What are you mounting you GG Track on?

Here's one way to do it....


http://youtu.be/NJOEzT58HsE

I would probably go with Midwest cork. It splits down the middle to make curves easier, has sloped edges for a realistic profile, and forms a nice "solid" base. It's what I always used in HO with good results.

I lay mine down on Midwest cork roadbed, works well for my small layout (6x12). Also, I dont screw it down, I just make sure the joints are tight, as it's a semi-permanent layout.

 

If I was going to screw it down, I would use plastic zip ties instead of screws...to keep the noise down.

 

 

I've used the woodland scenics foam roadbed before and found it to be fairly easy to work with.  For doing curves it tears down the middle pretty easy.  I traced out the center line of where the track was going to go, layed down some white glue and temporarily stapled gunned the roadbed down.  The staples were removed the next day.  This was done under tinplate o gauge track and there was another track on the same table without the roadbed.  the difference in noise was incredible.  I don't live in that house anymore and when I packed up the layout I was able to pull the roadbed up off the table and 95% came right up and I plant on re-using it.

 

The only time I have used GG track without roadbed is on the module I made for use with my local club. We use 1/4" plywood strip instead of soft roadbed, just for durability.  It works fine except when standing in the middle of the oval for a few hours with three tracks rumbling it gets LOUD!

 

just my $0.02

 

JHZ

OK...I just poked around the forum and did some searching and came across a product called Flexxbed...anybody use this stuff? It is flexible and doesn't require cutting/slits/etc such as cork. If it is flexible enough to work well with 0-31 and 0-42 curves, that sounds like a route to go. Any comments on the stuff? 

There are some other roadbed manufacturers, Vinylbed and Homabed.  The Vinylbed is pretty flexible but still firm.  I believe Homabed is just made in fixed diameters and straights.

I use Midwest Cork and like it.  I attach it to the plywood table with a staple gun using brads.  I attach the GG track to the cork with #4 flat head screws. You do need to drill a pilot hole with a countersink attached so you don't split the ties.  This photo also shows you the tools you will need.

.....

Dennis

I used VinylBed. You can actually curve them together using a predrawn centerline as a guide. I do not think the "new" vinylbed is as good as it was then. It is not as firm is probably the correct description.

 

 

 

 

MIDWEST CORK.

 

Charlie,

 

Is that the same stuff as the Flexxbed? Why is the new stuff not as good as the old? That looked like good stuff as you don't have to cut, etc like cork. Anyone else use Flexxbed? 

 

I have done a little of everything.

 

There are places where track is hidden and goes directly on plywood.

 

I have made my own Homasote roadbed by cutting sheets into bevel edge strips. I only used it because I had it leftover from a previous layout. I found it expensive and hard to cut.

 

Much of the layout is done on fiberboard. A lot of the guys here call it Quiet Brace, but that's just one brand name.

 

I've even used pink foam for a short section. I agree, it is spongy.

 

The one thing I have never used with O gauge is cork.

 

I guess the fiberboard is my favorite of the bunch. You can cut it with utility knife, and it is fairly cheap.

Its cheaper to use all Ross track than it is to use sectional gargraves (at least if you're using big curves it is), and then you dont have to deal with the height differential between the ross and GG ties. You can mount it all in Rossbed, but I've found the rossbed to be somewhat difficult to work with, as there's enough variation in the handmade track that fitting pieces of track into pieces of roadbed is sometimes a bit of a puzzle. Advantage is once you get it all together, the track wont come out of the roadbed and you wouldnt need a single screw. Just attach the roadbed to the table with foam adhesive or glue.

I've also mounted plenty of ross on cork with no issue, and have bent cork down to O54 without having to pie cut it ( I havent had a need to bend it tighter). Just bend and nail it down with panelboard nails. New cork should be flexible enough to bend, although this new rubbery blend of Midwest is a lot harder to work with than the old stuff was.

First of all, always use Homosote to virtually cover the entire layout.  Then use Midwest Cork roadbed on top of the 1/2" Homosote.  You don't need to glue down the roadbed because the GG track will hold it into place.

 

Then, as you bend the GG into the ultimate shape of the curve, drill small holes through the ties, using about about a 1/32" dril and a simple pin visel, and, then use 1" paneling nails, in black, and drive them through the holes in the ties, through the cork roadbed and into the homosote.  The track will stay in perfect place where you place it, yet if you need to relocate the track, the paneling nails will pull out fairly easily and can be reused for the relocation.  My general rule for spacing of the nails, is about every 20th tie on straight track and about every 10th or 12th tie on curves. The small heads on the nails are almost invisible in the completed trackwork, they will hold the track anywhere you place it, they won't crack or split a pre-drilled tie.   They're much easier and quicker to use than a screw, which will be visibly apparent for as long as the screw holds the track down.  The nails are just the right length so that going through the tie, then the roadbed, then the Homosote, they won't transmit track noise and make the train operation annoyingly noisy.

