Latex - it's cheaper, not smelly, and cleans up easier. And sticks just as good for model railroad purposes. Unless you have a latex allergy.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I used to use cork for roadbed but I began to look at expense, so one day while walking through a big box hardware store looking for the blue foam 4X8 sheets for use on the layout I noticed these large rolls of thin insulation on the shelves. As I eyeballed this find I noticed that as I unrolled a section it was a about 1/4 inch thick and 6 or so inches wide and very pliable. I thought for a moment, almost like cork but not as thick and stiff and I could cut the rolls down to 2-3 inches wide and use it for roadbed. So, for literally a couple of bucks I bought a whole roll and marched home with my new find.
Arriving at the train room, where construction was still taking place, I rolled out several feet of this blue insulation and placed it on my blue foam base, I then put a three foot section of Flex Track on the foam and thought to myself why not.
I decided to adhere the insulation strips to the blue foam with white caulk. It's cheap and would be more than enough to hold down the foam insulation strips to the blue foam base then place the fleck track on top, again using white caulk for the track, "It worked". When adhereing both the blue foam strip and track I would spread the caulk down to a very thin layer with a metal spatula, press the foam strip onto the caulk, the same with the track and use push pins to hold things in place until the caulk cured.
It was easy and very cost effective. Just remember when using this foam becareful when soldering wires to the track.
Hopefully another helpful hint.
Robert Sylvester
Newberry-Columbia Line, SC
Oh yea, it's called sill seal. You put that down on top of the foundation wall before you start building the main floor deck.
I never thought about it for track bed. I'm glad it's working.
Mike.
My You Tube
I lay out the route of the roadbed and mark both sides of it with a fine tip sharpie. I am using PL-300 to glue the roadbed to the foam base. I lay a bead of the PL-300 in the middle of lines, and then spread it evenly with a 1.5" putty knife. I press the roadbed in place, and go over it with a small wallpaper roller. I use the putty knife to clean up any PL-300 visible around the edges, and then insert "many" push pins (2 per inch). It will set up overnight. After removing the push pins the next evening, I lay track using PECO pins (track nails). The PL-300 holds them well!
I started out using a thin layer of caulk to fasten the track, but humidity fluctuations in my very dry basement caused it to come loose. Granted, I likely soldered a few more pieces of flextrack than I should have, but using the nails and leaving a few more small gaps in the track has produced great results. Cheers!
Another option is what's called 'camper tape' - it's the rubber strip that is put around the rim of a pickup bed before you put a cap or camper on it. Usually has adhesive already applied to at least one side, peel and stick. I took a look at it in a store one day but didn;t get any to try. One thing is it does not have a beveled edge. There was an article in MR a number of years ago where a guy made a dispenser with a knife blade so that you could pull it off the roll with a 45 degree bevel down the middle - use it like cork, pull the two halves apart, flip one over so the 45s are on the outside, and stick it in place.
Yes sir, on my larger layout in Tennessee, 30X 45, I got the suggestion from Chuck Hitchcock on an Allen Keller video, he called it Topper Tape, he wrote an article about it in MR, same thing and it works great and a lot cheaper that cork. It also has sticky stuff on both sides, and once you put it down it doesn't move, then you can press the track down on the top side, same thing the track is fixed and it is just wide enough for track roadbed. I applied it directly to the blue foam and boy does it stick.
All you have to do is apply your ballast, no gluing if you don't want too and the height is just right giving you a good profile, again no gluing cork down and it is cost saving.
Robert Sylvester,
Newberry-Columbia, SC
BuchananBucks I lay out the route of the roadbed and mark both sides of it with a fine tip sharpie. I am using PL-300 to glue the roadbed to the foam base. I lay a bead of the PL-300 in the middle of lines, and then spread it evenly with a 1.5" putty knife. I press the roadbed in place, and go over it with a small wallpaper roller. I use the putty knife to clean up any PL-300 visible around the edges, and then insert "many" push pins (2 per inch). It will set up overnight. After removing the push pins the next evening, I lay track using PECO pins (track nails). The PL-300 holds them well! I started out using a thin layer of caulk to fasten the track, but humidity fluctuations in my very dry basement caused it to come loose. Granted, I likely soldered a few more pieces of flextrack than I should have, but using the nails and leaving a few more small gaps in the track has produced great results. Cheers!
How thick a layer of PL 300 do you put down? Some one had said that foamboard even with cork roadbed shouldn't hold track nails.
Cheap caulk does the trick. Axel Plus (clear) works. You need no better. If you change your mind, it's reversible but holds up until you do.
TF
How thinck? If you draw lines on the foam to indicate where the roadbed goes, you should spread the caulk so thin you can see the lines easily. That's all it takes. Noo need too glop it on so it oozes out. Same for the track on toop of the cork. VERY thin. I use the kind that dries clear, but it comes out white - well, after I spread it thin, it's so thin it already looks clear, just a shiny area where it is. This has proven to be more than enough to hold the track and roadbed down, yet the track can be easily removed without damage (at least before ballast is applied). If it oozes out under the cork or between the ties, you are using far too much.