I didn't read all the posts in detail so sorry if someone mentioned this before. I used particle board once and the weight made it almost impossible. I can't remember the thickness as it was 30 years ago, but after horsing it around I decided I would use plywood from that point on. My other thought is that with all the water soluble materials we use, it would sure seem that it wouldn't hold up too well over the long haul.
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
I 'm a belgian and use plywood and would probably never use particle board-OSB because i'ts not stable in the time and need many supports because of his a lack of rigidity.
Also no OSB because Belgian is really a humidity land by itself, rain is often our week end friend!
Many people say to use birch plywood for is quality; this is true but it exit cheaper plywood.
For my Maclau River in Nscale I use 3/4" plywood from benchwork to roadbed; quite sturdy for Nscale, but I never regret it.
I use the plywood which serve to build commercial box for big machine like motors or mechanical devices, it's a pine based plywood, he is also used in the home construction as a base work, even if OSB take his place everywhere.
This plywood is quiet cheap, just check the panels before to buy them because of the pine construction it could wrap. I have already seen this kind of plywood on MR projects; it's a quite white rough plywood.
I cut all the benchwork pieces in full lenght of 13cm by 244cm, this the base of all my benchwork. (13cm because it's the heigh necessary to protect a Tortoise).
After cut I let it dry in the train room (nearby), at the same temperature during 15 days or more, this give a relative stable product.
For roadbed I cut in a another panel but I use now unalite, 5mm thickness and make spline for the roadbed, track floooooow so much better.
Just my use from 35 years ( from an idea of my late lord....)
Marc_Magnus I 'm a belgian and use plywood and would probably never use particle board-OSB because i'ts not stable in the time and need many supports because of his a lack of rigidity.
I think it's worth pointing out, as others have, that particle board and OSB are not the same thing, so it isn't really accurate to use them both in the same sentence as they don't have the same characteristics, at least not in the US - I can't speak for Belgium.
I lived in southern Indiana where summers are so humid it feels like you could cut the air with a knife - major humid. I had OSB on my layout in my garage, which was not a controlled environment, and my benchwork was stable and the track surface did not warp or deform noticably.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 Marc_Magnus I 'm a belgian and use plywood and would probably never use particle board-OSB because i'ts not stable in the time and need many supports because of his a lack of rigidity. I think it's worth pointing out, as others have, that particle board and OSB are not the same thing, so it isn't really accurate to use them both in the same sentence as they don't have the same characteristics, at least not in the US - I can't speak for Belgium. I lived in southern Indiana where summers are so humid it feels like you could cut the air with a knife - major humid. I had OSB on my layout in my garage, which was not a controlled environment, and my benchwork was stable and the track surface did not warp or deform noticably.
Hello Rio Grande,
Yes we have the two products here in my small country and both suffer from the humidity if not protected.
It exist here a OSB covered whith a green paint garanted against humidity and used in bathroom construction, but the price is close to my plywood.
Second, if you use OSB as roadbed, a long S piece whith a small width, you have a really breakable piece of wood in your hand; plywood is sure more sturdy and need less supports in any case.
All these reasons push me to say use plywood.
Particle board,the stuff that looks like sawdust pressed together, Is unsuitable for layout work. Water will destroy it,cause it to swell,cause it to crumble,and it has little linear strength. Its used as underlayment for floors where no water is present,and because it has no voids that will depress and show. Oriented strand board is much better, but it is hard to drive nails into and is weak horizontally. I'd use 5/8 plywood for roadbed and yards minimum. BILL in Idaho