Good morning, Jim;

I would not be so inclined.  If I think I might have an idea to make something go easier, I would be so inclined to say something.  What the other person does with that info is their call-not mine.  I don't really need a pat on the back, capeche?

Rich C.

Addendum;

Per sanding the cork:  Working with wood as in another hobby, I had experience with cork, as well as other similar material in the sealing/contact-cementing dept; so to the table I bring this little ditty.

I will add to this by saying that it is imperative that the sub-road-bed be damned near perfect.  smoothness and uniformity are your best friends here; a lack of which will certainly be your worst nightmare. the longer the sanding block, the fresher the paper, the much less worse for the wear you shall be.  Think of it as a jack, or a fore plane; these tools are fairly long; the idea is to offer stability to the run-or pass..  a long sanding block will do pretty much the same thing.  Oh-and do keep the dust out from collecting in between the paper and the surface.  As Jim mentioned, cork is pretty soft, so it won't take much effort to achieve mucho success; keep an eye on what you are doing and you should be just fine.
The other thing I wanted to refine is that, if properly applied, contact cement-the really good and woozey and smelly stuff-will act like a stable base for your roadbed to rest upon; it won't move, or easily deteriorate.  Good Luck!

Rich C. 

Jim;
It is only something I do-I have done this on any cabinet work; it works.  for me..  Shellac works as a sealer; it works for me, I am happy with it.  I have used it on cork, and it makes me happy.  It works...for me.  If you would want to use coal tar, I would be just as  happy for you.  Same with nail sets.  the one feature of this feature is that it saves fingers.  If you want to hold that small a nail with your fingers, that is OK with me-seriously..  A nailset is something I recommend-only as a bit of experience  in that it has worked.  for me.    If you don't want to use it, that is fine.  If you don't want to use a nail set to maybe make work easier, that is fine as well.  In short, it is your layout, cork, and choice.  The same with anyone else in the world.  I offered a remedy-it is not the answer to the ailments of the world;  It is only my choice, my money, and my saved fingers.

Kindest regards;
Rich C. 

Trainman;
(See my previous post)...  Shellac is a great sealer...
ANYTIME you are working with porous material-of which cork product happens to fall in that family-and ESPECIALLY if you are planning to torture said cork with various and sundry watery compounds, you should thoroughly seal it.  BEFORE you ballast, etc; it, unless you like perpetual labour, like to put out an endless amount of dinero, or are even a masochist.  And you are quite right-paint will work-but shellac is-oh sooo much easier...

Rich C.

Jim;
There are several types of nail punches; the ones to which I refer have  cupped heads-similar to that of the head of a finishing nail.  If you get a large enough one, then that should pretty much eliminate the hazard of this operation; as long as you don't get over-zealous with the hammer (which should not be anything over 13 oz.), and that the nail can seat itself comfortably up into the centre of the punch.
As I had afore-stated,  make certain of the positioning, square-ness, smooth-ness, etc of that run of track.  Be rigid in your standards.  Remember, track-work is probably the most important consideration of layout building...  OR, as the inscrutable Chinese used to  say BC (before college); "No tick-ee, no laun-lee!"

Rich C. 

Barry
with every "DCC-equipped" locomotive, one has to keep in mind that somewhere along the line, someone installed-not grew-a decoder within the confines of an engine or tender.  What this means is that, a means of feeding said decoder with power, installing lighting, speaker(s), etc.,-and programming the same old said DCC unit.
To me, stuff like that means that I can probably accomplish this task for myself. 
I think it is safe to say that, at least on the more contemporaneous equipment, installing this stuff is a snap-if you are careful.  It would be fairly easy to cook to a crisp a decoder, if improperly installed; so, like anything else, a little planning goes a long way toward achieving success.
If you still want to give this a try, there several really great books on model railroad wiring on the market, that pertain, more or less, to said endeavour.  Good Luck.

Rich C.

