Hey Doc, not that it matters *now*, but apparently you *can* get Homasote in our neck of the woods, as two layouts I know of in Lodi have it, but they probably had to go to Sacramento to get it. Come to think of it, the layout at Railroad Junction that Roger built is Homasote underneath the scenery. Think of a board like MDF, but stiffer and a little rough finish, it's somewhat soft and absorbs sound really well. Great stuff for layouts, but dang if I can find it here in Stockton. I've NEVER seen the stuff for sale anywhere since Grossman's Lumber (remember THAT place over on Kelley Drive and Hammer that's now an In Shape City??) went out of business in the late 80's. They carried it, but it was pricey. Other than that, I gave up looking for it, and prefer foam now anyway.
I wish I would have known 2 months ago you were going with celieng tiles for rock formations, I threw away a pallet of used (but in great shape) tiles at my old office building. I was going to keep a few cases worth for the new layout, but got carried away in the move out. The landfill over on Lovelace threw a fit when I tried to dump it, the lady there thought it was haz-mat of some sort, so after arguing with the manager that it is simply a gypsum product and no haz-mat, they reluctantly let me drop the pallet near where they store the old paint so they can look through it closer. I'd have rather have just given it away to someone who could have used it than deal with our goofy county.