speed yard and industry operations. Is my idea of no roadbed workable. Thanks for any help on this. Jim

 

I don't see why not. In the end it's your railroad and whether you add a roadbed or not in this case will not hinder any operations of the trains.

The layout is small enough that I doubt anyone will notice and fault you for it and the trains will run smoothly without it.

 

Jim, You may want to consider adding thin foam or thin cork to your entire piece of plywood. Then for the mainline add additional foam or cork. You mentioned your layout is a low speed switching layout, but the cork or foam under all the track will help deaden the sound as long as you don't have any track nails extending through the cork or foam into the plywood. I agree, usually yard and siding tracks are at a lower level than the main line tracks.

 

This is what I did:
Cork (Roadbed) for the main. Track directly onto the plywood everywhere else. As for the sound thing -- there is absolutely no difference between the corked main and the straight plywood yard and other tracks. I did this mainly to get separation between the main and the rest of my trackage.



Just an FYI -- If I where to do this again -- I would go the foam route.

Thanks,
Wolf

 

Most of the big box home stores sell a thin cork in rolls for shelving liners and other projects. I use standard cork roadbed for my mains and cut out the thinner cork, that is self adhesive backed for sidings. That thin cork is about half as high as the regular cork roadbed and I have no issues transitioning from one level to the other.

 

I don’t use cork roadbed, I lay track directly on the foam board I use.

Just wondering, how does cork roadbed differentiate between unwanted noise and wanted noise (as in sound equipped locomotives)?

 

Sound locomotives have a speaker, so there is no way to not hear them, unless you mute it. The roadbed just deadens the sound of the wheels. Since the cork is soft(ish), it absorbs the sound waves and forces rolling cars put out. Generally that is a good thing, because the model train wheels don’t sound the same as real trains’. However, it doesn’t make them silent, it just makes the sound less sharp. For a switching layout, you might be able to get away without roadbed, but mainlines should have it because trains run faster (which also means louder).

 

If the wheels sound less sharp, then the roadbed is muting a certain decibal range, I don’t see (or should I say hear) how it wouldn’t mute that decibal range from the speaker too, particularly if the speaker is facing downward toward the roadbed.

 

You may have a point. I haven’t noticed a sound difference on my club modules or home track setup, but I model HO. It might also have something to do with the fact that the wheels are directly in contact with the rails, and indirectly the roadbed. The speaker might be immune because the sound waves have the gap between the fuel tank and the rails to escape from. Looks like it’s time for an experiment because what you say seems logical.

 

That is how I see yards to be, ties and rail right on the ground with some yard cinder, and ballast, but sometimes little of both.

 

I use 1/4" cork under everything (all Unitrack right now). Nothing deadens unwanted noise like cork. My Home Depot doesn't carry the following sheets, but if you order on line they will ship it to your store for pickup for free. Great stuff!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-2-f...ayment-Sheet-30-sq-ft-5-Pack-72005Q/203110563

 

I have always laid yard tracks right on the base board and, actually, I usually do that to the mainline too, since I have always modeled prairie railroads (C&NW, Milw, etc.) and, if you are in a car driving along the tracks, they are pretty much even with the highway.

However, my old dear late friend Emmet DeVaney, had his yards laid on 1/8" cork sheet and it looked real good.

Doug

 

I have an overwhelming hatred for “plywood plains” which comes from my NTrak experiences over 30 years ago. Even the “plains” aren’t perfectly flat... they have drainage ditches, small draws and a gently rolling look. Because of this, I’ve converted to laying at least 1-1/2” of styrofoam down on top of the plywood baseboard, giving up to 20 N scale feet of relief available, and then bonding the track to the foam using Liquid Nails Latex formula. It’s then very easy to add drainage features to bring the scene to life. I carve the roadbed profile directly into the foam using a sharp knife held at a reasonable angle of repose, making cuts and fills look very realistic. If you need more than 20 N scale feet of relief, just use thicker foam.

 

Hemi, I have a stupid question. Was it just coincidence that your post was made at 4:26 ???

 

Haven't posted here in a long time. One thought on track direct to plywood/wood. If you have a stable environment it should be fine. If you have my basement, beware. Wood expands and contracts. A layer of roadbed between track and wood offers a little more opportunity for expansion and contraction without affecting the track.

 

That is a good point, but there's a little more to it. Just like real trains, model trains shake the ground, especially when a locomotive goes through a frog. Unlike real ground, plywood acts as a sound board, just like the wood back panel of a guitar, or the soundboard in a piano. Cork does mute the sound, as it's basically a stiff spring. But more to the point, it modifies the sound so it doesn't come across so much like someone thumping wood.

So, yes, cork has quite an effect on the clickety-clack of the wheels, as it prevents it from directly causing the plywood to vibrate. Does it also mute speakers a fraction of an inch above it? Probably. Just not a lot.

The bottom line? Yes, that matters less in yards because switchers are lighter and slower, but a little cork is still a good thing. But because yards are flatter, it makes sense to lay sheets instead of individual roadbeds elevating each track. It not only sounds better with cork, but as Carl rightly observed...

 

That would be true if that's what the cork does, but that's not what it does. Rather the cork isolates the track (where the sound in generated) from the supporting structure, plywood which acts as a soundboard. On my layout, I used sheet cork from the home store not so much to mute the sound on the rails, but to not have the dramatic change in sound quality and level as trains go from the main to the yard.

Of course for those using foam, this is all unnecessary.

 

That is a really cool little layout!! I really like the summer/winter sections. I seem to recall a model railroader article years ago (maybe RMC) where somebody did a four seasons layout - four sections, each with correct seasonal scenery.

Back on topic, I've used both extruded foam and cork and they are both infinitely better than track on plywood. I made the mistake years ago of constructing a portable layout that was unitrack on plywood with a thin layer of latex caulk between them. That sucker was LOUD!! I wound up adding a layer of homasote between the plywood and track. I earlier linked to a home depot sheet cork product that can be delivered to any home depot store for free. That is what I use on my current shelf layout. It is very uniform and flat. A light coat of dark green spray paint gives it a reasonable turf appearance until more elaborate scenery is put in place. It sure beats the bright pink foam flats that my last layout had!!

Note to Hemi: you really need to cover up that blue/pink "foam strata" for your next photo.