 

Four hundred-grit seems a little too fine for the first run at uniformity.  You might try starting with 150-grit, and graduating up to about three hundred.  This will take down the bumps in pretty short order-most of the time.  I would think that a little care and fore thought will pay off in big dividends later on down the road.  Also, use closed-grit sanding material.  This gives a better job, less work.
One thing I have discovered via woodworking is that-and I assume the same to be true of cork as wood-to give the finished product a coat or two of sanding sealer-like shellac.  cheap, dries fast, and leaves you alone.  It also provides a uniform surface for whatever glue you want to use on ballast.

Per Brock:  I forgot where I got them from-Atlas comes to mind-but I picked up a bunch of fine brads, long enough wo that, if you wanted to run them down through the cork and into the wood, you can.  You can use a good nail punch for this purpose.

Track-work is all too often the chief culprit in the case of bad-running equipment.  I don't think you can ever be too careful with this stuff.  Check, re-check, and double-check! 

Rich C.

Rich C.

Hi, all;
now that I have (finally!!) decided that the track configuration/layout plot/circa/total reason for living-work is nigh, I have looked at several types of road-bed, and am going to try cork.  Cork???  Been around a long time.  Sure, but I have never tried to use just flooring underlay!  I have studied the applications, obstacles, etc; and have called it good.  Has anyone else used this system?  I will be using contact cement (the flammable "stoner" type) because of the quick contact/immovable feature.  My sub is pretty smooth, so I do not anticipate "telegraphing" any imperfections upward to the actual track.  I would like to get some feedback.  Thanks!

Rich C.

I think that might depend on two things at least:  The viewing height of the layout, and the scale that the trains are modelled in.  In my opinion, HO scale would probably be the smallest viable scale, and O scale or S scale would best show off the under-detail at viewing (approx. 48") height.
Anything larger in that same application, would be screaming for detail!

Rich C.

Roger;
Yeah; that pump is great, isn't it?  What are you using for sub roadbed on your layout? 
Rich C.

Roger;
So effective was your post that I had to run upstairs for my Dramamine. 

Rich C.

A lot has been written about Atlantics in the model railroading mags; as well as there having been a number of models available, brass RTR, and other types.  I ran across the Bowser 'fire sale'; and there is a frame and driver assemble for sale with the 'look and feel' of an Atlantic.  now if I am accurate here, this would make a great start  to build this locomotive. 
In terms of rosters, I would say, off-hand, that the New Haven, along with the Boston & Maine, used them on their short runs, like commuters; mostly because of their ability to produce speed.  This was mostly in the day of wooden coaches.

Rich C.

Jeffery;
Super-elevation is a matter of taste and preference.  If you are modelling 'Horse shoe bend', you will almost have to super-elevate for it to at least look good. On my layout, that kind of stuff needn't be.  Twisted, skewed, and kinked track-should be really gone after with a magnifying glass-and be fussy..  When I built my HOn3 layout, the track writhed and twirled like a python killing a jackass to eat it.  HOn3!!  Talk about begging for trouble...  I learned the hard way on that layout, and now, as I build this layout, I try to be as 'nit-picky/fussy' as I can with said track-work. This means a level, a straight-edge, and a laser light on the end of a torpedo level (newer ones).  This all works great; so if the guys and gals go the extra mile, it will pay off in big dividends.

RIch C. 

REF:  "Please Mr. Spaceman" by the Byrds...   As in Roger McGuinn

One area I have seen a lot is skewed track-work.  Once you lift one side of a truck, frame, etc, off of the rail, you are putting your consist in a potentially bad position.  Be totally fussy about this area.  put a level across the rails, make sure that the bubble is consistent with relation to the run.  Straight runs are usually the culprit, as your guard is down when laying straight track.  If you check the track this way, and find a lot of axial twisting, you are asking for trouble.  Make sure that, as well as good joints, that the track is consistently smooth and straight.  Curves are another area to watch in this manner.

Rich C.

Marc;
Why would a diagram be 'of little benefit'?  To me, taking all the help I can get is always a fairly productive approach.

Using something like an exploded diagram would be of great help, especially to someone unfamiliar with  the product.  At least to me.

Rich c.