Came across a new company to me anyway selling homasote based roadbed. It. Central and Western homasote roadbed was wonder if anyone has had any dealings with the company I should be in the market for some in the fairly near future thanks. Scott
Scott,
Never heard of this company until now. I'm about 95% finished with my track laying but this looks good if you are still using homasote roadbed.
Here's the link.
https://www.cwhomaroad.com/ho-products
Tom ;D
I think I'm going to have to order some of that to give it a try. Thanks for the heads up and the link! :D
Nice! I liked Homabed, although shipping times could be a bit uncertain.
dave
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 04, 2021, 02:40:12 PM
Scott,
Never heard of this company until now. I'm about 95% finished with my track laying but this looks good if you are still using homasote roadbed.
Here's the link.
https://www.cwhomaroad.com/ho-products (https://www.cwhomaroad.com/ho-products)
Tom ;D
I wonder if he bought out Cascade Rail Supply? I love the stuff and better than DIY and the dust.
I was wondering the same thing product line is similar and he just added crossings that match the new ones being produced by Fast Tracks
Great stuff for holding down spikes, but a pain to make it yourself.
I bought some material from Homabed about 10 years ago and their product was fine, but delivery was a bit slow. Just checked and their website is no longer available.
I was thinking about this: given how similar the products are, I'd be surprised if this new company did NOT buy the tooling from Homabed. Those diagonal cuts in the roadbed strikes me as distinctive and presumably done by some special tool...
dave
I also wonder if he bought out Cascade Rail Supply. They are who I got my last order from years ago. Thanks for the heads up if I ever need more.
Jeff
Good to know. I bought some HomaBed and have used it in my layout. But I've also used a utility knife to slice a taper on the side of Homasote I've sawed to shape myself. Also works for making ditches in large flat areas.
I'm happy to hear that this stuff is again available. I need to check my supply against my track plan to see if I have enough. I use the thin homabed for my sidings as I use cork for the main line.
I just placed an order. I'll let you know when it arrives. :D
Now I have rails, spikes, homasote, homasote roadbed, ties and track laying tools. All I need now is a plan and some bench work. ;D
Quote from: ReadingBob on May 06, 2021, 03:55:28 PM
I just placed an order. I'll let you know when it arrives. :D
Now I have rails, spikes, homasote, homasote roadbed, ties and track laying tools. All I need now is a plan and some bench work. ;D
You could use the dining room table but that's already been spoken for at least for now! ;)
Jerry
I saw a thread on the MRH forum about this product and shared with our NMRA Division President. He immediately ordered $400.00 worth and was impressed with the edges and that the product was dust free out of the box. He hasn't begun to lay track yet so can't speak to it's spiking ability.
My (small) order arrived yesterday. Looks good! :)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-130521073025.jpeg)
I received an e-mail over the weekend that they had four or five large orders ahead of mine so I expected a bit of delay, which wouldn't have been any problem at all, but I still got it faster than I could have hoped for anyway.
Now I have rails, spikes, ties, tools, roadbed, sheets of homosote, lumber, a DCC system and trains. All I need now is a decent track plan. The same thing I've been procrastinating on for years. ::)
Some thoughts about working with this stuff:
1. I use somewhat diluted white glue spread with a brush to glue this stuff down.
2. Cutting a piece to fit is the same as cutting cork: lay the new piece on top of the old, then slice down with a single edge razor blade.
3. It's fragile along the slices, so you have to be careful how you handle it.
4. I use tape to hold piece into place (e.g. when laying down a curve.)
5. Once it's attached, you can (and probably should) run a sanding block to smooth out any rough spots.
dave
To anybody who has used the roadbed - how is the dimensional stability throughout seasons? That is, I have had good luck with cork not changing much through summer (humid) and winter (very dry). In fact, cork roadbed even seems to protect the track from some of the expansion and contraction of the plywood subroadbed I use. Can anyone comment on how the homasote reacts?
I have found it to be the best choice Vince.
It has been glued to plywood or homasote on the layout for about 10 years and nothing has moved a bit. The ties and spikes are as solid today as when I installed them.
The layout is in the sunroom on the northwest side of the house and it get a lot of hearing and cooling during the day during the summer and winter and no expansion or contraction has occurred.
One thing that might have helped is that I let the plywood and lumber set in the house for a couple of weeks before I started working with it. I learned, from my grandfather, that any lumber, especially trim material, is best left to give it time for it's moisture content can stabilize before using.
I love using the homasote as a base for the scenery and track and find it perfect for holding the spikes of hand laid rail and wooden ties.
Well, I don't know! I've had expansion problems on my track, but I can't say if those were due to homabed or to the underlying wood benchwork. I think it would be a good idea to paint this stuff before you lay the track, though.
dave
Quote from: vinceg on May 13, 2021, 02:06:52 PM
To anybody who has used the roadbed - how is the dimensional stability throughout seasons? That is, I have had good luck with cork not changing much through summer (humid) and winter (very dry). In fact, cork roadbed even seems to protect the track from some of the expansion and contraction of the plywood subroadbed I use. Can anyone comment on how the homasote reacts?
Vince,
On my last two layouts, I used 1/2" Homosote glued over 3/8" three ply plywood. I made it a habit of using some cheap water base paint to "seal" the Homosote. The water base paint didn't affect the Homosote at all.
Not only did I seal the top but I painted all edges as well. The old layout was up for the better part of 6 years with no noticeable track misalignments due to the humidity.
I called the Homosote sealing "Cheap Insurance". Hope this helps.
Tom ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 14, 2021, 06:53:27 PM
Quote from: vinceg on May 13, 2021, 02:06:52 PM
To anybody who has used the roadbed - how is the dimensional stability throughout seasons? That is, I have had good luck with cork not changing much through summer (humid) and winter (very dry). In fact, cork roadbed even seems to protect the track from some of the expansion and contraction of the plywood subroadbed I use. Can anyone comment on how the homasote reacts?
Vince,
On my last two layouts, I used 1/2" Homosote glued over 3/8" three ply plywood. I made it a habit of using some cheap water base paint to "seal" the Homosote. The water base paint didn't affect the Homosote at all.
Not only did I seal the top but I painted all edges as well. The old layout was up for the better part of 6 years with no noticeable track misalignments due to the humidity.
I called the Homosote sealing "Cheap Insurance". Hope this helps.
Tom ;D
Yep, it does. I have some more benchwork and track to do for my peninsula. I may now consider doing it w/homasote roadbed when I get back to it. (Still looking to get some significant scenery work finished first)
'course I'm not doing anything
Wax is used in sticking all those fibers together to help stabilize the material. Homosote accepts paint well on the surface, but I have not found it to soak in much which is good. It does not like things like acetone and thinners though...
I've used the original "homabed" and the later one from Cascade. I've painted the areas where the sheets were used, but only a small amount of the roadbed, as I've never gotten around to scenery over nearly all the layout. Most of the rest I just wiped with a damp cloth to pick up surface dust after it was glued down to the plywood. I've only had one place where the rail bowed from expansion. Part of the layout is 20 years old without issues.
Jeff
I've had one instance where a couple of rails bowed in the first winter heating season after that part of the layout was built. I feel it's more likely to be 1/2" plywood shrinking than the homasote itself. My layout is mostly handlaid, and I did find gaps closing after a few years. I think this was just thermal creep; the temperature range in the attic is 45 - 90F. Little bits of .010 x .030 styrene strip dabbed in Goo and stuck in each gap cured that.