Choosing roadbed | While adding track to your subroadbed layout base is an possible, you’ll want to consider installing an additional, more realistic layer of material specifically designed to support and secure your trackwork. Follow along as David shares various roadbed options that can be used across layouts of all sizes and scales!
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My favorite roadbed is Homasote roadbed. There is a commercial source for this that so you don’t have to cut your own. You apply it in the same manner as cork, but it grips your railroad spikes much better than any other alternative.
Road bed is is your go to stuff for your track. If you go ahead and tag it into plywood it will not look realistic and you only choose this option if you are modeling industrial spurs or a poet where the track has to be below ground level. On my way out my go to Road bed is Midwest shortline cork, cork sheets from Michaels, but for the real detail stuff I go with tried and true Woodland Scenics track bad. Woodland Scenics track bad can be cut with a knife and it will not generate dust when you cut it. If you cut cork with a knife it will crumble into dust so will homaselt and it is really messy. Removing cork and homaselt is a pain the moment that the chisel goes underneath that stuff after it is hit with the alcohol that stuff will immediately disintegrate and you cannot salvage it well using track bad or sound deading material like on Pele’s layout once the alcohol is added you can pry it right up and you can reuse it again. That is the wonders of using foam and also glue to secure your track to the layout it does not cause a mess.
Assume that both the cork and foam are exactly the same height so they can be butted against each other. What about turnouts? Do both offer numbered turnout blocks, R and L, or do you need to build such blocks? Can you spike into foam to hold track, or must you use glue? And how tight a radius can you lay foam smoothly?
As someone who handlays track (code 70), I still cut Homasote for roadbed.
Well, this answers what roadbed is going on Troy. Both.