Weed mat

It does help.

Buy the heaviest and best quality you can afford.

You will still need to weed occasionally though....
 
Like all of these things it depends on how you intend to use it. One railway I built it was used to line a narrow trench where the track would be, that being filled with 1/2-3/4 inch gravel with LGB track laid on that then pea shingle for final ballast. Worked very well. However I read many stories about large areas being covered then mulched with weeds getting roots into the weed mat being very much an issue.
 
If you are laying track on earth, dig a trench line with good quality weed mat, fill the tench with gravel, then track on top. however be prepared to top up the gravel as it will settle. This how I laid some of my track:

tumble-down-falls.blogspot.com

Railway Build Phase One

Phase 1 for me was to get a railway laid that I could eventually run a real steam locomotive on, my initial space was a little limite...
tumble-down-falls.blogspot.com tumble-down-falls.blogspot.com
 
Weed matting will generally prevent most weeds coming up from below (although some matting lets bluebells grow through, but you will still be subject to air-borne seeds producing weeds - mother nature has her ways and means ;)

I'd still recommend using it :nod::nod:
 
I've dabbled with weed mat over the years, from cheap DIY stuff to top of the range random-weave Dupont and none of it does the job for more than a few seasons. Now I put down very heavy duty PVC sheet beneath trackbed at ground level, which stops the big weeds well and I have to contend with just the odd small weed which pops up in the ballast itself, along with moss and sedum (which can be attractive in certain circumstances).
 
These fabrics are good to add longevity to your substrate..
If you don't use anything, your gravel base and ballast will slowly disappear into the surrounding soil.

It is a lot easier to reclaim some of this, should you decide to change things. You can even use it to hold the gravel whilst you are washing it for re-use.

PhilP.
 
Use it
I have had track down to more than 10 years on weed mat and grano.

Even then earth and worms get into the mix round the edges but without it the ballast would have long vanished.

Why try some with and some without. You report back the result in a few years. Nothing like conducting a controlled trail to add to our knowledge base.
 
PhilP said:
These fabrics are good to add longevity to your substrate..
If you don't use anything, your gravel base and ballast will slowly disappear into the surrounding soil.

It is a lot easier to reclaim some of this, should you decide to change things. You can even use it to hold the gravel whilst you are washing it for re-use.

PhilP.
Click to expand...
Yep, we forget that it was the original geotex matting that gave us weed control matting in the first place.
 
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