# Is Aristo-Craft plastic road bed worth using?



## Jeff-From-Wisconsin (Feb 16, 2016)

We have a huge pile of Vacuum formed gray plastic roadbed we received with an auction, is this worth using?

Thoughts?


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

If the track sits down in the roadbed and the ties are held in place, I wouldn't use it outside. It would be fine for indoors. It is highly unlikely that outdoors it will expand and contract with temperature changes from day to night and winter to summer in the same way your track will. 

Others may have different ideas, let's see what they have to say.

I assume from your username that you live somewhere in the Badger state. Over a year you will have temperature swings of more than 100 degrees (F). Your track will move possibly by an inch or more, depending on how much track you have out. That is why many of us float our track on ballast, or if it is anchored pinned every 4 or 5 feet. Your track has to be able to move.

I do not think that putting it in a straight jacket is a good idea.

I'm not voting because it might be useful under some layouts and not others.

Chuck


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## Jeff-From-Wisconsin (Feb 16, 2016)

chuck n said:


> If the track sits down in the roadbed and the ties are held in place, I wouldn't use it outside. It would be fine for indoors. It is highly unlikely that outdoors it will expand and contract with temperature changes from day to night and winter to summer in the same way your track will.
> 
> Others may have different ideas, let's see what they have to say.
> 
> ...


Understood.

we have the USA brass track and just went over and seen that it only has about a 16th inch play side to side, not a lot, and 100 degrees plus.

this is from the manufacturer:

"A quick and easy way to detail your right-of-way, without the mess and time of using stone ballast. Made of tough, vacuum-formed plastic, each section is a realistic gray color with simulated gravel texture. Aristo track sections (sold separately) just slip into place, and roadbed is available to fit straight track and all sizes of curves. Indoors, the roadbed is perfect for displays on carpets or other flooring and is an ideal choice for a permanent layout. Tough enough to use outside, each section is UV protected to prevent fading in sunlight. And for permanent outdoor layouts, each section has three drainage holes to allow water run-off without digging drainage ditches."

I know for a fact that it fades because some is new and some used, quite a color difference.

Here is a pick of the bed.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Go for it and have fun!

Chuck


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## Jeff-From-Wisconsin (Feb 16, 2016)

chuck n said:


> Go for it and have fun!
> 
> Chuck


I don't think so, made some good points, think this is going up for sale and will be doing a ballast type install. 

Thanks for the insight Chuck!


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Good choice, I've been floating my track on ballast since 1982. One layout in the Denver area and the other in Virginia since 1994. I'm a happy camper with that system. It is easy to level and adjust.

Chuck

I knew someone in Denver whose large layout had curves that moved in and out several inches between winter and summer. I'm not talking about the length of the track. His track moved out and back several inches over a year. 

Thermal expansion and contraction is a fact and it needs to be considered in layout design.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I dug a trench 3-4" deep and lined it with weed barrier cloth and back filled with ballest. This helps with the drainage under the track. Level the to of the trench and lay the track. Then add more ballast to cover the ties and shake, wiggle the track to adjust it to a smooth roadbed.

Every so often you will have to make minor adjustments.

When I started my outdoors layout in 1983, there wasn't any help that I knew about. I made most of the mistakes that could be made, keep asking questions rely on our help and try to make an original mistake, not repete ones of the past.

Chuck


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