 

I have used this method of laying Gargraves track for over thirty years now and have compared it to friends layouts that have tried other methods of fastening track.  One friend uses glue to hold first the roadbed and then the Gargraves to the roadbed itself.  Very slow process because you have to wait for the glue to dry AND. once you attach it and the glue dries, you can never reuse either the roadbed or the track.  The glue damges it.  Another friend uses those pesky screws to hold his GG down.  First of all you can see those screws plainly in the ties.  Not very realistic an effect.  Second, those screws transmit the noise of the train just as effectively as if the ties were screwed right to the plywood base.

 

The key is the combination of the Homosote, which is 1/2" and the cork ties, which add another 1/4".  Adding the depth of the ties, about another 1/4", you have the desired sound insulation qualities that most of us seek.

 

Paul Fischer

Midwest Cork for years. Using it on my new layout. I have used Gargraves track and Ross switches for over fifteen years on three layouts. Don

My 2 cents:

 

Gargraves track, Ross switches, and Midwest Cork.  It is easy to cut with a utility knife or X-acto blade.  I have even cut the angle in the side when I piece it together around switches.  The slant doesn't have to be perfect.  I staple it down with an electric stapler, and screw the track in place by doing what Dennis does, but the ties are easy to split.  Drilling a countersunk hole helps, but if I tighten the screw down too much it will split the tie around the hole, which is not a big problem.  I dab some flat paint that matches the tie color on the bare wood where it split and also on the screw heads , and when the paint dries, I have trouble finding the screw heads.  Plus, if you ballast the track, the screws blend in and aren't noticeable.  I like Paul's idea of drilling a small hole and using panel nails, depending on the table top.  Having homasote down would be good; just nailing thru the cork and into the plywood not so easy unless you made sure the pilot hole went thru the plywood as well.  I am going to be pulling all of my track up for a new configuration.  Using a little screw gun will make it fast, and the track is not damaged when removing it from the layout.

 

Don (scale rail), how do you attach your track to the cork?

My mainline and yard is mounted on dense, 3/8" anti-fatigue mating, cut into strips from a roll I got at Lowes:

 

 

My industrial sidings have strips of rubber used for shelving I got from WalMart:

 

 

I still need to ballast about 50% of the track, but I think I'll only ballast outside the rails and not between them.

No it is different. I got a few samples of FlexxBed when it first came out. It is probably OK, but did not have the same coloring as Vinlybed and not as tough or firm as Vinylbed, which I liked much better. This just my opinion, others may differ.

http://www.hobbyinnovations.co...Download/VOF4_08.PDF

 

I also used a ground rubber ballast over it, except in the freight yard.

 

 

 

 

My RR is over 20 years old and consists of Gargraves track with a mixture of Gargraves, Curtis, and Ross turnouts all laid over Homabed. At the time i bought small samples of the three available products: Homabed, Vinylbed, and Midwest cork, analyzed all three, calculated the cost per foot (750+ feet of track and over 30 turnouts), and went with Homabed (which did make flexible curves) except for my yard areas where i used sheet Homasote. Painted it all dark grey and covered with ballast/ground cover where appropriate. From a cost factor and ease of use Homabed, won hands down and i've never regretted it.

jackson

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel

 

 

I don't know what you mean by having to cut cork roadbed but not the other stuff.  When you come to the end of track, that is the only time you have to cut either one of them.  Can you explain?  Maybe you have some misconception about how Midwest Cork comes.

.....

Dennis

I know how cork roadbed comes. Since I have to bend it rather tight, I'm worried about having to cut "pie cuts" or notches into to keep it from kinking on tight curves. The Flexxbed doesn't require a "seem" down the middle or anything like that. http://www.hobbyinnovations.com/

I see.  I like the seam down the middle because it is easy to draw a guide line down the center to follow while you are bending the GG flex track.  I also don't have tight curves to worry about so the cork just bends easily around the curves without "pie" cuts.

.....

Dennis

Other then having the track slightly raised and sound deadening, is there any reason NOT to put roadbed down? 

In my mind the track is high enough already, the only reason I see is sound deadening.  The other benefit of the height is being able to let the ballast material drape down a little better.  I will use some form of roadbed with GG track on my next layout but really only for sound deadening.

