# contouring road bed?



## Dave60 (Apr 21, 2015)

I'm about ready to mark the track and start gluing road bed down. Before doing it though I need to contour a couple of places where the ramp meets the Styrofoam. What do I use for that? Plaster of Paris, spackling putty, paper Mache? 

Here is a picture of what I'm talking about.



















And one of the layout as it sits now.










Any suggestions? Thanks Dave


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Roadbed contouring*

Dave60;

I'm not sure I understand what you want to know. The term "roadbed" is most commonly used in the hobby for cork,or foam commercial roadbed products. What type are you going to use? If you're talking about blending the lower, side, edges with the styrofoam; no "contouring"
should be needed. Normally, the cork is white glued directly to the styrofoam, following the center line of the track. You can draw the line on the foam with a marking pen. After the track is laid, a coat of dirt brown latex house paint is brushed on the foam either side of the roadbed.( you can paint the roadbed too.) With the paint still wet, Sift on the dirt material you like best. (I use finely crushed real dirt). The ballast applied over the cork, and between the ties will naturally blend with the dirt. You don't have to shave or alter anything. 
If, by "contouring", you mean tapering the end of the cork roadbed, at the beginning of a grade; the cork can be sanded to the desired slope. You can also use thin cardboard, wood or plastic shims to ramp up to the end of your roadbed.

Hope that helps you. If not ask again with a better description, or photo,showing what you want to do. Here are a couple photos from my layout. I use luan plywood roadbed,real dirt,and commercial ballast. 

Traction Fan


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## Dave60 (Apr 21, 2015)

I'm sorry for the confusion. I'll be using mostly cork for the roadbed as well as some foam type stuff that I got in rolls of 50 feet, then ballast. I like your use of real dirt as a ground cover so I'll be copying you on that one. But what I need some advise on is the wooden area by the turnout. As the track comes down and meets the greenish Styrofoam it doesn't touch the wood so I'd like to smear something on the wood and Styrofoam to build it up and smooth it out so it gently transitions out and once the roadbed is laid the track will lay better.

As a side, that's some great work on your layout. I only hope that I can come close to that level of skill.

Dave


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## powersteamguy1790 (Mar 26, 2012)

Dave:

That grade appears to be very steep. For best results grades should be limited to 2% or less.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Dave, instead of building the wood part up, have you considered grinding down the foam in a gentle grade to where the track contacts both wood and foam? Use a shaping rasp or sand paper or even carve it with a knife. Just an idea.....


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Dave60 said:


> But what I need some advise on is the wooden area by the turnout. As the track comes down and meets the greenish Styrofoam it doesn't touch the wood so I'd like to smear something on the wood and Styrofoam to build it up and smooth it out so it gently transitions out and once the roadbed is laid the track will lay better.
> Dave


It is not essential for every tie to be supported. Model track is strong enough to support even the heaviest locos over short distances. If you support every 4th to 5th tie, that will do fine -- especially on straight track. You can support these ties using shims of cardboard or thin pieces of plastic (as mentioned in an earlier post). Once you have the transition worked out to be smooth (no sudden changes in angle) then glue all those ugly shims in place. If you use white glue, you can remove the later using water if necessary.

Then cut off the excess shims that stick out beyond the ties. Then cover the cut ugly cut ends of the shims with caulk to smooth the transition to the flat table. The shims that show through the ties will be covered by ballast. If you don't ballast, you can paint them to match the ties or the your soil cover. This is not the only method -- just one suggestion.

However it looks like you have a sudden angle change part way up your wooden slope -- where a track connection falls very near a change in the angle of the wood. This will cause problems (unless it is an optical illusion). Try to have your track connections fall in the center of each slope section. Then use shims where the wood changes angle suddenly -- to smooth the angle change out over a longer distance.

P.S. I just reread your initial post, and noted that you are going to use roadbed between the boards and the track. Most of what I said still applies. You can put shims under the track on top of the roadbed, or you can put shims under the roadbed to smooth its transition -- but you won't know how well that is going to work until you start putting the track on top of the roadbed. Not sure which would work better for you. You could play with both. Just do not use permanent glue. I use diluted white glue for roadbed and nothing but track nails for track. After I have run for a year or so, I will ballast -- again with diluted white glue.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Zip Texturing.*

The transitional areas on your layout, where different materials touch each other, I suggest filling in the uneven areas and leveling off with some type of plaster. That is the technique I used. You may want to use the gravel texture. Sprinkle on the dusty plaster
compound, spray the top with water, and let dry. Now you can color the plaster with
a water based product of the appropriate color. This process is similar to "zip texturing"
introduced some time in the 1970's by a Mr. Lynn Westcott and Model Railroader.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Dave

Among the easiest materials to use for any scenic work including
contouring is ordinary dry way paste. It's available in small
quantities, you can easily apply it with a putty knife (keep a
pan of water to 'lubricate' the knife so paste doesn't stick
to it) and clean up is with water. 

Don


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## Dave60 (Apr 21, 2015)

thanks all for the information. I went ahead and put a layer of plaster down. Once dried I'll sand a bit and a final coat. Seems to be working great.










For the next layer I'll spread it thin and dust it with dirt, then on to road bed.

Dave


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