# Has anyone made thier an roadbed?



## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

I have read that people have used foam board from the dollar store, but I wanted to know if anyone else ad ideas. If u can't tell, I like to save money anywhere possible.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Yes, I can see that, using less letters when you post must save you a ton!


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## scaleddown (Mar 13, 2014)

Harsh, Old Hobo.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

makes it all right......


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Use cork and be done with it. It's not that expensive, easy to work with and will save you a lot of time trying to save a buck. You only do it once!


That was funny Old Hobo


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## irishthump (Jul 1, 2013)

Bwells said:


> You only do it once!


I beg to differ! I'll be doing it for the second time shortly, just tore up my last layout...


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Foam board yes, for making structures, but for a roadbed?!


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## hokie1525 (Jan 13, 2015)

I didn't know the dollar store sold foam board. Blue and pink foam are already pretty cheap at the big box stores.

For roadbed, you want something that is shaped like roadbed, i.e. tapered on the sides, the right width, the right height, etc. This way when you put the ballast on (if you are going to do that), it will actually look like ballasted raised railroad. Foam board will take a long time to carve accurately to the right shape. As stated above, cork is pretty cheap. You can get a box of about 75 feet for $25 online. And it's very easy to work with.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Dollar store sells cheap, beadboard foam. Would not be my choice for a roadbed.

You want to be careful being too cheap. There is a three way relationship between cost, time and quality. Optimizing one minimizes the other two. If you always aim for the "low cost" corner of the triangle, you always need to spend more time and often have lesser quality. Most especially in this hobby, what you save in materials cost you will lose in the time necessary to create what you really need and if your skills aren't up to scratch, quality may suffer too. 

Roadbed is one such area. For most of us, the right answer is to use the prefab stuff.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Old_Hobo said:


> Yes, I can see that, using less letters when you post must save you a ton!


Well, if you want to play that game, he uses FEWER letters, not LESS.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Fewer....less....tomato....tomauto....:laugh:


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Old_Hobo said:


> Fewer....less....tomato....tomauto....:laugh:


Don't say that to an English teacher. You would die of old age during the resulting lecture. Why yes, I am married to a Professor of English, and yes, I did make the mistake of expressing my indifference to that exact concept. Now, don't get me wrong, she's always right... but in this case she really is. :laugh:

Now, back to the topic...


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## alcoman (Nov 4, 2009)

I like using homasote for roadbed. Cork is my second choice. I think the cheap foamboard would be too soft to work well. The taper is not that hard to cut. I like to experiment with different materials. It's part of what makes the hobby enjoyable.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

There are two main types of track bed that are very popular,
Foam by W/S and cork. Either type can be installed then
later moved when you redesign the layout. The key is to
avoid over gluing. Just a dab here and there will be sufficient
and you'll be able to remove it later with little or no damage.

Don


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

I have used both cork and WS foam - I liked the foam much better, due to ease of working with it. Have never tried homasote so I can't comment on it.
Seems like foam would absorb sound better too, although I can't tell the difference personally. After ballasting they all look the same 

Definitely agree to avoid the inexpensive substitutes, this is one area you don't want to save a few pennies to compromise on.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*DIY roadbead*

I use 1/8" luan plywood. Straight sections cut in bunches on my table saw. Curves cut individulay on a band saw. All sections tapered on both edges with a disc sander. Glue it down with Elmer's white glue. Paint roadbed and surrounding area with earth brown latex house paint. This helps prevent warping and helps with appearance. Then glue track on top with house paint or caulk. Result is a very solid roadbed at fairly low cost.

Traction fan


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

traction fan said:


> I use 1/8" luan plywood. Straight sections cut in bunches on my table saw. Curves cut individulay on a band saw. All sections tapered on both edges with a disc sander. Glue it down with Elmer's white glue. Paint roadbed and surrounding area with earth brown latex house paint. This helps prevent warping and helps with appearance. Then glue track on top with house paint or caulk. Result is a very solid roadbed at fairly low cost.
> 
> Traction fan


I found myself commenting on cost a lot lately. Materials cost is fairly low, but the time factor is killer. While I'm sure this process makes terrific roadbed, the cost in terms of my precious modeling time is prohibitive.

