I am somewhat new to model railroading and am building an HO layout on top of a 4x8' sheet of plywood. My track plan will most likely consist of a main loop with a long siding and a few industrial spurs. I already have the baseboard and benchwork, but am unsure of where to go from there. I am pretty sure that I will use split cork roadbed, but I've heard suggestions about covering the whole layout in foam base, or painting/sealing the plywood first. I think the foam will make it easier to add scenery and will dampen the sound.
What has worked for you when building your roadbed? What kinds of foam would you suggest using, if any? How do you normally attach scenery/buildings to the baseboard? And how should I attach the track to the cork, then to the foam, and finally to the baseboard? Also, what would you recommend for ballast? Thanks!
Trainzguy2472
Matthew Cheng
Come check out my Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSlaF4fvDX1brq6YOeODLPw
I am building a 4x8 with a shelf extension. I used table-top benchwork, and laid homeade cork roadbed right on the cork. I use sifted sand from my gravel driveway for ballast. For scenery, you can see my most recent method here and here. Also, practicing on a scrap piece of wood is a good idea. I found the more I practice scenry, the better I looks and the more techniques I learn. Have fun,
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
So far, I think I'm going to use 2" pink foam to cover the tabletop and also act as subroadbed. How do I attach this to the plywood for maximum sturdiness and sound dampening? Also, how humidity/temperature resistant is that foam (does it deform from climate change)? I will probably use cork roadbed on top.
Unless you have another density medium well adhered to the underside of the extruded foamboard, you'll have a somewhat noisy layout when the trains move. You probably don't need much, maybe som echeap 1/4" ply adhered with something like PL-300 or DAP Alex Plus with silicone. Note that if you go for the cheaper DAP, I didn't like my experience with the white stuff that also dries white. I found my batch to be stiff when dried and poorly adherent. The white goop that dries mostly clear is a much better product and remain more pliable, an important component in the sound dampening you want.
The foam will be unaffected by humidity, and I can't say about temperature swings, but my bet is that it is very stable over wide swings in temperature. What will be affected by humidity is any non-laminated milled dimensional lumber such as 1X2's and such. Plywood does quite a bit better.
The cork does a good job making things quieter, but when we go to ballast and glue the grains, the hardened product transmits sound waves over the cork and deposits them directly onto the surface of the foam rendering it like a drum.
If you support the foamboard in a couple of places with cross-braces, but use that DAP product as an adhesive...liberally, you will help to dampen the sound from the foam.
Trainzguy2472 What has worked for you when building your roadbed? What kinds of foam would you suggest using, if any? How do you normally attach scenery/buildings to the baseboard? And how should I attach the track to the cork, then to the foam, and finally to the baseboard? Also, what would you recommend for ballast? Thanks!
What has worked for you when building your roadbed?
What kinds of foam would you suggest using, if any?
How do you normally attach scenery/buildings to the baseboard?
And how should I attach the track to the cork, then to the foam, and finally to the baseboard?
Also, what would you recommend for ballast? Thanks!
Roadbed -> depends on whether or not the tracks are supposed to be 'raised' (such as a mainline) or 'right on the ground' (such as industrial / yard trackage).
For the former, the split cork you can get at a LHS is good, but can be expensive.
For the latter, Home Depot / Lowes usually have thin cork sheets like for use in making bulletin boards. I've used that before - though a club layout just put yard tracks right on the wood underlay too.
Foam -> the pink dow corning (or blue ... I forget who) stuff used for insulation (will likely be in the lumber / insulation area of lowes or home depot). Club layout I used to belong to used 2" thick stuff -- but we're up in northern Ohio, so the thicker stuff is "standard" on the shelves here; if you're in a warmer climate, you may have to special-order it.
The next layout I'm building is gonna use "440 sound board" (Homasote), as I'm planning on trying handlaying some of the yard trackage, so I'll need something that the spikes can bite into.
buildings -> I never got that far. I'd expect foam-safe mild adhesives (such as dap caulk) are really all you'll ever need -- it is afterall just to keep them from sliding all over the place. Though, you'll probably get as many suggestions as members on the forum here .
scenery -> same deal for the base layer (or anything that sticks into the cork), although once you have something that dilute white glue will stick to, that's generally also a go-to (don't use it to try securing the "base" to the foamboard - it'll just crack off).
base - foam - cork - track -> can all be ahdered with caulk, or other mild adhesive that retains some minor flexibility.
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
Expect a lively discussion of different materials. For foam, I get the 2" kind. This worked on my 1st and current layout in providing enough depth for depressions in the foam. I found that this thickness also reduces the sounds a bit. I attach the foam to the wood using liquid nails.
To attach buildings to the baseboard, you can use Plaster of Paris (PoP) or any other clay compound. There's no need to use liquid nails. Anything that strong probably ruins the nearby scenery should you decide to change things.
Such a similar statement applies to attaching track to cork. I like track spikes to attach tracks to the cork. This is very easy to use and forgiving should you have to change track. I plead the 5th on knowing that!
Sticking on the theme of quick, cheap and easy, for attaching track cork to foam, I use elmer's glue. This stuff is easy to spread and quite strong. Some of my colleagues here use liquid nails. I'd think that's less forgiving and more expensive than white glue.
With the exception of an iceing platform and cattle unloading pens (stockyard) next to a packing plant, no structure is attached. Items like trees, groundcover, sings etc are a different story.
Bear "It's all about having fun."