I'm wanting to hear from you Small Scale people on this as well~ So here it goes. I was looking at some cork roadbed for my LGB Track (This local company also makes it for HO/O/S etc) and jaw dropped at the 30.00 dollar price tag. Now this roadbed is convienent to those who have no ballast laying skills, but I still need those skills to learn. So let me ask you all, Should I bother with the cork roadbed or should I just bite the bullet and lay ballast down. Which would hold out better, cork or rock, and lastley, what do you use on your layouts (Small scales too~)? My layout plan's right now are being small scaled out in HO in my basement, (just want an excuse to play with them~), but my Overall large scale plane is going to be more of an L shape, gives me more room for expansion, after I figure out what to use for track beds. But, After viewing a lot of layouts, N, HO, and the like on the web, specially some of them here, I've gotten a lot of good idea's in how to scale out my layout, (with only a few spare pieces of track left over). Also any advice on if the layout should be super detailed or should I just be thinking small and work my way up?
Dragon... $30 (US?) for how much? For one piece, that's obviously outrageous but for a "standard" box of HO scale cork from MidWest Cork, that seems about right - maybe even a slight deal. As far as using the cork - go for it. It gives you the profile of a nice, well drained, properly profiled roadbed (if that's what you are going for...). To build it up completely "from scratch" using just ballast the way real railroads do... Well, let's just say that would make a $30 piece of cork look like a bargain! OK, I am exaggerating, but if you want the nice profile, use the cork or foam roadbed, and ballast over it. In terms of hold, you should glue down the cork, and then glue or nail the track to the cork. While the cemented ballast will add some extra holding power, I would not rely on it alone to secure the track. I am not entirely sure what you mean by "scaling out" your plan in HO - is this basically a HO scale mock up of what you plan to do in large scale? If yes, then I would suggest that there is not a direct correlation unless you are careful to choose sectional track and turnouts that have a large scale equivalent. Otherwise it is all just an approximation. Also, I would not base a layout design on using all the track pieces in a set, for example. In HO scale at least, you can use flex track, which is basically cut to fit straights, curves, etc. You can also handlay track and turnouts to minimize waste if that's a concern. I do not know if you have that option in large scale. As for whether you should go "superdetailed" or not - well, that's up to you. What do you want to achieve with this "temporary" layout? If it is a chance to practice certain things, like structure building, scenery, or weathering, then I say you only need to do as much as you need to feel comfortable. That may mean completing the layout with a high degree of detail, or it may mean just one of each thing you want to practice. Hope that helps. Andrew
It seems even for small scales this company was over charging, they quoted me for standard Gauge 1 45mm track, and then I had the strange Idea LGB would be cheaper, same price, I figure I could probobly make my own for half of 30bucks a piece. I'm scaling my large scale layout in HO simply because my yard needs to have a backhoe come level out, and the driveway is uneven for large scale tests, so since I have space for an HO version of my layout (and tons of EZ-Track, I figure I can do it in HO then rescale it for G. Using roadbed and ballast That's a pretty good Idea, I'm probobly going to do that, though I may lay a cement base on a raised platform (saw it in several garden railroad issues). Maybe I will use a small layout for detail tests, well who knows, we'll see what happens, thanks so much for the information
Dragon, Sorry - I misunderstood. For the garden railroad, I don't think I've ever seen cork roadbed used. It's much more like the real thing, with lots of gravel. I suppose if you were doing an inside large scale road, you might use it. Check out my local garden railroad club - www.ovgrs.org - they have lots of pictures. The guys seem to have two ways of handling the roadbed question - one is one the ground with gravel (suitably scaled, like crusher fines, or stone dust); the other is to have an elevated track bed like 5/4" x 6" pressure treated deck boards. They may or may not add the ballast for appearance's sake. Andrew
