CSXDixieLine Maybe the picture below will better explain what I am trying to do-- Jamie
Maybe the picture below will better explain what I am trying to do-- Jamie
I dunno... I'm still having trouble visualizing it. Do you think you could post 20 or 30 more pictures like that??
:)
That looks good. Is that some kind of a cork cutting jig you have set up? If so, can you elaborate more on that?
According to several diagrams published in the 2007 MR special issue about track details, the ballast shoulder is about 12" on the prototype, which is pretty close to the 3/32" shoulders I have on my roadbed (which is easy for me to measure because it is the thickness of my cork sheet). By comparison, the shoulders on my Midwest cork roadbed (tie edge to start of bevel) are almost a full 1/4", which would be well over 3' on the prototype--or more than three times the size published in the MR issue. All of the mainline track I am modeling certainly does not have a ballast shoulder wide enough for walking on. Maybe I am using the wrong terminology? Basically what I want is for the ballast pile to be even with or just below the tops of the ties and then to begin sloping down within about 1 scale foot of the outside of the ties. Maybe the picture below will better explain what I am trying to do--the conductor of the train in the siding is standing at the bottom of the ballast pile for the rollby; you can see the pile slopes down immediately outside of the ties on the siding (and the mainline as well, which is quite a bit higher). This is the exact prototype scene I am trying to duplicate. As for the superelevation, that will be discussed in an upcoming post Jamie
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grizlump9 nice work and thanks for the photos. as for having the bevel start close to the ends of the ties; take a look at real railroad track sometime. ballast extends level for some distance past the tie ends. this holds the track in line and is especially important on the outside of curves. when performing track work, a slow order will be in effect until the ballast shoulder is in place and properly tamped. grizlump
nice work and thanks for the photos. as for having the bevel start close to the ends of the ties; take a look at real railroad track sometime. ballast extends level for some distance past the tie ends. this holds the track in line and is especially important on the outside of curves. when performing track work, a slow order will be in effect until the ballast shoulder is in place and properly tamped.
grizlump
I used gasket cork to make 1/8-inch high roadbed for sidings on my HO layout, to be lower than the .24-inch Homabed mainline roadbed. I've found that gasket cork is more uniform in thickness than cork used for bulletin boards or wall coverings.
I cut the sheet gasket cork into strips 5/8 inch wide, which is slightly more than half the width of the scale 8-foot ties I use in my handlaid track. When I glue two strips side by side I get the roadbed width I want, and the narrower strips are easier to curve.
I glue the cork roadbed down and leave the edges square. It's not necesary to cut a bevel, and the ballast takes a natural slope more easily when it doesn't have to lie on an agled surface.
After I put in roadbed for most of the sidings on my layout, the new maker of HomaBed introduced 1/8" roadbed, but I'm still very happy with my gasket cork roadbed.
So long,
Andy
Andy Sperandeo MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
https://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/default?cPath=CAT385_CAT395&s_kwcid=TC-1489-640671359-e-4042986This site has it in 4 ft widths by 24 ft long . his is where i get mine from and its free shipping and about 2 days to get it gondola 1988
Grizlumb, Good info. I didn't mean to imply I will not have a ballast shoulder, it's just that the shoulders on the commercial N-scale cork roadbed are way too wide and you get a good quarter inch of flat ballast outside the ties. Jamie
bogp40 Was there a reason, say for sound deadening purposes, to use the cork. That seems like a lot of work rather than following Joe Fugates method of laying the track on the masonite spline. The ballast profile can be added by beveling the outermost pieces of the masonite. Just a ? Otherwise an ingenius way to fabricate a considerable amout of roadbed.
Was there a reason, say for sound deadening purposes, to use the cork. That seems like a lot of work rather than following Joe Fugates method of laying the track on the masonite spline. The ballast profile can be added by beveling the outermost pieces of the masonite. Just a ? Otherwise an ingenius way to fabricate a considerable amout of roadbed.
The primary reason I went with cork (or anything) on top of the splines is to vary the height of the main track and the sidings to match my prototype. I figured one layer of cork for the sidings and two layers for the main would do it. Jamie
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Looks great!Great way to save money by doing it yourself! !
TheK4Kid
Office supply stores sell it too. I bought some 12"x12" squares at Wally World and make my own turnout pads from it. Quite a cost savings.
I decided to top my laminated spline subroadbed with cork roadbed, but was not happy with the thickness or width of the commercially available products. Instead, I purchased a roll of 3/16" thick sheet cork at Hobby Lobby for $15 that will yield about 192' of 3/16" thick roadbed for sidings or 96' of double thick 3/8" roadbed for mainlines. My layout is N-scale, but these steps will work just fine in any scale by purchasing the appropriate thickness of cork and varying the width of the cork strips as needed. Cut the rolled sheet of cork into 1/2" wide strips:
Affixed the cork to the spline roadbed using latex painters caulk:
Bevelled the edge of the cork:
Section of Atlas code 55 flex track sitting on top of the homemade cork roadbed (notice the bevelled edge on the near piece of cork roadbed):
I really like how I was able to customize the roadbed so the bevel starts just outside the ties. The shoulders of commercial cork/foam roadbed were just too wide for my liking. I have a detailed post with lots of pictures and step-by-step instructions on my blog. Hope this helps anyone thinking about how to tackle their roadbed project! Jamie