Well, that really derails (ha!) my plans. I place an initial order a few weeks ago, and today I got an email saying they are shutting down permanently. I was given the option of having my order completed, or getting a refund.
I see two things: Get this order, and hope someone else picks up making the same homasote roadbed products real soon, or take the refund and go back to using cork.
I do not have, nor do I want to buy, the tools needed to make this myself. It's not just the angle cuts for the shoulder, it's the milling of each piece to a uniform thickness. Also a reason I don;t want to just cookie cutter homasote and put it on top of plywood, and then use cork or something.
Just very bad timing, since the day I can start building is getting closer and closer.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Wow! Isn't that the same place Sheldon uses for his road bed?
Mike.
My You Tube
Yup. I have an order in for about 80' of roadbed and some turnout pieces. I don't want to do half and half (more like 20/80 is you figure the upper deck too), so I'm leaning towards just getting cork again.
Noticed their Ebay listings have permanently ended.
I figured Sheldon bought everything they had!
Too bad they are closing. BTW, I have about 30 feet of the product, and its a little bit lighter weight and maybe less dense thean what I expected. Not sure if I would have used more of it.
I have the branchline low profile product so I'm just going to use it for sidings and spurs.
- Douglas
It's homasote. It's less dense then cork, which if put on top of something denser, like plywood, is why it deadens noise so well. It's not so much the material, it's the difference in density of multiple materials at the interface between the two - unless you nail it all together which in a large part defeats the purpose.
I was just at the point when, per their stated lead times, I was going to get a shipping notification. Instead I got the closed notification. Same text appears if you go to their web site now as well.
I can hope someone else steps in, he did with the California Roadbed guy had to quit (the original Homa-bed) and then improved on it by making the various thicknesses and also with proper slopes as well as 45 degree slopes to match with cork.
Well this is sad news. No, I did not buy it all.......
I do have some in inventory but will need a bunch more.
I guess I may just have to make it myself. No worries, it is in my skillset. Or, maybe I will just mill roadbed from white pine.......
If I was in a slightly different place with my retirement/personal stuff, I would see if the business is for sale.
Too many irons in the fire right now.....
Sheldon
Randy, which Homasote product are you looking for?
Rich
Alton Junction
I ordered some of their main line 30 degree shoulder, both plain and curvable, and a few turnout pads, #6 and #8 for Peco.
I will need a LOT more of the main line, and a bunch of the branch line as well for sidings, yards, and the branches. A LOT more than my initial order was for.
Do it yourself hints:
http://www.housatonicrr.com/DIY_Roadbed.htm
I do not have a table saw. And push sticks or not, small pieces that close to the blade are kind of dangerous. You need to add a few things to make most saws safe to handle narrow pieces.
Plus there is one other thing - homasote sheets are not even from edge to edge. The Cascade product and the Homabed before it was milled to a uniform size.
For the effort - it's going to be just easier to use cork. Unl;ess someone else takes over the business very soon. Or there is some announcement soon. If I go ahead and have them make my order, and then no one takes over, I have a section done with one material and the majority will end up being cork anyway. If I have them cancel and refund, I can oder cork (for less) and end up with everything uniform.
I bought some of this. Not homasote, but supposedly denser than WS foam. Seems inexpensive enough to experiment.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/sparks00033/m.html?item=190871065031&hash=item2c70cd51c7%3Ag%3A2DsAAMXQTgZQ%7Em4X&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
Hmm, looks interesting. And it says he will do custom widths and large mats for yards.
Did you get it yet? Impressions?
I was looking for other information on it, all I can really find is it being sold EVERYWHERE. And I found a patent application for foam roadbed for model trains. Gave me a company name - turns out it's the actual name of Woodland Scenics. Expired in 2018 - could be why this stuff has now appeared.
I'm willing to give it a try, somewhere in between cork and WS foam would be just about right.
richhotrain Randy, which Homasote product are you looking for? Rich
Rich, if you are not familiar with it, Homabed, later known as Cascade, is a two piece roadbed product much like cork, but made out of homasote.
The pieces intended for curves are kerfed to allow bending, straight pieces are not kerfed, helping make it easier to lay straight sections.
Much better than cork in my opinion.
I have a cabinet grade table saw, with a vacuum attachment, and all the other accessories, and "magic" push sticks for small work.
I will make it if need be.
I know I am bucking the trend here, but foam is just a non starter for me.
If I can dent it with my finger or by leaning on it, it is too soft.
Long before Homabed, way back in the dark ages of model railroading during the 1960's and 1970's, modelers who were hand laying track learned about the benefit of homasote as a roadbed material.
They typically used it in 1/2" or 3/4" thickness, cut it in strips, or "cookie cutter" style, and then beveled the edges by various means.
They would then use Campbell profile ties and hand lay track. The roadbed holds spikes well, yet is easy to spike into.
Then later a commercial version appeared - Homabed. When that guy retired, the Cascade guy bought the line, and improved it and added more products.
