Best material for HO layout road bed

[jward]

I am strongly considering Homasote. Sealing it sounds like the way to go. I guess without further input I would probably go with a polyurethane varnish. Can anybody suggest anything else?

Also, if by 'handlaying' track you are talking about laying the individual pieces of track and attaching them to the road bed one at a time, that was what I was planning to do. I didn't know there was any other option. Unless you are talking about the 'easy track' products that have an attached roadbed simulating ballast. I don't like the looks of that stuff.

handlaid track refers to track that is constructed of individual components put together by hand, much the way real railroad track is. rails are either spiked to individual wooden ties, or soldered to ties made from circiut board. if you are a beginner, this is probably not for you as it does take some careful work to get it right. track switches and crossings are especially critical, and have alot of individual parts which must fit together pr3ecisely.

for handlaid track, i prefer the use of pine under the ties. pine holds the spikes much better than homasote, and is much less likely to warp in a humid environment. there used to be companies that produced pine roadbed similar to homabed. expensive, but well worth the investment as it will give generations of service without trouble. it is, unfortunately, no longer made...

[pacchardon]

Wow. Your right. Handlaid track isn't for me at the moment. Or, probably, ever. This is mostly for my son. I intend to have some fun too but the 'into this' meter will probably stay at 70 to 75%. Handlaid track sounds way too intense.