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If you attach plywood to a solid framed wood framework-like L girder construction- you could experience some movement of the structure as a whole. Wood expands across the grain, and causes problems in cabinet and table construction. In my woodworking shop I use either slotted holes or metal fasteners such as "figure eights'", or small angles that ride in a milled slot, to allow for seasonal movement. Plywood is stable because of the grain orientation. Man-made products such as particle board, Homosote, and medium density fibreboard (MDF) are also stable unless they soak up moisture. I use MDF for shop jigs and for inner cores of workbenches because it is a cost effective, totally flat, extremely dense (& heavy), stable surface - but it must be coated w/paint, an oil, or a w/ shellac to keep the humidity out, first evidenced by tell-tale mildue in the Georgia hot and humid weather where I reside. <br /> <br />In the building of my new layout I am going to use some form of a fastener that allows for seasonal expansion and contraction, and use laminated pieces of plywood for the subroadbed, rather than real wood. Also, I suspect that the problem w/ kinked rails is aggrivated by tight radius curves and complex trackwork; consequently, I plan to isolate the sub roadbed for such sections of trackwork from the rest of the structure to permit the movement to take place off of the actual roadbed. The roadbed will remain intact-hopefully- while the wood frame moves about. We shall see. . .
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