Now he has closed up........
My first use of Homosote, from the early 80's. I could get large pieces from work.
I don't remember the building we were doing, but the carpenters put it up, before drywall.
I did the cutting outside. It was so easy to work with, everything was spiked down, with ease.
I'd vote for cutting road bed myself.
Well, s***!
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
rrinker Hmm, looks interesting. And it says he will do custom widths and large mats for yards. Did you get it yet? Impressions? I was looking for other information on it, all I can really find is it being sold EVERYWHERE. And I found a patent application for foam roadbed for model trains. Gave me a company name - turns out it's the actual name of Woodland Scenics. Expired in 2018 - could be why this stuff has now appeared. I'm willing to give it a try, somewhere in between cork and WS foam would be just about right. --Randy
I just ordered it. 60 ft. Hopefully its denser than WS, as its advertised to be so. Like you said, if its between cork and WS for hardness, it may be about right.
I've got a little bit of WS foambed around here, I'll give it a thumb press comparison when it gets here.
Bayfield Transfer RailwayWell, s***!
My thought exactly.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I used to like homasote for for subroad bed and still use it for large areas like yards. A friend of mine introduced me a product called flexxbed which I have used for my current layout and my previous one. It is flexible enough to bend around curves and has good flex but is much stiffer than WS foam roadbed.
https://hobbyinnovations.com/
Unlike cork it does not dry out. It is also UV resistant.
It comes in many different profiles as well. I'm not associated with them, just a happy customer.
In this case I have already painted the roadbed but can see it here.
Colorado Front Range Railroad: http://www.coloradofrontrangerr.com/
Homosote takes spikes and track nails well and it does some sound deadening. But cutting it or working it, especially with power tools, makes an awful mess. The little fuzzy, papery cuttings go every where and static cling makes them difficult to sweep up, or get out of your clothes. And I want my roadbed to be 1/4 inch thick (for HO) and I never saw Homosote that thin. You would have to resaw the homosote into 1/4 inch. Then cut your roadbed with a band saw, and then chamfer the edges to 45 degrees with a router. By the time that was finished I hate to think of what my shop would look like. I don't like cork, it doesn't hold nails or spikes.
I went for soft pine roadbed. That comes 3/4 inch thick from the lumberyard and I resawed down to 1/4 inch on my bandsaw.
Here is my bandsaw with a home made fence chewing thru a walnut board. This 3/4 inch piece of walnut is getting cut right in half to make 3/8 inch thick pieces for a non-railroad project. Pine cuts much easier and I could cut each pine board into three 1/4 inch pieces. Before starting you want to use a square to make sure the table is at 90 degrees to the blade, and that the fence is at 90 degrees to the table. And you want to use the widest blade your bandsaw will take (mine will only take 1/2 inch) with coarse teeth, or even a skip tooth blade.
Here is the same cut, viewed from the front of the bandsaw. Did you notice how the old time Sears marketing folk got a big label carrying both Sears and Craftsman names and the name of the tool. Nice and big nobody will miss it. Wanna bet one reason Sears is gone is they forgot how to market stuff?
Anyhow, once I had the pine cut down to 1/4 inch I cut the straight pieces to width with my radial arm saw and the curved pieces on the bandsaw. Then I used my router to chamfer both edges to 45 degrees. As I remember, I got all the roadbed cut and ready to lay track on in just an afternoon. If you lack all the power tools I used, it would not be too hard to cut the roadbed to size with a hand saw and a coping saw for the curves. And you could chamfer the edges with a plane and a spokeshave for the inside of the curved pieces.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
ATLANTIC CENTRAL richhotrain Randy, which Homasote product are you looking for? Rich Rich, if you are not familiar with it, Homabed, later known as Cascade, is a two piece roadbed product much like cork, but made out of homasote. The pieces intended for curves are kerfed to allow bending, straight pieces are not kerfed, helping make it easier to lay straight sections. Much better than cork in my opinion. I have a cabinet grade table saw, with a vacuum attachment, and all the other accessories, and "magic" push sticks for small work. I will make it if need be. Sheldon
http://homasote.com/applications/sound-control?gclid=Cj0KCQiA7aPyBRChARIsAJfWCgIwDzJ88UoJV9yuCImxhNOBYjj0SCJ3EIRAHBNEEivr72pGLgW0Z-caAo77EALw_wcB
But, as the replies to this thread added up, I realized that Cascade milled the Homasote product into usable pieces, suitable for model railroading roadbed.
Since Randy has such a liking for Homasote and needs so much for his planned layout, I would encourage him to find someone locally, perhaps a carpenter, who could mill 1/2" sections of Homasote into usable pieces, suitable for his roadbed.
