Roadbed

I have used two different types of roadbed. The first is easy - homosote. In the yard areas and in staging, I just use homosote as the underlayment for the track. The homosote is attached to 1/2" plywood which is supported from the benchwork using risers to obtain the appropriate height. I did want to have the main line elevated above the yard tracks, sidings and industry spurs. To do this I have used California Roadbed (formerly Homobed http://www.homabed.com/ ) to elevate the main and also to transition from the main to the lower level tracks. Here are some photos of the homosote/plywood sandwich and the elevated track in what will eventually be Carpinteria.



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The second style of roadbed is spline. I chose the hardboard (masonite) spline as used by Lee

Nicholas and Joe Fugate (http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.15). I have modified it just a bit. I use 6 - 3/4" plys of 1/4" hardboard. I lay in the first two to get the location, curvature and elevation. The spline above the "L-girders" are supported by normal risers. The splines near the thin wall are supported using risers which are cantelivered off the stiffeners of the thin walls. Once the first two hardboard strips are in then I add in 2 additional plys on either side of the center two. One additional piece of hardboard is cut in two on a 45 degree angle and each piece is glued to one side or the other providing a roadbed profile. Ends are staggered to connect one 8 foot section to the next. Some of the splines are arranged to leave holes in the spline about every three feet of so to allow for power feeds for the track. I use yellow carpinter's glue and lots of clamps. The spines are attached to the homosote/plywood by keying one of the center splines into a notch in the homosote/plywood. The height of the spline matches up with the homosote or the elevated homobed. The spline is smoothed using a shure foam plane and a belt sander before the track is layed. Here are some photos: