Roadbed

When Chris and I built the Lakes Region Model Railroad, we had a few goals we wanted to accomplish with it.  First, the layout had to be portable.  This meant it had to be lightweight, durable, and easy to set up and take down.  Second, it had to be inexpensive.  That meant we had to design and build the layout keeping in mind what we have, and maybe sacrificing a few luxuries that were too expensive to justify.  Finally, the layout had to be able to withstand cold weather, because we were building it in an unheated garage.

One of the first things we had to figure out was roadbed.  Neither of us wanted to use plywood or homosote, so the debate was between cork and foam.  We ruled out cork because it was more expensive, Chris had a supply of foam roadbed already, foam is easier to work with, and it is lighter than cork, reducing the weight of the modules.  We glued the foam roadbed to the layout, and nailed and glued the track in place on top of the roadbed.  This worked very well while the layout was set up.

The end of the school year came around, and the layout had to come down.  We didn't have a place to set it up, so we drove it to Nashua and stored it in the shed in my backyard.  In doing this, we learned that the layout was much lighter than we thought it was.  All four modules stacked on top of each other only weigh about 30 pounds!  We put the layout away, hoping that one day we could set it up again.

The layout spent two hot summers and one cold winter in the shed before we set it up again.  The weather extremes had taken its toll on the track.  The foam didn't provide a sturdy enough base for the track, and the track was allowed to bend and twist as the temperature expanded and contracted the rails.  When we set the layout up again, we tore up all the track and roadbed, and we are now replacing the roadbed with cork.  Cork is heavier than foam, but we believe that the extra weight is worth it.  The cork is a sturdy base to attach the track to, it will hold the track in place much better than the foam did, making it withstand the elements better and making it more durable during transport.  The modules were much lighter than we anticipated anyway, so the extra weight is okay, because the modules are still extremely lightweight.  Also, cork isn't as expensive as we thought when we built the layout the first time.

I have never tried using plywood or homosote as roadbed materials, but I have heard of it being done.  I wouldn't want to work with plywood, especially on grades and curves, but it would be extremely durable for a modular layout.  I don't really know anything about homosote, so I can't say anything about it.  But through my experience, I have learned that nothing works as well as good old fashioned cork roadbed.