Plastic SPLINE Roadbed

[Anonymous]

bman36
My spline roadbed made from cedar is rotting after only a few years....my plastic splines look NEW after three Minnesota winters.

We have plastic ties, trains, buildings and bridges....why not roadbed?

If you can't find "real steel" parts for your hobby car will you use fiberglass reproductions or go without the needed parts?

OLD DAD

[bman36]

OLD DAD,
Sounds interesting. I went the route of 3/4" down limestone for my roadbed. Trenched down about 12'. Very firm base now that it is all settled. This "TREX" type of product has only very recently found it's way into Canada. Very pricey. I have seen it used as a walkway in Riding Mountain National Park. Does not look very good to me now that it is a few years old. For me...wood is wood. Or as us car buffs say "Steel is real". Could be that this is not exactly the same product. Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

i just checked one of the other forum sites and saw what you were talking about--that is what i'm using--i got the idea from one of the club web sites--which one escapes me at this time--they had an article about cutting the plastic 2x4 and using the center cut for spacers and risers--apparently their club is making extensive use of it--if i can find the article i'll get back to you--mine has not been in the weather long enough to see how it will work out.

[Anonymous]

what is spline roadbed?--i may be using a form of it on my railroad

[Anonymous]

I have mentioned My SPLINE roadbed in several of my responses to questions on this forum.
My question is this....Is anyone else using spline style roadbed on their outdoor garden railroad?
How about a large scale indoor layout? Spline roadbed is an old idea, its been around for about fifty years but I haven't heard of its use in the garden. AM I THE ONLY ONE?

Spline roadbed is built from thin strips cut from Trex, a wood / plastic product used for building decking. http://www.trex.com