I would also think it would amplify noise rather than deaden it.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Sound Non issue*

First I model in N scale, and the trains produce relatively little sound in the first place. Second, even when I was into H.O. they weren't all that noisy. The only configuration I have ever heard that appreciably reduced the sound of a moving train is to glue homasote on the plywood and have it cover the area beyond the ballast. Otherwise, once the ballast is glued on it seems to conduct sound down to any plywood sub roadbed just fine. I have also found that supporting the sub roadbed with glued on wood "beams" underneath on both sides; like a deck girder bridge helps. I added the beams for a completely different purpose, to prevent warping of the plywood sub roadbed; but found it helped with sound too.

Traction fan


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

traction fan said:


> First I model in N scale, and the trains produce relatively little sound in the first place. Second, even when I was into H.O. they weren't all that noisy. The only configuration I have ever heard that appreciably reduced the sound of a moving train is to glue homasote on the plywood and have it cover the area beyond the ballast. Otherwise, once the ballast is glued on it seems to conduct sound down to any plywood sub roadbed just fine. I have also found that supporting the sub roadbed with glued on wood "beams" underneath on both sides; like a deck girder bridge helps. I added the beams for a completely different purpose, to prevent warping of the plywood sub roadbed; but found it helped with sound too.
> 
> Traction fan


That's just what I've found. There's really little evidence for using roadbed to deaden sound. If you do use it would be mainly for cosetic reasons.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Making luan roadbed*

Aminnich:

I forgot to address your time concern in my last post. First I understand, and share, your concern for getting the most enjoyment out of the time available. I also understand that each modeler's situation is different, and therefore only you can decide what best fits yours.
Using the power tools, mentioned in my first post, making enough Luan roadbed to keep your track laying gang busy is no problem. The table saw will whip out a scale mile of straight roadbed in a few minutes. Cutting curves on a band saw(or with a hand-held saber saw), is slower; but still takes only a few minutes per piece. Of course, if all this had to be done by hand,that would be a different story. In any case, good luck on your search for the right roadbed for you.

Traction fan


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## oldmerc (May 12, 2014)

I favour cork purchased in box quantities . Fast and not cost prohibitive .


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## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

sorry it has been awhile since i have posted, but you have not stopped posting. Their arent any ideas that i have not read about. Concerning power tools, i have a lot of ability and access to them. Concerning size of the foam board i mentioned, it is the exact same thickness as the foam roadbed (5mm). I have not cut it up yet, but it should be fairly simple. I dont understand what the problem would be. I understand that some people dont like the idea of being cheap everywhere you can be, but i like to save my money and spend it on my rolling stock and engines. So if you dont like that im trying to save some money, sorry, but i am going to continue asking for money saving advice.


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

Well I am as cheap as they come when saving money in order to spend it on interesting things like locos and rolling stock. But - just giving you some perspective. I am very familiar with dollar store foam board. It is what it is. Yes, you can use it if you like, once it is glued down and sealed up with ballast it will _probably_ be just fine. However it has its limitations like any other money-saving idea. One is that it is rigid and inflexible, so you will have to cut your curves rather than bend them. The other thing is that it is susceptible to warping when in contact with moisture.
You're the boss of your railroad though, hope it works out!


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## Mr. SP (Jan 7, 2015)

*Cheap*

Don't skimp on your trackwork. I used cork on my home railroad and it's held up OK. As for foam board. I haven't used it for roadbed. Using cork is easier and ives a good base under the track.
Good track and good equipment make for a good running railroad. 
Go cheap and it will come back to bite you


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

It's not that we don't like the idea of being cheap. Most of us do. It's just that there are places where cheap will give you less than good results. The considered opinion of most of us is that roadbed is one of those areas.

To put a firm point on it: the quality of your trackwork will directly affect your enjoyment of the hobby, because substandard track work will usually lead to stalls, derailments, and unwanted uncouplings.

I keep harping on the Cost / Time / Quality triangle -- before you decide that lower cost is better, make sure you understand the tradeoffs in quality and time. But the bottom line is, it's your layout. Do what you want.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Time verses cost+practicaliby=cork(imho).*

I agree wiith the last two forum members,tr1


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