 

JZ

I have decided to tear down and go with Atlas track. I plan to reuse one Ross switch in the layout. As of right now I plan to have a 4 x 8 with a better route for expansion unlike my last layout. As of right now I plan to put the track on bare plywood and at a later date if I find it necessary to lay roadbed underneath. We will see how it goes as I am doing this to make the track perfectly level unlike the current set up.

Sent from my iPhone.

Has anyone tried heavy duty dense carpet padding? I bought the heaviest stuff I could find for a high traffic area in my home, and have a sizable chunk left over. The pad has held up very well, especially compared to the light spongy stuff. I'm thinking of limiting the use to just under the roadbed, as opposed to covering the entire layout.

 

Chris

LVHR

Midwest cork. 

Lay the track to your configuration on the table/sub roadbed.

 

Mark the track center line. (dots every few inches on curves, farther apart OK on straights.

 

Take up the track and draw a dark centerline smoothly connecting your marks (I use a black Sharpie pen)

 

Get some low/no odor contact cement...Weldbond green can at home improvement stores.

 

Separate the cork strips and coat the bottoms of the half-strips with the contact cement.

 

Coat the sub roadbed about 1-1.5" on either side of the drawn centerline.

 

Take a break...grab a beer...pet the dog...kiss the spouse...read a few threads on the OGR Forum...until the contact cement has 'dried' tacky to the touch....about 20 minutes or so.

 

Take a half-strip of the cork and lay the square edge along the centerline, pressing down firmly as you go.  After a few strips are laid on one side, lay them on the other side of the centerline, snug against the first strips.  Note: On curves, I've found it easier to FIRST lay the outside curve strips, followed by the inside, 'pulling' them snug to the outside ones.

 

If you have a brayer...a hard rubber roller...roll it along the top of the cork after its laid to ensure full contact of the mating adhesive surfaces.

 

That's it.  Goes fast. Holds well.  My min. radius curves are O-72, but I know others have used this technique on sharper curves.

 

BTW...re centerline marking...I actually just 'bounced' the Sharpie pen along the ends of the GG ties, both sides.  Then, after the track was taken up, I placed a centerline halfway between these marks.  The wavy tie lines also provided a nice guide for applying the contact cement to the sub roadbed.  Just a hint.)

 

One last hint...after reading further responses: I'm undecided about ballasting.  It's not a priority at this time, anyway, until most of the scenery is done (I'm not sure THAT will ever happen!)  Ergo, after the cork was laid, I painted it all a medium gray color (cheap-o 'OOPS' paint at the local home improvement store) before fastening the track down.  It serves to give the track some quasi-ballast pizazz in the near term.  In the longer term, it will tend to hide the brown cork color if the ballast is thin in a few spots.  Hey, works for me, Jack! (Sy-chologically speaking!) 

 

FWIW....always.

 

KD

Midwest cork roadbed has been something of a standard in the hobby (nearly all scales) for a great many years.  It became a standard because it is readily available, easy to use, and provides an excellent surface for ballasting.  I have used in in N, HO, and O gauge, and have easily formed O gauge curves down to O27 diameter and even tighter.

 

I will soon be replacing the FasTrack on my layout with GarGraves sectional track (and some flex track) and Ross switches.  I will be using Woodland Scenics foam roadbed because I have found it even easier to lay and also take up, if necessary, than cork.  Having had considerable experience with virtually all brands/types of track and roadbed over the past 40 years, that is the combination that I feel will work the best for me, consistent with my requirements and expectations.

 

As it is with anything else in this hobby, it's simply a matter of making choices based on one's own needs, preferences, and budget.

 

I pretty much follow the same method that KD outlined above for laying roadbed (either cork or foam).  The only difference is I generally use ordinary white glue and also use upholstery tacks to hold curves in place until the glue sets.  This gives me ample time for making small adjustments, when necessary.  The tacks are easily removed once the glue has set.

1/2" Celotex Sound Stop on top of 2" pink foam.

I'm using ceiling tiles that I cut to size with a razor knife.  I'm hoping that along with the 1 1/2 inch pink foam it's mounted on should be a major noise reducer.

 

 

Paul

 

 

On the OCSMR O-gauge layout, flex Gargraves track is screwed directly to Homasote.  Rubber ballast is used.  Building a club members layout and Gargraves sectional track is screwed directly to Homasote currently without ballast.  Sound doesn't seem to be an issue on either layout.

 

 

 

On the mainlines Gargraves track screwed directly to Homabed which had been screwed (and sometimes nailed) to the benchwork. Then ballasted. In the yards Gargraves track screwed directly to sheet Homasote (over the benchwork). Works for me.

jackson, CEO, Not-So-Great Eastern R.R.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel