ReddahcI keep hearing that I should put a sheet of 2" foam on the plywood and then glue the cork roadbed to the foam. What's best? Why foam? Exactly what kind of foam? I'm just frustrated right now and quite curious.
So the real question is what are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking for a totally new way of constructing the infrastructure of your table layout? Personally I use open frame benchwork with 3/4" sub-roadbed and cork roadbed. I would use Homasote or Micor except I have a hard time finding them. Always end up going back to cork. When I want to fill in the open grid with scenery is when I add foam as appropriate.
TIn the picture below the module on the right (canyon) is all foam except for the frame and track roadbed. The module on the left is plywood & plaster it weighs about 40 lbs. The canyon module on the right although it technically has more "rockwork" weighs about 7 lbs.
On the other hand I did experiment with just a foam sheet laid over the benchwork. As another poster mentioned I discovered the hard way that the foam just becomes a big "drum head" and amplifies the sound of the trains. Since I had used roadbed the sound was not nearly as bad as a friend of mine who laid his track directly on the foam. Since is is a totally flat scene, other than the light weight for a modular layout there is no advantage of the foam over a sheet of plywood.
I thought Homasote wasn't being made anymore. I don't think the LTS carries it, which kind of sucks because after seeing so many people using it I'm starting to get interested in using it too. Is homasote come in different scales like cork roadbed, or is it just a cut-to-fit type thing? I'm starting to rethink the foam base now too after consistently hearing that it's expensive. Not to many smaller construction projects going on around the area where you could just go around asking who the foreman is and ask to go dumpster diving without getting into trouble. Most of the construction right now is roads or larger projects where everything is fenced off and gets plopped in one of those huge 30 foot steel industrial dumpsters that get picked up by big diesels. I should really figure out just how much square footabe and such I would need.
Hi, Don,
Thanks for your interest. I'm just not happy with my track plan and in looking at many other layouts I continue to see the use of foam on plywood. So, naturally, thinking of taking up the track and using a new plan; if I'm going this far why not utilize the best method for the rebuild.
Charlie
Charlie,
I have to ask: What is the cause for all of your frustration and why do you think tearing your table apart will help?
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
With the homasote already down, not necessary to use 2" foam. Save the foam for building your terrain.
model in O. the Western NY and Ontario Railroad
Just for clarification, "Styrofoam" is the trade name for the blue extruded polystyrene foam. It is not a generic name for foam, especially not for the beaded foam, which you want to avoid as has often been noted in these forums.
Dante
Blue styrofoam and pink are the same thing from different manufacturers. I glue it together with Low Temp Hot melt glue, but any water based latex glue or caulk will work. The problem is that the caulk/glue takes days to weeks to dry. Foam is easy to carve. Small gullies can be carved below the track level.
I like to stack the foam for mountains and canyons. It carves, with a serated knife, very easily. I like the foam road bed better than cork, but many others prefer the cork. I have had good luck with WS inclines glued to the foam.
Foam also makes the planting of trees easy. Much can be said. I have a bunch of pics in my sig that show what I have done with foam.
I used foam, extruded foam, for my layout because that's what I wanted. You should use it only if you want to. It fills the need for some, others not so much - as is with many things in MRing. Do a search of extruded foam and see if this might be for you. There have been many MR articles using the foam so check your back issues.
There is also the Woodland Senics foam system, but that's a alittle pricey to me but an option. I did however use thier foam inclines for my two inclines I have.
I would stay away from "styrofoam" with the little white beads. But, there are folks here who made that work too
Hope this helps a little.
Modeling the Klamath River area in HO on a proto-lanced sub of the SP “The State of Jefferson Line”
People are referring to extruded polystyrene foam. It is typically sold for use as home insulation in large 4 x 8 blue or pink sheets at your local big box hardware store.
You generally want to avoid the white styrofoam you typically find used in packaging and styrofoam cups as it does not have the same structural strength.
You may have seen the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed. It is white, but I understand it is structurally different than the beaded styrofoam.
The reason for adding the layer of foam is it is easy to carve. This allows you to easily create scenery below the track level unlike your current plywood / homasote sandwich. It is also very easy to plant trees. Just make a hole and stick them in.
The main disadvantage is cost. The stuff isn't cheap. Of course you may be able to pick up large scrap pieces for free at any construction site if you ask.
Another potential disadvantage, if you put nothing underneath the foam, is it acts as a soundboard, making your trains quite loud. In your case, with the foam on a sheet of plywood, that will not be a problem.
The roadbed is really up to you. If you're handlaying track, homasote is the way to go. However, if you're using flex track, you can use cork, homasote, vinyl, or even no roadbed at all. In the later case, you'll just want to carve the ditches along side the rail right into the foam. That said, even with your plywood underneath, you still will probably want to use some form of roadbed for sound deadening purposes.
Eric
I'm about to tear my table layout apart and start over. The table now is plywood with a sheet of homasote on top. I keep hearing that I should put a sheet of 2" foam on the plywood and then glue the cork roadbed to the foam. What's best? Why foam? Exactly what kind of foam? I'm just frustrated right now and quite curious.
Thanks to all.
Charlie in Massachusetts