Foam

[Anonymous]

I purchased a 4 inch thick 4x8 slab of blue foam from a local insulation wholesaler in Houston. It cost my $40 but has been worth every cent. It's very light, extremely sturdy and very, very easy to work with. Depending on how low you want your scenery to extend below the track line, you can simply glue the slab to 1/2 inch plywood and this makes a very firm foundation.

I've had no problems with it and when I do my next layout, I won't hesitate a second to use thick blue foam again.

[karmakreations]

I have built my layout using the 2" foam with a 4X1 frame work and 2X1 stringers underneath for support. It has an aluminimum set of fold up legs so that the whole 12X6 layout goes up to the ceiling in my garage in the summer when I put it away. I covered the entire board with glue and sprinkled green grass before I put any thing down. I use the black Woodland Scenics foam track bed and hold it down with 2" dressmaking pins. This has been a great time saver as I have rearranged my track layout several times and never have to worry about bare spots left after moving a section of track. When I finally designed the layout that I wanted I just put a little superglue on each pin befor I put it in and it holds very well, it can still be pulled out with out to much trouble if and when things need to be changed.
I have also seen people that have used the AMI instant road bed, but it can NOT be taken up once put down however as it will pull up chunks of the foam.
I have built a large mountain at one end with the foam using the stack and carve method.
The foam system sure beats any thing else I have used.
Good luck and happy modeling.
Bob R.

[Anonymous]

During a recent addition I've found that an open grid box frame on 18-24" centers with two 3/4" cross laminated layers of pink extruded foam is MUCH lighter than the plywood and foam combination. This will hold up to about 40 lbs in a typical 18" box. I'm using 1x3"s for the frame. a typical 2' by 8' section of foam and grid weights about what the plywood alone weights

[Anonymous]

Just returned from a new Home Depot store with six sheets of 4x8 1.5" thick pink foam board. Cost $13 a sheet. 1" is $8 a sheet. Now this isn't for my layout, scraps will be. As I sit and write this my wife is in the "Crawl space" of an attic adding it over existing fiberglass insulation. No room for the two of us and I don't think I could shoe horn myself into the tight areas.

My reason for this post is some were asking the cost, etc. You can cover a lot of layout table for this price....Walt

[Anonymous]

Couple of questions -
What kind of nails are that long and skinny enough to go into the little holes in the ties (or do you put them somewhere else?) and where do you get them?
Anything special in your ballasting method to hold the track in place?

Also, on the opposite end of the precision spectrum from the bandsaw, a wire brush is good for forming the foam when making terrain. Use one with brass bristle, that is intended for cleaning pipe threads (lok in the plumbing dept.) - the normal steel ones are a little too drastic.

[Anonymous]

MAbruce-
Opinions vary - one is to build benchwork as normal, only maybe lighter-duty, and use a 1/4-in thick plywood "table top", to which you fasten (glue) the foam. This is kind of nice because you can do a lot of work on top of the foam at a different location before "bringing it to the table". Some of the other recommendations I've heard might be OK if you were going to hold a dance on top of your layout, i.e. IMHO overkill.

[MAbruce]

I'm in the process of planning an N-scale layout and am about ready to buy the lumber for the benchwork. But now I'm reading this thread about using foam for the benchwork and how much easier it is. So how does one use foam as benchwork? Are you acutally laying it on top of a wood table, or is the whole thing made of foam??

[Anonymous]

Here's what I do... Glue cork down with white glue (hold in place with pins until dry), lay track on it with long (1") nails. The head on the nail is a bit unprototypical, but once your ballast is in place, the nails can be removed. I am on my third all-foam layout and LOVE it. It would be hard to go back to wood framing again. The other tool I have found indispensable is a bandsaw---to cut foam pieces to needed thickness (such as needed for inclines/ building fondations)

[Anonymous]

Bob - You didn't say what area of the country you're from. In some areas it seems the extruded pink or blue foam is kind of hard to find, especially in the thicker sizes -- something to do with the climate and the popularity of basements, I think. If the folks at Menards or wherever look at you like you're nuts, keep looking around.

To answer another posters question, you probably need to use adhesive for everything, nails won't hold in foam! Glue the road bed to the foam, glue the track to the roadbed. The trick is to use something that will let you correct your "misteaks" later without doing too much damage. Regular white glue (not water resistant) works for me, you can get it wet to make it let go.

Another thing to watch out for with foam is to not use materials (adhesives, paints) that attack the foam. Liquid Nails is another popular adhesive, but there are several varieties, some of which will dissolve the foam. Solvent-based paints are another no-no.

Finally (deep sign of relief) make sure its the dense foam, not the white beaded stuff. That kind has very little strength, and cutting or shaping it makes the place look like your bean bag chair exploded. The pink or blue kind makes a mess, too, but not as bad.

BillK

[Anonymous]

I am alittle late but it's called extruded foam, I have always used homasote but thats hard to find in my area no one carries it only one yard will do a special order at $35.00 for a 4x8 sheet so I was looking at this foam in Home Depot. I am working on a new layout using all Atlas flex track.and I was wondering how well it will hold the track in place, it seems soft to me and track nails will work loose. How are you keeping your track in place? Thanks Beeline

[Anonymous]

Hi, Walter & Gary. Thanks for your tips. I'm on the way to Home Depot I guess. I had a stroke several years ago, and am building with one hand. Using Unitrack on 3 X 8 foot base ( of foam). Have 2 Kato Mikados (1995 & 2002 vintage). Am very proud--was trying to install Microtrains coupler on the older tender, and the truck fell apart. Successfully reassembled truck!! Still fighting coupler. Have a friend who can help me.
Am an engineer, and wish Kato would provide wiring schematics of their controls so I could do my own wiring without reverse engineering their ideas. Thanks again for your quick responses. Bob

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob, you can purchase up to 2 in. thick foam at the builders supply stores, i have used the 2 in. (comes in 4X8 sheets) and use liquid nails to hold it together .

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob, A lot of hobby shops carry, I think its, Woodland Senic foam products for model railroad work. they have foam riser systems and foam panels. You can also buy large sheets of either pink or blue foam insulation at Home Depot, Lowes or Menards. That comes in 2 x 8 or 4 x 8 sheets and I've seen it in thickness from 1/2'' to 2''. Hope that helps and I'm sure you'll get some additional pointers here.....Walt

[Anonymous]

Where does one purchase foam? And what do you ask for? I'm in N-scale and building a layout which must be light weight. I'm 74 years old, and have built scale RR since I was five. Bob