After successful experimentation, I plan to go with no roadbed on my own bevelled homasote as shown in this picture.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
dstarr Homosote takes spikes and track nails well and it does some sound deadening. But cutting it or working it, especially with power tools, makes an awful mess. The little fuzzy, papery cuttings go every where and static cling makes them difficult to sweep up, or get out of your clothes. And I want my roadbed to be 1/4 inch thick (for HO) and I never saw Homosote that thin. You would have to resaw the homosote into 1/4 inch. Then cut your roadbed with a band saw, and then chamfer the edges to 45 degrees with a router. By the time that was finished I hate to think of what my shop would look like. I don't like cork, it doesn't hold nails or spikes. I went for soft pine roadbed. That comes 3/4 inch thick from the lumberyard and I resawed down to 1/4 inch on my bandsaw. Here is my bandsaw with a home made fence chewing thru a walnut board. This 3/4 inch piece of walnut is getting cut right in half to make 3/8 inch thick pieces for a non-railroad project. Pine cuts much easier and I could cut each pine board into three 1/4 inch pieces. Before starting you want to use a square to make sure the table is at 90 degrees to the blade, and that the fence is at 90 degrees to the table. And you want to use the widest blade your bandsaw will take (mine will only take 1/2 inch) with coarse teeth, or even a skip tooth blade. Here is the same cut, viewed from the front of the bandsaw. Did you notice how the old time Sears marketing folk got a big label carrying both Sears and Craftsman names and the name of the tool. Nice and big nobody will miss it. Wanna bet one reason Sears is gone is they forgot how to market stuff? Anyhow, once I had the pine cut down to 1/4 inch I cut the straight pieces to width with my radial arm saw and the curved pieces on the bandsaw. Then I used my router to chamfer both edges to 45 degrees. As I remember, I got all the roadbed cut and ready to lay track on in just an afternoon. If you lack all the power tools I used, it would not be too hard to cut the roadbed to size with a hand saw and a coping saw for the curves. And you could chamfer the edges with a plane and a spokeshave for the inside of the curved pieces.
David, Casacade did offer their homasote roadbed in 1/4 thickness, and even made N scale roadbed. Again, shame they are gone, maybe the product will reappear.........
I grew up with TruScale wood roadbed and may seriously consider wood now that Cascade is gone.
Personally, I would make wood roadbed using a planner, table saw and router table. I would build jigs to make fixed curves on the router table, or kerf straight sections for flexible curves like easements.
I have a shop full of tools, but do not own a band saw or a radial arm saw. I would not mind finding a good deal on a band saw after I get my new shop built. While they have their place, band saws have limited accuracy, and radial arm saws, while versital, are time consuming to set up for different jobs, can be more dangerous than other tools, and are simply no longer available for a number of reasons.
A good portable table saw and a good miter saw have pretty much replaced the radial arm saw and have the advantage of being easily portable. As a historic restoration trim carpenter, I need to take the cabinet shop to the job site.....
I have both a large shop table saw that has attachments so it doubles as a router table, and a portable table saw. Even the portable table saw is very accurate and effective within the sizes it is designed for.
Sears is out of business because the market changed and people realized they could buy that bandsaw lots of places with the name of the actual manufacturer on it......for the same price or less......in power tools, Dewalt, Milwaukee and PorterCable simply crushed them with better products, better prices and better availablity thru places like LOWES and HOME DEPOT.
So sad to hear this. Steve Cox opened the business as an alternative to the original Homabed brand, which had become unreliable and of low quality. He eventually bought the brand and the Homabed web site name.
After struggling to get product from the original owner, Steve suplied an excelent product and turned around the orders in a reasonable time. His communication was also first rate.
I'm very sorry to see this site closing. Homabed is a great product.
Greg
Greg Shindledecker Modeling the =WM= Thomas Sub in the mid-70s
Count me in as disappointed as well. I had intended on using Cascade products for my layout as I have previously used Homabed and really, really liked it. I have a full sheet of Homasote somewhere in storage, and I guess I can "make my own" but I would prefer not to go that route.
Bummer news. I've used Homabed and it was a nice product.
Cork does work well for me and it matters not that it will not hold nails. I nail thru it to wood underneath.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
The only reason Homasote took off, except for hand layers was there was a shortage one time with cork. Even Midwest had trouble getting it. Midwest then came out with a product that used less cork, never changed the name. This stuff had black in it "made of foam I beleive", it was terrible as it could not be sanded (at least not well). I hated this new product and so did others. Midwest later went back to therir old way of doing things. Homasote is the best I have seen if you handlay, otherwize, why bother.
Because it holds spikes much better than cork. I hate gluing flextrack to foam; I will never do that again. And I don't want to have to nail through cork to the plywood to get track to stay put.Homabed on homasote was a dream to build a layout on.
Renegade1c I used to like homasote for for subroad bed and still use it for large areas like yards. A friend of mine introduced me a product called flexxbed which I have used for my current layout and my previous one. It is flexible enough to bend around curves and has good flex but is much stiffer than WS foam roadbed. https://hobbyinnovations.com/ Unlike cork it does not dry out. It is also UV resistant. It comes in many different profiles as well. I'm not associated with them, just a happy customer.