Attaching cork to WS risers

[tedski]

Thanks for everyone's help.  Off I go to plaster/cork/lay rail. 

 

[rrinker]

 That's sort of the idea of the Woodland Scenics 'system', to put the plaster cloth on before the roadbed. The usual instructions show using wadded up newspaper to support it under open areas, and to form the contours.

                                                  --Randy

 

[tedski]

I like the idea of draping the risers before putting down cork.  Would the gauze just hang down tent like in most instances or need to be filled in underneath - if so, with what - small wads of newspaper? 

[abbieleibowitz]

Some people on these forums in the past have suggested using WS plaster impregnated gauze over the risers to provide a base before the cork is put on. I think the only reason to consider this is from a scenery perspective. After you lay the track, you still have to scenic the risers and cover those gaps. Just a thought. Abbie

[GMTRacing]

And once the cork is ready, the same latex caulk is the best bet to fix the track itself. use pins and weight to position the track while the caulk sets. Nails will not work as they have nothing solid enough to go into. White or carpenters glue also works but I think the caulk is better as it can be taken back apart without wrecking the track. Hope that helps.  J.R.

[MAbruce]

I used cork over my WS risers and it worked fine.  No sagging.  The Styrofoam they use is pretty rigid.

You can use a number of different (foam freindly) adhesives.  I used some cheap acrylic latex caulk.  You just need to have a supply of pins to pin the cork in place while the adhesive dries.  Once dry, remove the pins and it's ready for track.

 

[Don Z]

Ted,

to the forums! I have used the same risers and inclines on my layout. I used a latex adhesive caulk to glue the cork roadbed to the foam risers and inclines with no problems. The gaps are small enough that there is no sagging of the cork. Good luck on your layout!

Don Z.

[tedski]

I've put down the WS foam risers and inclines and now I'm a bit nervous about laying the cork.  I figure I'll glue it down but the WS risers are this zigzaggy foam and I'm not sure that once the track is on the cork that foam WS risers will provide a nice firm base.  Will the foam sag between the gaps in the WS risers and inclines?  If the cork is ok on these risers, can I nail flextrack into the cork or do I have to glue the track to the cork?  Thanks for the help - my first real layout.