I know this is a shot into the dark, but does anyone know of a chart that lists all the various cork roadbed thicknesses? I am building a small layout after a 30 year hiatus and want to use HO roadbed for the main, N roadbed for the sidings and spurs, and (maybe) sheet cork for the small yard. I bought some sheet cork at a LHS years ago, and it is actually not as thick as the HO (MidWest Products) roadbed. So rather than have to shim it, I was trying to locate some of the correct thichness. The chart would be a handy reference tool. Thanx.
Does the sheet cork match the N thickness?
I know O scale cork matches HO in thickness, so can be subbed if you get i n a pinch or need some extra wide.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Check the Midwest Products web site. Each product detail info includes the thickness.
If I rmember right, Midwest HO is 3/16", N is 1/8".
I myself am thinking of making my Main a combo of N scale stacked on top of HO to give me 5/16" ( just space the N scale apart enough to match the sides of the HO and the balast would hide the gap ), siding using just the HO and yards directly on the plywood. I think it would give it a more dramatic effect.
Another good make is IBL (Itty Bitty Lines) and their helpful website lists the thickness as 33 mm for N, 5mm for HO and O.
http://www.iblproducts.com/roadbed.htm
Dave Nelson
Thanx for the replies, guys. It seems most N scale roadbed is 1/8" and HO is 1/8", where the problem seems to arise is the "sheet product". There are a few choices (not all from model RR vendors). I will consider all your advice and probably still mess it up :-)
Dave,
The N scale cork is listed at 3mm, not 33mm. Your finger must have twitched when hitting the 3 key.
I just measured the thickness of some pieces of the last HO roadbed I bought. It's .26 to .295. That'll be a snippet over 1/4 inch thick.
Ed