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Back2Basics
PART FIVE – TRACK Section 1: The Basics
By Keith Webb
Under the current focus of basic modelling, there is one area that is vital to get right from the very start - reliable track-work. Whether you buy proprietary fixed radius (aka “set-track”) or flexible track , or make your own, if it is not assembled and laid with care you can suffer anything from unwanted uncoupling of cars to derailments and, with that, frustration and disappointment. This puts everybody off.
You may think that this topic doesn’t apply to you, and it is aimed towards the beginner or average modeller. Whilst that is true, please read on as you may be surprised and hopefully learn something new. I will add at this point that this article does contain my personal views and experiences, based on my modelling in HO. That said many of the principles will apply equally in most other scales/gauges. You will find a discussion on aspects of N scale track-work in Part 3 which was dedicated to N scale/gauge.
Let’s start with the basics. Here we mean that you need to consider what you are planning to build. If space is limited and your track- laying skills are not your forte, you may consider the use of set- track for your curves so that you know what radius to use to fit your space. You can also get straight track and turnouts/points. Peco supplies such track-work in a variety of scales/gauges: N, OO/HO, O, OO-9. Kato manufactures Unitrack which also includes a moulded ballast track bed, in N and HO.
You might mix and match between set-track and flexi-track. However you need to be mindful that the different forms of track might come in different rail heights (or codes) The height of a rail is measured in 1/1000ths of an inch so Code 100 rail is 100 thousandths of an inch high or 0.1”. This method of expressing rail size applies to rail for any scale. Thus Code 100 used in HO represents a very heavy cross-section rail, whereas if Code 100 is used in O Scale it represents a fairly light rail.
Peco HO set-track uses Code 100 rail whereas their flexi-track comes in three sizes, Code 100, 75 and, especially for the North American scene, Code 83. The latter looks far more realistic with a spacing between ties that matches the North American prototype. You can also get a range of turnouts in Code 83 to match. Walthers/Shinohara and Atlas also make track and turnouts using Codes 83 and 100 rail. There will be others but less well-known.
For those with more skills and perhaps a need for specialised track- work where no proprietary track is available, for example a particular style of turnout for one location on your layout, you might look to design and build your own track-work. A good supplier for North American outline is a small Canadian company called Fast Tracks.
To summarise the decisions that you need to make so far:
 Will set-track work for you being robust and easy to use, although it may not look much like the real thing?
 Would you prefer to use flexible track with a more scale- like look to it?
 Could you build and lay your own track?
And finally is your layout going to be a permanent layout, or a portable one? So we take a small step back to planning in Part 2. What did you decide to build? Baseboards of all shapes, sizes and purposes were covered in Part 4 but you should consider now how robust you will need your track-work to be, for its intended
purpose, especially if it is to be portable like modules or a sectional layout for shows and exhibitions.
Underlay and Roadbed
Track can be fixed directly to the baseboards but there are some drawbacks. The principal issue is one of sound transmission. There is a risk that the baseboards will act as a sounding board, amplifying any wheel-rail noise generated. A layer of resilient material will significantly deaden any such noise.
An underlay can also absorb small variations in height at the baseboard joints. There are several products on the market that can be used between baseboard and track, or you can shape your own from things like: foam (blue or pink insulation board), balsa and cork tiles. I still use good old cork tiles cut into strips 11⁄4” wide (1” in hidden areas), but it’s getting hard to find cork tiles without any form of sealant on one side. You can use these (coated side down), but they are tough to cut and bend around curves (see photo).
You can also use the very expensive rolls of cork generally found at model railway shows, but bide your time and watch for bargains on these. As an experiment, I did use the Midwest cork strip on my modules, but found it a little too thick and very ‘ballast-hungry!
One product I did not like was the Woodland Scenics soft black foam. In my view it is too soft, and from what I have seen on a friend’s layout, can result in very uneven track especially if track pins are used. It can also distort the track if tracklaying pins are used. It can also distort the track if tracklaying pins are used through the ties (sleepers). This sort of underlay should therefore be secured in place with the recommended adhesive. Personally, I don’t like things to be that permanent until fully road tested. I also feel that once the ballast glue has set, any real sound damping properties it offered will have been compromised. At the end of the day, most choices are a personal preference, but if this is your first attempt at getting into a fully sceniced layout, then I suggest experimenting first on a scrap of board with different methods to see which you like best, and choose what you find easiest to work with.
Transferring the Design to Baseboard
Although I have never done this, there are various software systems to assist with this, or you can either draw it directly on the baseboard – use this to put down the underlay – then redraw it on top of the underlay – with the possible use of pins to mark centre