@Mannyrock posted:George, that Flexbed looks pretty darned good even without the ballast.
Manny, I agree with you completely! I am now wishing I didn't use cork. Old habits die hard. I've used cork for slightly over 50 years now. I don't like to ballast until I have finished the surrounding ground cover, so I painted my cork gray to look half-ways like ballasted track in the interim. Each brand George and John used look better than my painted cork! Ultimately, I can see where foam would be more sound deadening than cork. Fortunately, I will only be able to have 1 or 2 trains running at a time, so sound isn't bad in my case. Note to self; if I build another layout, don't use cork. 
