Basic Starting Info

[Grandie]

I am about to start from scratch a 8 ft by 3 ft layout, Hornby 00,  should I be laying cork or felt under track and just sit track straight on to board, not too concerned about noise as set up will be in garage.

Whats best

[Rog RJ]

No, don't bother.  Just lay straight on to the baseboard.

 

PS.  3 foot wide is rather restrictive, probably needing 1st radius curves.  4 foot would be much better.  Avoid 1st radius curves if at all possible.

[Mico11]

Hello Grandee,suggest you consider SUNDEALA board 9mm 8x4 ft £86 delivered if you are going into this hobby big time.

Its advantage is that your track pins go into the board easily and it is a great time saver ( with all those bent pins having to be reinserted a non entity) This board sits on top of your base board, you dont say what the dims for this are. Select track pins carefully and determine just how is best for you to pin the sleepers to the board.

Watch  the weight of all this and its. manoeuvrability 

If £86 is a worrying facctor, ask on here just who else would recommend it for 1st choice.

Best of luck.

[dynax]

@Mico11,

i doubt very much anyone would recommend sundeala anymore, i certainly would not,

[Chrissaf]

......you don't say what the dims for this are......

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Yes he did, in first line of text i.e. 8ft x 3ft.

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@Grandie

I concur with others, consider 4ft width as being the minimum, 3ft is too restrictive on what you can achieve with reliable train operation. Much of todays modern rolling stock does not like 1st radius curves.

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See this track geometry information resource:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-track-planner

[96RAF]

...suggest you consider SUNDEALA board 9mm 8x4 ft £86 delivered if you are going into this hobby big time....

...If £86 is a worrying facctor, ask on here just who else would recommend it for 1st choice.

 

you probably wouldnt pay that for a professional built baseboard of those dims.

i found sundeala worse than useless - as soon as you tried to ballast it the stuff warped all over the place.

 

if you feel the need for a soft underlay look at Wickes laminated flooring underlay panels.

[Mico11]

@ dynax

I am listening, but you did not say  why you could not recommend Sundeala.

@RAF96

My 8X6 frame is braced every foot, length and widthwise and has been down 20 years. The Sundeala board lays on top, suitablly pinned to the frame, which is on legs. It is 100% ballasted - it (Sundaela) can't move (warp) !

I am wondering why yours does. Is (was) it not pinned? Also does the Cyprus climate have anything to do with it? I can't think of any other reasons Looking forward to a reply.

[Buz]

Hi Grandie

I agree with the previous posts on size 8'X4' is a better size and also avoid like the plague 1st radius curves.

If you go with underlay the I would say cork this is what I use.

The cork strips aid in getting a really nice ballast profile however this can be a disadvantage depending on the style of railway being modeled.

My latest is a light railway and I would have been better not having an underlay and therefore a more light railway appearance to the track

Use good quality plywood for your base board surface and take the time to do a quality job of it.

regards John

[trainlover23]

 Basically because Sundela is very expensive and has changed over the years. Most people tend to use ply. chipboard or MDF

[Chrissaf]

But in a garage or outbuilding environment as you indicated, PLY is the best choice. Chipboard and more so MDF are hygroscopic. They attract water moisture and will swell up, delaminate and warp. Ply is far more stable in an outbuilding.

[dynax]

My own personal opinion, too expensive for what it is, a fibre based flooring underlay is just as good, if you want to go that route, but like many others laying direct to a ply board is my preference, also as said, it attracts moisture,

[RDS]

I have used an 18mm thick, 8 foot x 4 foot sheet of Exterior Ply, with 9.5mm Sundeala bonded to the top with impact adhesive.

I don't have any ballast, so I cannot comment on the 'warping' aspect.  I chose Sundeala for 2 reasons, it keeps the sound down and track pins are easy to fit (and remove).  I would not use it outdoors (in a garage) though.

 

It has been exactly the same since it was first installed in October 2007 and it cost £32.12.

[Grandie]

Thanks for all your advice...having to use 8ft by 3ft as largest size that can go in garage.

Have seen a couple of layout plans for this size board...not sure what is it means 1st radius curve track and the issue with modern rolling stock...that how new I am to this hobby

[Chrissaf]

...not sure what is it means 1st radius curve track and the issue with modern rolling stock...that's how new I am to this hobby.

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The lower the radius number the tighter the curve is. Radius 1 is the tightest curve and has a radius of 371mm. Whereas Radius 4 has a Radius of 572mm. The tighter the curve the higher the risk that modern locos and rolling stock that are designed for a minimum Radius 2 curve (438mm) will just derail and come off the track.

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There are loads of old track plans floating about that were designed in the days where Radius 1 was common place and suitable locos and rolling stock was plentiful. Anything modern that is about the length of a passenger carriage will more than likely be designed for minimum Radius 2. In terms of modern stock, Radius 1 limits you to short wheel base freight wagons and short wheelbase shunting type locos. So be careful when looking at track plans, oval based layouts using Radius 1 ovals will be very old. More modern plans, in the main, use Radius 2 as a minimum.

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Yes some longer rolling stock will traverse Radius 1 curves some of the time, but if the product says 'Minimum Radius 2' on the box it can not be guaranteed to operate 100% reliably on anything less than Radius 2. Some more specialist rolling stock products just won't tolerate Radius 1 curves at all.

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If you are buying on the cheap from trade fairs, eBay and the like and are collecting rolling stock from the Triang / Rovex era, then you can be fairly safe to assume that it will be compatible with Radius 1.

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You can just about get a Radius 2 oval on a 3ft wide board, but it is tight and the track will be very close to the board edge with the risk of a train derailing and falling to the floor.

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A Radius 3 oval will just about fit on a 3ft 6" (42") wide board. So if you can push your board width those extra 6 inches, that could make all the difference.

 

[Grandie]

Thank you that's excellent information