Installing cork roadbed

I knew I wanted my track at multiple elevations, with the mainline raised up a bit and sidings dipping down (or going up in the case of the coal trestle). I have used cork, foam, and vinyl roadbed in the past and prefer Vinyl stuff the best because it is firm enough to not bend when you lean into the track to clean the rails, but soft enough to remain pliable for years. But the Vinylbed supplier (Hobby Innovations) changed their formula several years ago to a more foam-like material so for this layout I chose cork. Cork is also split down the middle which makes forming curves easy... though to be fair, foam and vinyl can easily be split with a knife too.

But there is an international cork shortage due to the droughts in Portugal, where most cork come from. It is not only affecting the model train hobby but the wine business too, as companies are switching over to plastic caps on their bottles. I found stores selling cork online but including shipping it would be about $80 for 75 linear feet. That seems steep when I only need about 20' feet right now.

Serendipitously, while visiting a hobby store during a bus trip near Boston I asked the owner if he had any O gauge cork road. He dug out a box of stuff that was ripped open, partially broken, and clearly used because at least one piece had paint on it. But, at $1 a piece (or $20 for the box after I counted it) it was an excellent deal. He also had a case of old-style Vinylebed too... but the cork was a lot cheaper. 

The cork came home with me, and it is probably enough for the entire layout.

At the baseboard joints I wanted to make sure that the track stayed in perfect alignment. Relying on cork glued to foam didn't seem a good idea, so I looked on Amazon for some laser-cut plywood pieces were 3/16" thick (to match the cork) that I could glue at each joint. Craft stores probably have something similar, but I found a bag of sixty pieces (each 2.5" x 3.5") for $14 delivered. At less than a quarter each, they were perfect. 

I marked a center line and then glued them to the foam with lots of Aleene's tacky glue and let them set up for a while. To make sure that they didn't extend too far off the edge of the benchwork (my roughcut foam lines weren't good enough to measure this) I used a piece of gatorfoam to line everything up. I actually pulled each piece back a smidge to give myself a little extra security. 

Since I already had a full-size paper template of the trackplan on the foam I only needed a toothpick to punch little holes along the centerline. I took a marker and connected them and soon the trackplan was transferred. I used the tacky glue to also attach the cork to the foam. It was held in place with 1.5" long T-pins until the adhesive dried. The pins were pretty flimsy but at $5 for 100 I should have expected that. I jumped around here and there as I worked on the mainline and passing siding, and when I ran out of pins I went upstairs for a break.

I planned to use HO scale and N scale cork on the sidings to represent less built up foundations for the track. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out some old HO cork and discovered it was 3/16" thick... the exact same as my O scale stuff. But, I can still use it under some tracks where its smaller width will force the track ties to extend over the edges of the cork, resulting in a much smaller ballast pile shoulder.

I only did the mainline and passing siding now because I am still trying to figure out what type of turnout I should use at the left end where the siding branches away. I need clearance for the station, which might mean a wye switch would be a better choice. So, I played around with templates and full-size switches to see what would work best. The limiting factor is the third switch just to the right of these two that I cannot allow to straddle the benchwork joint. 

I love laying roadbed and track so I took my time over the course of a weekend, working on it here and there until I ran out of T-pins and had to let the glue dry. I did all of the main line and the start of some sidings, but left the rest undone until I have finalized the types and locations of my industries.