Subroadbed, Roadbed and Track

[jbvb]

I'm starting this thread for the whole Forum membership.  Demonstrations, experiments, Q&A, new materials are all appropriate. I'm going to start with my own oddball practices, but if you've figured out how to repair "over the throwbar" point contacts, keep old cork roadbed from getting brittle, repair broken Maerklin track connectors, or effortlessly fasten down Code 55 rail, let us know.

Full size or model, trains need track.  These days the major scales have multiple ready to lay options for most common RR track and turnouts. However, minor gauges, trolley fans and modelers of specific prototypes are often required to hand-lay what they want.  I learned to hand-lay when it was the standard of my college club. I find its durability and flexibility justify the extra effort to build it.

Roadbed ranges from molded-to-the-track (E-Z Track & competitors) through cork, sticky plastic, plain and profiled Homasote to pine lattice stock. I've used all except the sticky plastic; my experience with other people's modules hasn't encouraged me.

Subroadbed is a tradeoff between light and sturdy. Careful planning and construction can produce light but stable support, but the extra effort required usually limits it to modules. Home and club layouts today often use strips of plywood instead of the second-growth lumber most readily available.

The NMRA Achievement Program's Civil Engineer certificate used to require detailed track. Here's what I did with mostly Detail Associates parts on a hand-laid Code 100 HO turnout. Yes, Code 100 is really large rail in HO, but that was what the HUB Module standard required.



Joint bars and a strip applied to model a bolted frog (much less common these days than before 1980).



Post-1900 turnouts have special slide plates to support the points, and other special plates to support and position the closure and stock rails where they're too close together for conventional tie plates.  I didn't try to do physical tie plates, as they're normally only 1/2 inch thick; I painted them on.  Proto-48 and the related projects for other scales offer physical tie plates these days.

[deemery]

Marty McGuirk posted this good video on his replacing a turnout causing derailments.  Some good hints in here, but he didn't say how long, or how much cursing, it took to get the throw rod into the throwbar hole....   

dave