Hand laying code 70 track on wood ties and cork roadbed

[Anonymous]

I am contemplating handlaying code 70 track and in the past I have always used homasote as a roadbed. How well do the spikes hold in cork roadbed? Is it as good at holding as homasote?

[Leon Silverman]

Definitely not:
Spikes will eventually work their way up in the cork unless they are long enough to penetrate into the subroad. Homasote's primary advantage over cork is its' ability to permanently hold the spikes in place. Cork gives satisfactory results when the track is glued onto it. Another issue here is that when you use a spike that is long enough to penetrate the subroad, the cork is too soft to support the spike's shaft. This allows the spike to buckle (bend) when you try to push it through into the subroad.
Stick with the homasote if you are handlaying the track. Cork forms a good base if you plan to glue flex or sectional track to it.

[cwclark]

yep!...don't use the cork if you are going to push spikes for hand laid track...stick with the homasote...cork is too springy, spongy, and won't hold the spikes..it will only tear big holes in the cork with the spikes when you try to pu***hem in...Chuck

[dehusman]

The question I have is what's under the cork?

If its cork on plywood you have the problem of trying to drive the spikes through the ties, through the cork, intothe plywood.

While I personally prefer Homasote, there are at least two large well known layouts that are handlaid on wood ties on cork over blue foam. They seem to be running fine after several years. In that case what holds the spikes is more the wood tie than the cork.

Dave H.

[dacort]

I have a small yard on my HO layout with handlaid code 55 track on cork that's been there for several years and I haven't had any problems with the spikes coming up. I used Micro Engineering's micro-spikes, and the only real trouble was putting them in, as I bent about one in four because they are so small.

My cork is glued to 5-ply 1/2" plywood subroadbed with yellow glue, and the ties are glued on top of the cork also with yellow glue. I usually use Micro Engineering ties and I usually spike every other tie. These spikes are definitely not long enough to penetrate to the plywood. I doubt I could pu***hem in if they were! They like to bend just going through the ties. I have a feeling that, as Dave suggested in the previous post, the ties are what is holding everything together.

The yard is also ballasted, and it may be that that has helped to hold it together, too.

I had a small amount of code 83 track that I handlaid with the same method except that I used the small spikes instead of micro spikes, and it held up well also until I ripped it out to redo parts of the layout. I've since handlaid quite a few code 83 turnouts and they are holding up well so far, though they are only a few months old at this point. The small spikes don't bend as easily, but they're still not long enough to get into the plywood through the cork and full-height ties.

I live in California and my layout is in a spare bedroom, so it does not suffer from extreme changes in temperature and humidity, which may also be a factor.

- Dan C.

[bn7026]

On my last layout I tried handlaying track with a balsa roadbed (about 6mm thick from memory). It was excellent holds the spikes well, not affected by moisture and is available in different thicknesses.

It is a little more expensive but i'm prepared to wear that for less troubles in the long run. In the past i've tried cork and caneite (don't have homasote downunder - at least I've yet to see it here.)

Tim.

[dehusman]

If you are the patient type, I have read of someone who dipped each spike into glue before driving it to ensure it stayed solidly in place.

Dave H.