Quicky Roadbed Questions

[BobbyDing]

Is there a standard angle for the edges (sides) of O gauge roadbed?

Has anybody tried using the white styrofoam for roadbed (granular, the type that put a billion little white beads all over the area)? I know it's a pain to cut because of the beads. I was going to try cutting it with a hot wire, which should leave little or no beads. Then seal it with paint and perhaps some Woodland Scenic stuff. Any other drawbacks that I should know about?

Thanks a bunch,

Bobby

[cmrj]

Hi, Just make sure you use plenty of vetilation with that hot wire . Good luck Mike

[Buckeye Riveter]

Standard Angle....On a real railroad that angle is basically a factor of the type and size of rock or slag being used for the ballest. Notice that they do not use rounded rocks. The jagged edged rocks provide an interlocking mechanism and keep the track from shifting. So anywhere from a 1:1 to a 2:1 slope would look just fine.

I have cut white styrofoam and without a guide you will not get an even cut. It is a real pain even with a hot wire. I do not recommend the hot wire from Woodland Scenics, it is not durable enough.

For the time and material you are going to invest in cutting the roadbead from white foam, I believe I would first take a look at the rolled foam roadbed made by Woodland Scenics. Tom Schmidt, who is on this forum, used it on his layout and it looks real nice under his Gargraves Track.

[BobbyDing]

Hey Thanks. Yeah, I think maybe the Woodland Scenics foam trackbed might be worth taking a serious look at. Tom doesn't have a web link attached to his ID, so there's no links to any pics. Does anybody else have any pics of the Woodland Scenic Foam Trackbed in use?

Hopefully they'll have some at the Tampa show this weekend that I can fondle and probably purchase.

I was thinking of using the white foam because I have a roll of thin stainless steel wire (perfect size for cutting foam) hanging around and only a few bucks a week to invest in MRR stuff. The cork products seem fairly expensive. White foam is cheap. Also, my layout as it exists rite now is fairly noisy. It needs some muffling. I figured I would make a couple jigs to run the foam thru to cut the shape. But when I look at my time vs. cost, I think the Woodland Scenic trackbed wins.

You guys are always a great help.

Thanks,

Bobby