Road bed for handlayed track.

[jjjwar]

I am planning to handlay all the track on my layout.I know homasote is the prefered choice of road bed for hand laying but in my area (Northern Ontario Canada) it is impossible to find.I tried getting my local home building supply store to get some form me but no luck.I have thought about trying cork (midwest as it seems to be firmer than the rest) but have heard that cork is not a good idea.I have also heard of soft pine being used.If anyone has any ideas on the cork or pine or if there is anything else that would work I would be grateful for their input.I should mention that my sub road bed will be 1/2 plywood and I plan on using full profile ties.Thanks.

Wayne R

[Anonymous]

Wayne: What I have used for years, I also hand lay track, is a produce called dona cona board. It is a fiber board, comes in 4 x 8 sheets and 3/8 th's in thickness. As I said have used it for years and poured lots of glue, water, paint on it and have had no warping. One thing that I like about it is that if you glue something down and you want to pull it up, all that comes up is a thin layer of the board and you can re glue again over it. This is great when you if you want that ties/rail sunk into the ground look, or are altering a track plan. It cuts easily with a jig saw or hand saw and with a little work can cut with a good drywall knife. What I do is lay it down and draw out your track plan on the board then if you want just use small brad nails, I use 1/2 inch, last package (small blister packs give you lots and they sell at hardware stores) cost about $1.35 Cdn. just tack yout cork roadbed down. For areas that you do not want the height of the cork but want track raised a little bit I use sheet cork that sells in the hardware stores in large rolls. I get a couple of feet and with carefull planning can get a lot of milage out of it. And for some areas like around industries where you do not want the track raised I just glue the ties right on the dona cona board. It is nice soft material so the spikes that go through the ties laid directly on the board go right into the board with no problem. When I have my track down and want to build a project I just cut out the dona cona board, take it to the workbench, work on my project there and when I want to put it back, just drop it back in the hole. This way you do not always have to build directly on the layout. Makes it great for changing a project. Just cut out the same size of board, build your new project and drop it in the old ones place. I put it ontop of the 1/2 inch plywood that I use, just screw it down with #8 by 1 inch screws.
**BEWARE** there are two types of dona cona board, there is one for outside insulation sheeting, it is darker in color and has tar impregnated in it, usually one side is black. DO NOT use this one, the one that you want is called "NATURAL" dona cona board, it is a light tan to a beige color. The last one that I bought at our local lumber store was $9.00 Canadian. Check around, by phone, as prices may vary.
Ron.. BC Canada

[Anonymous]

Wayne there is a product known as Upson Board which is very similar to Homasote. Sometimes it can be found at building supply places and some times it can be found through paper distributors its very much like the product Ron described. Also check www.homasote.com for a supplier in your provience....Vic

[Sperandeo]

Hi Wayne,

On my own railroad I'm using HomaBed .240" HO roadbed glued to a 3/4" plywood subgrade. I like Homasote for spiking handlaid track but i hate cutting the stuff, so I'm very happy with this pre-cut Homasote roadbed. HomaBed is now made by the California Roadbed Co., [e-mail].

I'm using the .240"-height roadbed for my main lines, and I believe the manufacturer now also has 1/8" HO roadbed. that wasn't avaialble when I started tracklaying, so I've used paired strips of 1/8" gasket cork to make a lower roadbed for sidings. I cut the strips from sheet material and glue it down just as you would commercial cork roadbed. I don't bevel the edges but just let the ballast form a natural slope.

By the way, gasket cork is much denser and firmer than cork roadbed, and it works just fine for hand spiking. On 1/8" roadbed with scale-size ties, Old Pullman HO spikes go through the cork and just into the first layer of the plywood. Thsi works just fine, because the spikes don't go far enough to hit the first layer of laminating glue, which is a lot harder than the wood.

Good luck,

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

[Anonymous]

Hey Andy, A number of years ago MR published a little short tip I submitted on how to cut Homasote using a Nicholson #81091 sabre saw blade.
(A blade with no teeth) I don't remember exactly what issue but it was probably between 1985 and 1990. Anyway maybe you can find it in the archives. I'm still cutting Homasote with the same blade and none of that irritating dust!! Take Care....Vic

[Sperandeo]

Hi Vic,

I probably wrote that article, as I tried such a blade while building the Washita & Santa Fe project layout. The knife-edge saber saw blade was an improvement, but I still don't like doing it all that much. This blade is clean but slow, and if you try to go too fast you can overheat the blade and dull its edge. There are other ways I prefer to spend my hobby time.

So long,

Andy

[Anonymous]

Hi Andy, I'm sorry to have to correct you in public Old Chap...BUT... I WROTE THE ARTICLE/TIP ON CUTTING HOMASOTE...MR PUBLISHED IT AND PAID ME FOR IT (a paltry $15 or $20 if I remember correctly). I take no offense but let's give credit where credit is due. Having a few words published in MR is not my claim to fame nor did it put me on the road to riches. Take Care...Vic

[Anonymous]

Vic:

You continue to be a wealth of knowledge. I was just going to post an inquiry asking about the best way to cut Homasote. Thanks.

Jim

[Anonymous]

Hi Jim, Most any fine or medium tooth sabre saw blade will cut Homasote just fine. Just remember the finer the tooth the smoother the cut. A variable speed scrolling sabre saw is a big advantage.

The question orginally posed way back when was how to cut Homasote without creating that anoying grey dust. A knife edge blade like the one previously mentioned will do the trick although it is just a bit slower. The trick to that is to use an industrial quality blade like the one I mentioned and find a speed where it does not overheat. If the dust isn't a problem just go with a good quality fine or medium tooth blade.
Take Care and Have Fun...Vic