Another Roadbed Question

[cowman]

So not to hijack another post, I'll ask seperatly.

When using cork or similar roadbed and you taper down to the subroadbed, what kind of distance to you take for the change in elevation?

Thank you,

Richard

[SeeYou190]

Cowman: When I have gone from Mainline (with cork roadbed) to industrial siding (without cork roadbed), I have just raised the sub-roadbed 1/4" and the rail tops remain level.

-Kevin

[dbduck]

A 2% grade will drop 1/4 " in 12.5 inches

for 3% grade 8.3"

4%.     6.25"

another thing to take in consideration, the type of cars that will be placed in the siding

shorter cars can negotiate the transition better than longer cars especially ones that have a longer  distance between the trucks & couplers  like auto racks or 89' high cubes

worse case set up a "test track" to see what works

[riogrande5761]

I dont taper, I match surfaces, which makes more sense to me.  

[wp8thsub]

To represent elevation changes at sidings or industry spurs, I've tapered around 1/8" vertically in around 6" or so.  

PFE 3

by wp8thsub, on Flickr

One such vertical transition, from HO to N cork roadbed, is shown in the foreground above.   I used a belt sander to taper the HO roadbed.

[Pruitt]

I drop 1/16 in about a foot. I use layers of masking tape in progressively shorter lengths to make the taper.

[doctorwayne]

In the photo below, the locomotive closest to the camera is on track atop ordinary cork roadbed...

...while the smaller loco to the left is on track directly atop the plywood.  The track between those two locomotives drops 3/16" (the thickness of the cork roadbed) in just under 12".
I used #36 Garnet sandpaper, wrapped around a block of wood, to make the slope in just a couple of minutes.

Wayne

[BRAKIE]

cowman

So not to hijack another post, I'll ask seperatly.

When using cork or similar roadbed and you taper down to the subroadbed, what kind of distance to you take for the change in elevation?

Thank you,

Richard

 

Richard, In my railroad experience the majority of the industrial siding drop from the main line while others did not.

I recall one on the Chessie(C&O) where the engineer had to use the sanders  on rainy days. Of course we was pulling 5-7 loaded covered hoppers along with the empty setouts. A old GP7/9 would get a workout there.

Industrial sidings is usually on the same level as the industrial lead (branch) but, again not always..

[ndbprr]

I hope i am not highjacking this but I find cork to be very high. Much higher then my eyes see looking at the prototype. My preferred material is cheap paneling. A damaged sheet can be had at a big box store for a couple dollars. I rip it in 1" strips on a radial arm saw which yields 47 pieces 8' long. That is 376' for under $10. It can be glued down or tacked down.  For curves I cut notchs about 3/4" with the pieces stacked vertically and do it in bulk about every 1/2".  Takes spikes easily or caulk whichever is preferred. Csn be bent to 24" radius

[SeeYou190]

ndbprr

I find cork to be very high. Much higher then my eyes see looking at the prototype.

On my experimental layout segment I tried something even higher. I cut the roadbed right out of 1/2" homasote and did not use cork.

This turned out very well. I had plenty of space to build up the scenery to an appropriate level next to the track.

With cork, if you build up the scenery, the elevation can soon go away.

The grade of the finished scenery looked good to me.

-Kevin

[SeeYou190]

Lastspikemike

Ditch profiles are more important to realistic appearance than ballast profiles.

I need to completely disagree with this assertion.

I have photographed prototype railroad trackage all over the country. The ditch profile is almost never noticeable, but the grade elevation, if there is one, can always be seen.

The ditches might be there, but they are not features that show up. It is more important to model what we really see.

Ditches might make some scenes look a lot better, but they are certainly not more important than the ballast profile.

-Kevin

[doctorwayne]

On some areas of my layout, I simply skipped using roadbed, putting the track right on the plywood, then simulated a ballast and sub-roadbed profile using different-coloured ballasting materials, along with some foam groundcover...

Here, the track is layed atop rock fill, although there's a drainage ditch (yet to be landscaped) on the unseen side of this track...

...and somewhat north of the previous photo, there'll be drainage ditches on both sides of the track, as seen in this view looking south...

Wayne

[BRAKIE]

doctorwayne

On some areas of my layout, I simply skipped using roadbed, putting the track right on the plywood, then simulated a ballast and sub-roadbed profile using different-coloured ballasting materials, along with some foam groundcover...

Wayne, That's the way it should be done. A industrial siding should never look like the main line for several reasons to include the majority of the industry sidings is owned and maintain by the industry and not the railroad. Any industrial siding owned by a railroad would see a lot of deferred maintenance.

[Renegade1c]

I use door shims found at the local big box hardware store. They are 12 inches long 1/4" thick on the wide end which I trim to match the height of the road bed. I use them for transition from roadbed to plywood and sometime even HO roadbed to N scale road bed. It makes about a 2% grade. I use latex caulking to glue them down just like the road bed. I use a mix of Flexxbed for mainline and N scale cork for secondary lines and no roadbed for spurs. 

The door shims make the transitions quick and easy with minimal sanding. I have never been able to get a smooth transition by sanding cork. THe Flexxbed cant be sanded easily.