The Alville & Captown Railroad
The Roadbed and Track Work

Then the time came to start building a permanent layout. I read about different types of road bed from gravel filled trenches to concrete to elevated layouts on lumber. Now that I knew the cost of brass track I started thinking about the cost of the roadbed. I wanted something durable yet relatively inexpensive. I had done some HO modeling and knew about cork roadbed and styrofoam insulation for scenery. That must have been the seed that sprouted into the thought of using stryofoam insulation for the garden railroad roadbed. Ultraviolet light degrades most plastics so I knew that the styrofoam would have to be covered with something. Hmmm, what should I use. Then the thought of rolled roofing came to mind. It seemed like it was worth a try.

I decided to use 1-1/2 inch thick styrofoam. That decision was based partly on cost and partly on strength. The track plan was laid out on the ground using a garden hose. I cut strips of foam just a little wider than the ties. Straight sections were easy to do. For curves I cut straight sections and then cut notches into it so that it could be bent. The foam is pretty brittle so that did not work real well. Later I cut curved solid pieces. I usually made a template from cardboard and used that as a pattern for cutting the foam. After the foam was put it place adjacent pieces were fastened together with 16d common nails pressed into the foam diagonally across the joints. I also ran some nails through the foam into the ground below. Then I banked up soil against the foam to form a real railroad-like profile. I don't think the nails are really necessary as the roofing holds the foam down. I have moved some track and found that the soil will stick to the foam after a while holding it in place pretty well, too.

The first loop of track that was laid around the pond was laid directly on the existing grass. The grass under the roadbed has since died and decayed. Does not seem to be a problem. As I laid more track I either cut the grass away down to soil level or in some areas either added soil on top or cut into the sod to get the proper grade.

The cardboard template for the foam curves was also used for cutting the rolled roofing. The rolled roofing pieces were usually about 9 inches wide. A convenient width since the roofing rolls are 36 inches wide. The roofing pieces are simply overlapped at the ends by a couple of inches. The tracks span overlapped areas without any problems. From a distance (the 10 foot rule applied) the roofing look a lot like ballast without the hassle of ballast. Most of the track has 1-1/2 inch river rock along side of it. It holds the roofing in place and adds a hint of ballast. This size is large enough that my yard vacuum does not pick it up and the blower does not move much of it either.

The track is held in place with a dry wall type screw run thru the ties and into the foam every few feet. The curves are allowed to float to compensate for expansion and contraction of the brass due to temperature changes. I have not used any of the commercial expansion joints yet.