No roadbed at all in these pic's of a 15ft long Industrial section of My layout. The grey ballast is a double track main line.
Base is 1/2 Homasote on 1/2 ply, track spikes and Woodland Scenic's ballast glue.
Take Care!
Frank
One local switching district looks rather like a gravel road - not mainline 'big chunk' rock but rather like what I had in my driveway back in Tennessee. The ground level is dead level at the tie tops. This is an area where rain is a couple of times a year happening, so there's no fancy drainage.
On the other side of the mainline, the track is mostly imbedded in asphalt pavement. Not girder rail - the wheels cut their own flangeways.
I have seen switching areas operated by less prosperous entities than today's UP where the mud was up to the railheads and ballast was an unconfirmed rumor.
Look to the prototype for inspiration. There's plenty of it.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Ballasting track without cork roadbed is straight forward enough. Ease up the amount of glue used on outside of track as it will easily wash away the ballast. Sometimes I have laid down the ballast and ajoining scenery ( grasses etc) and then glue all at once, ballast tends to stay in place better that way.
For well used and neglected looking sidings or spurs I like to add soil etc over the ballast right up to the outside of the rails.
Typically, roadbed is used to simulate the way a mainline is graded and ballasted for good water drainage. Sidings sometimes are not built up as high.
In industrial switching districts and yards, the tracks are not built up much at all, depending if the land drainage is already good. Also, an industrial switching district will usually deliver cars to either an interchange track for the mainline train to pick up, or to an industrial switching yard and then taken to a larger yard. So, unless you have a mainline or simulated mainline within your switching areas, you will be fine putting your track down without roadbed.
As far as fastening it down, you can use track nails, small spikes, or clear latex caulk. If your surface is plywood, you may have to pre-drill the holes for the track nails.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Not using the roadbed is a great idea, especially for a switching layout. Balast works well that way too.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Hello all,
I am currently building my first layout. It is a small switching layout that goes in an 'L' shape around my wall. It has eleven turnouts and many indutries, many of which the train cars go inside of the industry. I want to ballast my track realistically and was wondering if it is feasible to do so without roadbed. If I were to use roadbed, I would have to awkwardly raise the height of many buildings on the layout. Furthermore, if I were to not use roadbed, how would I securely attach the track to the plywood? Thank you in advance for any help/advice.