Bondo?

The spline is holding up well. On more than a few occasions I have found myself leaning on it. One particular spot at HOMER should be destroyed by now. I've been reaching over the westbound freight main to work on the roadbed around.SF. Nothing has happened so far, despite the fact that there is a joint there...

Westbound Freight Main

Apparently it can withstand a lot of stress. I'm thinking of leaving the hardshell off except for spline that is close to an aisle. The railhead is more than 50" above the floor (at Gallitzin it's about 63"). so I don't think even the most adventuresome of my grand kids would be climbing up there. As for other creatures that might give it a try we got rid of that cat years ago...

"Chessie"

Because the roadbed is so easy to modify, I find myself reworking sections until I think they're perfect. If a curve doesn't look right I have no reservations about redoing things until it flows like it should. I've also found that the sanding "bar" I purchased at the hobby shop works great. I throw some 80 grit on and level things out. It cuts through the foam easily enough, but the glue between strips leaves little ridges. Seems as though tacky glue is harder than foam...

Sanded Roadbed

For a while now I have been using Woodland Scenics foam ballast strip. It works and is easy to install using glue. It does, however, "give" if pressed on. It gives enough that I push the track down out of the way to reclaim track nails. I had no real issues with it but I switched to cork this time around. WS ballast strip is almost $10 for 24 feet. I can buy a roll of foam for $15 and cut it into 1" strips. All told, that's about 192 feet of ballast strip. The cork is just flat out cheaper. There is over 400 feet of mainline on the All East. That's over $160 worth of WS foam strip. It's only $30 using rolls of cork. I cut it into 1" strips using a 1" wide length of aluminum bar stock from Lowes (advertisers take note) and a utility blade. ThingX is set for 2" cuts and is better left to cutting styrofoam...

Cutting Ballast Strip

I've been experimenting with different fillers for the low spots. Body filler seems to work without attacking the foam, but it's a rather expensive way to cover 130 square feet of roadbed. My wife suggested I try caulk. Definitely cheaper but I'll have to try it out. I did use "Bondo" on a short stretch of roadbed at SLOPE. I then tried laying some cork on the spline.. It looks good even in photos, which are a lot sharper than my eyes these days. I tried it over a filled section...

Sanded and Filled Spline at SLOPE

Ballast Strip Over Sanded/Filled Spline

I then laid it over an unprepared area for comparison. This is the freight spline leading to Juniata yards...

Unprepared Spline

Ballast Strip Over Unprepared Spline

While it doesn't seem to be a problem, I don't think it's a good idea to just throw the cork down without prepping the roadbed.

If you've been paying attention you may have noticed there are sections of Code 55 track going down at SLOPE. This is the first trackage on the open area of the Allegheny Eastern in several months. It's far from done, but trackwork has started.

Regards,
Frank Musick
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Allegheny Eastern Railroad