I had people sending PMs asking how I ground down the cork roadbed to take the track from the main that is on cork down to the yard level that is directly on the foam. I think the first two photos were the ones I had posted a while back. I decided to put in another access point to my yard so I took a few photos along the way.
This is where the new transition will be located.
First of all I don't sand or grind the cork down. I lower it into the foam by cutting a trench in the foam to put the cork in.
I first lay the cork down and draw an outline with a sharpie. Next I score with an x-acto knife to the approximate depth I need to go down. From 0 to 5mm (the height of the cork). I then go at it with a small rasp. It takes a very little amount of work with the rasp. A light hand is all that is needed.
The invisible man does some fine tuning.
Stick the cork down with Latex Caulk after test fitting and check for level. The caulk acts as a leveler for any imperfections that may have been made in the foam.
As I had no Moosehead Beer at the time, bricks fill in to weigh down the freshly caulked cork for two hours.
Slop some paint on, and the track is in for a rough test fitting.
This worked for me for what I wanted to accomplish. So for those who asked, here is how I did it. I still consider myself a real noob at this and am open to all suggestions. I did one of these using an 18" cedar shake to do the same job, but found this a better way to do it. Grinding down foam is way easier than grinding down cork.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Imaginative solution, Brent.
I use sandpaper, but, of course, the cork must first be securely glued in place. I find that yellow carpenter's glue works well with plywood or other wooden subroadbed. When the glue has dried, a piece of #30 paper, wrapped around a block of wood, will taper a couple feet of cork down to nothing in less than five minutes, and with very little effort. For layouts on foam, though, your method is probably the better one.
Wayne
Thanks Wayne.
One problem I did have when sanding down cork was that chunks would start to break out as it got thinner. I put that down to a bad batch of cork though, as it didn't always happen. At least I was able to leave the cork at full thickness by lowering it into the foam this time.
What I do is where the cork stops I just lay a piece of flex track and let it find its own incline and then ballast it in place. In other words I pour the ballast through the track ties until it fills the void and supports the track, then ballast in place as usual. Works for me and is now my preferred method for transitions from mainlines to branchlines etc.
About how long do you make your transition? One photo looks like about a foot, the other looks somewhat longer.
Also, if you are planning the lower track to be parallel to the main, do you start at the turnout or after the curve?
Thank you,
Hi Cowman.
I had to go back and measure. The rasp in the photo is 6" long so the actual slope is about 16' long and the distance from the turnout to the end of the cork where it meets the foam is 23". The cork is 5mm so if you do go down in the length of a foot it should be a nice easy transition. Just remember to add a few inches at each end for a bit of a transition. One thing I discovered about doing it this way is that the change from flat to grade (small change that it is) Is very natural. Much like what you get when using spline. There is no reason you can't do this on a curve. Just use your cork as a template first.
Another little trick I learned is, if you are planning to put something under the track down the road be it a creek or uncoupling system or control wire. Just cut out the foam in that spot as you are laying the track and pop a piece of cork in. No glue. Then just slide it out when you get to that project. For a deeper hole just stack the cork.