John,
Your pictures of your AF S gauge shelf layout tell me that you made the perfect choice for track and roadbed for your shelf display/layout. The AF rubber roadbed ties (pun intended) the classic Gilbert AF scene together. Nice work.
I have a ton of AF roadbed and am seriously considering it for a “permanent” home layout.
Getting back to the traditional track options of this topic, we did use some AF tinplate sectional track I had on our sectional display layout which has been in use at Christmas and various train shows for over 37 years.
Instead of rubber roadbed, we milled wood ties which were glued to the platform on their side so that the width became the height to the bottom of the rails, and the top edge was the visible portion the tie. After adding sandblasting sand as ballast, the look was not unlike the type of AF rubber roadbed with narrow ties between the wider tinplate ties. As these pictures show, we made no attempt to actually disguise the AF tinplate ties completely because of the concept that the layout pays homage to A.C. Gilbert and to his birthplace.
Cheers!
Alan
PS: John, The clutter in your room pales in comparison to my “train room/workshop,” pictures of which have been posted under other topics on the Forum.
