As stated on the home page of this layout, I wanted to try out using a spline roadbed for this layout, just so that I could say I tried it, and to see if it has any merits for a future larger layout. On February 4, 2006 I officially started work in this layout by cutting a set of 1/8" Masonite (hardboard) strips that were one inch wide using my table saw.

I decided to build the roadbed first. No benchwork yet. That would come later. This was definitely a backward way of working, but it actually worked. Spline roadbed consists of staggered strips of material glued together to form a permanently set roadbed. This next photo shows the center spline held in its approximate location using clamps. At this early stage I was building the layout on top of a set of bookcases and my workbench, which was left over from my previous layout. The nail file and metal weights were used to hold the roadbed the desired distance away from the back wall of the layout.

I did the same thing on the other side of the U-shaped layout.

In the middle, the twain shall meet, with a splice spline.

It was then just a matter of connecting other splines, staggered about one foot to provide lots of glue surface. I used every clamp I could find to help this process along.

The next photo shows what I wound up with after all the strips were attached. This took me two days of free time to do, so as you can see, it went rather fast.

This "end-grain" view of the roadbed shows the profile I incorporated into the roadbed. These splines were specifically cut that way on the table saw. It did help with the scenic element of the roadbed down the road. This section of roadbed turned out to be very heavy. I also learned that trying to smooth out the roadbed after the glue had dried was very difficult and labor-intensive.

For the first industrial spur on the layout, I wanted to try out another version of spline roadbed. This method doesn't glue strips directly to each other, but rather uses spacer blocks between strips. I also used solid wood rather than Masonite. This gave me yet another method with which to gain some experience. This photo shows the roadbed and the cork layer that was glued to the roadbed. The concept worked, but the cork was flimsy and caused some uneven spots in the track later on.

I built and then removed a center section. The new center section needed to be easier to construct. The spline roadbed was way too strong for N-scale equipment. It was overkill. I decided to drop back to the much simpler cookie-cutter method. This was necessary here because of the fact that one leg was to go under the other. Spline roadbed doesn't go up and down easily. Maybe over long distances, but I needed to gain a 2-inch separation in about 4 feet. If I used one-inch thick spline roadbed here I would have had to go up at least 3 inches. I measured and cut a section of 1/4-inch plywood and drew the track plan for the new center section on it. I then used a saber saw to cut the roadbed out of it. This is shown in its temporary location in the next photo. The front leg goes up and the rear leg goes down. I wanted to have more elevation in this layout.

I decided that the best way to get a flowing connection between the cookie-cutter roadbed in the new center section and the plywood sheets of the left-hand side of the layout was to use the Masonite spline roadbed approach again. The big advantage of spline roadbed is that you get the natural easements built-in. In this photo I placed an 8-foot long, one-inch wide strip of Masonite connecting the two areas to determine how long it needs to be.

I connected the spline Masonite strip to the outside edge of the cookie-cutter roadbed of the center section using glue. Here the glue is drying.

On the other side, where the spline connects to the horizontal surface of the left-hand side of the layout, I cut a slot in the plywood, installed a supporting block, and glued the Masonite spline in place. This guarantees a smooth transition from one surface to another.

To complete the roadbed for this transition section, after I installed the vertical supports for the roadbed, I cut the other spline and installed glue blocks to form one half of the entire roadbed. Another strip of Masonite will complete the roadbed. Note how I created another slot in the roadbed for the middle spline.

Here's the completed roadbed section between the center part of the layout on the right and the left-hand side of the layout.

I glued a layer of 3/16" cork over the entire roadbed.