I have finished the benchwork and backdrop! These two accomplishments have brought me to another area of unchartered territory. The Styrofoam is getting placed on top of the around-the-wall layout.
Here are my questions:
1. Do I alter the foam height before laying track to make the layout more realistic with hills, etc.?
2. If so, how do I decide what areas of foam to raise and lower?
3. What resources to check out about working w/ foam? Fray's book on scenery doesn't mention it much.
TIA!
Lee
I'm with Art on this one. This would be a really good time to have something approximating a firm plan. That would presumably include any grades that may have to get one track crossing overhead of another, and then the reversal back to the starting point, or to another destination if it won't be a loop.
Generally, you can use a thin foam roadbed from WS, or use cork, or just lay the track on the "ground" if you intend to make it a yard or industrial tracks. High speed rail is almost always up above the average surface by a few inches so that there is drainage...or else there are ditches. Whatever you decide, you should draw a centreline for the entire track plan and be careful about your curve radii. Then lay cork or foam roadbed centred on the centreline.
Some folks take the extra, and often important, extra step of sanding the top of the cork where there are joints. Irregularities in the subroadbed surface often transfer their influenc to the tracks, making for wavy or undulating rails. Not good for high speed freight or passengers.
Is this sort of what you are looking for, or have we misunderstood?
I think that he's talking about foam for scenery here.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
larak wrote: I think that he's talking about foam for scenery here. Karl
I don't fully understand the question either. Need more info. Not sure if elevations for the track plan have been actually figured. The subroadbed doesn't necesarilly have to be "0" elevation and all track above it (grades). Pending the track plan and grades, some of the track/ subroadbed could cut into the base foam for easier grades if any track crossings will require any steeper grade on the inclines.
The track plan need to be set with all elevations and a basic scenery plan in mind at this time.
Of coarse the track can be laid flat on the foam prarrie and scenery elevations, hills, portals, river cuts, rolling terrain, bridges and abutments done after the fact. Working with a full plan or at least some idea for scenery helps tremendously rather than just winging it as you proceed.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
1. No. But you should also use some type of roadbed material to lay your track on unless it is a yard or industrial siding. See some of the other answers above.
2. If you have a plan that includes buildings and industries, set them in place first or mark where they will go and draw them in. Then mark where any parking / delivery areas for vehicles and connecting roads would be and draw them in. Now anything that is not a parking lot, road, or building foundation is subject to having it's terrain modified by small hills and valleys.
3. Search this fourm for foam or foam scenery.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
If you are going to keep all your track on level surfaces, I'd go ahead and lay the track next. With foam, you can cut out sections and build up other sections after the track is in.
First, though, you need a track plan you're happy with. You can lay down the track loosly on top of the foam to check for fit, etc. It's best to do this before you change the surrounding terrain, because correcting mistakes is easier this way.
On my layout, I've put down track temporarily using paper clips to hold it in place. If you straighten out a paper clip, leaving just a U-shaped form, then you can hold your track down by simply pressing the clip over a tie and into the foam. You can do this with or without roadbed in place. If you're using Atlas track, a paper clip will just fit into the little holes in the center of the ties. You could actually put down your entire layout worth of track this way, before you do any gluing. This will allow you to check for fit and overall appearance. You can even hook up some wires and run trains. While I wouldn't recommend this for permanent installation, it's a good way to both test your plan and to let you run trains for a while and test the plan's operational potential.
I have a section of track which will have to be removed while I work on the surrounding scenery. It's a piece of main-line, so I have it pinned in place with paperclips. It's been this way for over 2 years now, and I'm still running trains on it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.