Elevating the mainline?

[mobilman44]

Hi!

I use the normal cork roadbed for the mains, and 1/8 inch cork sheeting for the yards and industrial siding.  If you want the mains a bit higher, then I concur with a previous suggestion to use masonite.  One area I've had to redo a couple of times is the gradiant from the main to the sidings.  A couple of them I made to "steep", and had some problems with derailing.  So, I finally bit the bullet and ripped them out and used old IBM cards to lengthen the transition.

Ooops, some of you may not know what IBM cards are.  Ask anyone over 55 and they are probably quite familiar with them.

ENJOY!

Mobilman44

[dehusman]

HO cork on main and N scale cork on sidings or N scale cork on mains, nothing on sidings.

Dave H.

[Medina1128]

If you're talking about making the mainline higher than sidings, I would cut 1/8" masonite into strips the same with as the roadbed. I would affix it the same way I do my roadbed and track: acrylic caulking. For sidings, I'd extend the masonite an inch or two past the diverging route, then add another short section of masonite. I'd sand this section down to the level you want the siding to be at, making  sure to sand it at a gradual angle to slowly make the transition to that level. The less angle you have, the less trouble you'll have with unwanted uncoupling. A belt sander makes this a lot easier. Use only flex track for the track leading from the turnout on the siding. This will prevent any sharp angles along the transition.

[CSXDixieLine]

Are you talking about superelevation, where one rail is higher than the other on curved trackage? Jamie

[kasskaboose]

What do you use to do that?  I thought to use thin cardboard, but some suggest against for fear that it won't hold together well.  Using two different types of cardboard makes less sense since the difference in elevation can cause derailments.  Anyone have suggestions and how to do that?

 TIA!

Lee