Impressive. I agree that careful preparation is 90% of final success, and you appear to be doing an excellent job.
As George said on Seinfeld, "we have shrinkage here!!!" wasn't using Homasote. But a friend told me that this stuff disintegrates when bothered or worked on, so the best way to prevent it is to paint it with one coat of acrylic enamel paint, just like used on walls. I found some decent ground cover colored paint at Home Depot, and barely used less than a quart to cover a roughly 4x8 layout. This paint serves as a nice solid non-bleed color when you apply groundcover. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
That has been one of the common lessons from my prior layouts; I was eager to lay track and didn't put enough effort into building the base. I ended up with irregular grades and tight curves leading into turnouts that caused all kinds of operational issues. Ken, I did the same. I got a quart of latex, painted the Homasote's bottom side and will paint the top when I have the roadbed glued down. I feel pretty confident that I have the tools to ensure that I can implement the Cadrail design. If there are flaws in the layout then the flaws will be in the design rather than the implementation.
Based on conventional wisdon, I'd caution against using gelatin as ballast adhesive. Gelatin is a food source, so it seems possible that it could attract insects or vermin. And it could also support mold or fungal growth. But then white glue is also derived from protein, and it doesn't seem to have those issues. I guess sometimes we need to be the 'lab rats' and find out for ourselves.
This lab rat is only one sample. I used gelatin on my second layout to secure the ballast and 4 years later the gelatin hasn't caused any problems. The layout is situated upstairs as opposed to the basement. It's simple, quick and very easy to mix some ballast and gelatin on a piece of cardboard, wet it down, and see what happens. I didn't make any measurements, but I think I mixed about 1 part gelatin to 10 parts ballast. The mixture drys rock hard. There is a form of water soluble powdered glue used by woodworkers that I wanted to try but haven't found it locally. Based on my current experience I will use gelatin again. I like it because I can spread it out and then mist the area from a spray bottle; no tedious eye droppers with glue mixture.
Nancy, I am a little late to the party, but another option is HomaBed. You can find it at www.homabed.com. It is homesite pre-cut similar to cork roadbed. It can have non tapered endges or either 45 degree or 60 degree profile. Most roadbed, like cork, only come in 45 degree profile. It does cost quite a bit more, but there isn't any mess or waist. You can purchase curvable or non-curable strips, as well as shims for transitioning between main and branch line and turnout pads for some scales. I am not affiliated with www.homabed.com in any way. I just received my order and am looking forward to giving it a try. Looks like you are off to a good start, good luck. Michael
Great information...I never thought of, a) using Gelatin, and b) mixing the ballast into any "adhesive" before spreading. Obviously pre-mixing solves the problems of ballast going off in all directions when dripping/spraying Wet Water, then dripping/spraying diluted white glue. I assume the Gelatin dries clear. Knox Gelatin, available in grocery stores, is the only product I'm familiar with, are there others?
I use the Knox unflavored gelatin; it is a white powder and inexpensive. When mixed with ballast it is virtually invisible. Spray it with a bit of water and let it dry. I didn't get out the microscope, but the gelatin is virtually invisible.
Do you mix the ballast/gelatin mixture with water before spreading and shaping, or do you spread and shape it while dry, then drip or spray with water to set it? If the latter, how do you prevent the dry ballast mixture from flowing or blowing everywhere when you add the water? (my problem, not yet solved)
First I spread a 50/50 white glue and water mixture on the field side of the track with a paint brush, and then sprinkle a light layer of ballast. When this ballast dries it provides a better surface for the dry ballast to adhere to so that the dry ballast doesn't just slide off the sloped roadbed. I mix gelatin with the dry ballast; no water at all. Then I spread the dry ballast/gelatin mixture over the track and brush the ballast to fill the cribs on both sides of the rail. When I have the ballast spread to my satisfaction I wet the track with water from a spray mister. I added a small amount of soap or alcohol to break down the water's surface tension. This water soaks right in and does not disturb the ballast. I wait about 24 hours for the bed to dry. I will post a picture later tonight.
Great, thanks very much. I never thought to glue a thin bed of ballast first to hold the rest in place later...good info. I put a sand mixture on our shower floor to keep us in place, so you'd think I could have done the same for track ballast, but no...:tb-embarrassed:
A few years ago I spent a bit of time looking for a water soluble powdered glue. I found one brand in the school crafts site in Europe, and another type used by carpenters. Since neither was readily available, and gelatin was, I decided to try gelatin. I was very pleased with the results. Here are some pics from my experimental scenery layout. Unfortunately this layout suffers greatly from poorly laid out grades and alignment, to the point that operating it is painful. The layout fulfilled its purpose in letting me experiment with scenery techniques.
Hi Michael, Precut Homasote would save a lot of time and mess. I spent about 3 days sculpting the roadbed and made a huge mess. After completing the task my dust mask was choked with dust. I may never get the room completely clean. OTOH, now the work is done and I am happy with the result. The precut Homabed would be great for layouts that use standard size alignments. I created my layout with Cadrail and every curve is different. I would do it this way again but I would wait until Summer and do the work outside. I chose to start this layout in January and I live in MN; outside was not an option. I hope you will get a chance to post some layout pics and let us know how it works out.
Nancy, your photos show excellent results, definitely nothing to be ashamed about. I especially like the two ties near the tunnel entrance obviously just installed as replacements, but have yet to be ballasted...nice touch of imaginative detail.
