I was wondering about the woodland scenic track belt. Has anyone used it? if you use this, do you still need the cork beneath the tracks? Any info about the product would be useful and appreciated. Thanks.
Sean, the unknown train travler,
Do you mean track bed? That is a foam roadbed. It would be used instead of cork roadbed. I use it and I like it more than cork. It's easier to work with.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi Mister B.
It’s the trackbed. Thanks for the info.
Sean.
I use it. I like it much better than cork ( have less trouble getting it to go where I want it.
I buy it in the 3' long strips rather than the roll, because it's a good length to work with. I use latex caulk to hold it down, as well as to attach the track to the top.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
CTValleyRR I use it. I like it much better than cork ( have less trouble getting it to go where I want it. I buy it in the 3' long strips rather than the roll, because it's a good length to work with. I use latex caulk to hold it down, as well as to attach the track to the top.
Me, too. Except I buy the rolls. DAP Caulk holds both the roadbed to the base and the track to the roadbed.
Small bead:
Spread VERY VERY thin.
It holds tight and can be pried up easily and cleanly.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I used cork on my own layout, but helped a friend build a layout using the WS foam. I didn't like it at all. While it was easy enough to install, I prefer to nail the track in place and into something solid. He uses Peco switches, which can be operated manually by moving the points, but if you want to use Caboose Industries ground throws for your turnouts, the foam is too soft to allow for a solid mounting. Where we needed to bring the track level down to the turntable, I substituted a length of cork roadbed, then tapered it down using sandpaper.
Wayne
The black foam that WS uses has the advantage that it is easily cut with good sissors -- in fact in some ways a sissors is easier than a knife blade with that product. I had my misgivings about its slight springy quality in terms of possibly causing the hard crust of the bonded ballast to weaken. But in practical reality that should not be a huge risk.
I do prefer cork myself.
Dave Nelson
I use the foam and buy it in the rolls. I use Loctite all purpose adhesive caulk for both the road bed and the track. Where I have gone from the main to ground level I have used the 2% WS starter inclines in some places and wooden shims (3$ +/- at Home Depot for a lifetime supply) in others. All my turnouts are controlled by caboose ground throws. I bought a cork strip, cut off a length to accommodate the width of the ground throw and then butt the inclined part of the cork up against the incline part of the foam. This will bring the ground throw flush with the top of the foam road bed. Finally, gorilla glue to attach the piece of cork to the subroad bed and the ground throw to the cork. Track nails on the ground throws provide enough clamping action while the glue cures. Be VERY sparing with the gorilla glue, it expands and in a couple of cases I had to tear out the ground throw, scrape off the glue and then reattach the ground throw because the glue expanded underneath the throw bar, defeating the purpose of the ground throw.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
dknelson The black foam that WS uses has the advantage that it is easily cut with good sissors -- in fact in some ways a sissors is easier than a knife blade with that product. I had my misgivings about its slight springy quality in terms of possibly causing the hard crust of the bonded ballast to weaken. But in practical reality that should not be a huge risk. I do prefer cork myself. Dave Nelson
The springiness isn't an issue if you apply sufficient ballast and adhesive (to the ballast).
And yes, if you're planning to nail your track down and don't have lauan or similar underneath to nail into, you're going to have trouble.