newbie benchwork / track question

[Anonymous]

I have just completed my benchwork of 1/2" plywood. What are the pros and cons of laying track onto plywood over 1" to 2" styrofoam?

[selector]

Hi. If by 'stryfoam' you mean 'extruded' foam, then you are on the right track....uh, well, you know what I mean.

I used EZ-Track, the pre-ballasted type, directly on my 1" extruded foam, and ballasted the EZ=Track lightly with beach cleaned and demagnetized beach sand to llok more realistic. Some modelers would recommend using cork or foam roadbed (Woodland Scenics or comparable) on top of the foam for better deadening and raising the road if using non-ballasted sectional track such as Flex-trak.

If your question also pertains to a concern for stiffness, it would all depend on the spans of your supports below the plywood. If you will occasionally want to get up on your layout, use no more than 20" spans for joists, and ensure your supporting legs cannot deviate sideways; use braces. If you will never have to get up onto your layout, you could easily get away with 30" spans with 1/2" ply and 1" foam.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by busteed

I have just completed my benchwork of 1/2" plywood. What are the pros and cons of laying track onto plywood over 1" to 2" styrofoam?

Is the plywood turned on edge making joists? If so, it would depend on how far apart they are. I've found 2" foam to be quite sturdy. But I would highly recommend boxing it so that a sudden whack from a chair or a person leaning on it would be on the wood rather than the edge of the foam.

The big disadvantage, we discovered the hard way, was that it acted like a giant drum head amplifying the wheel noise of the trains running over it.. This was more evident the larger the area but noisy even on 2 x 4 foot sections. Using sound absorbing roadbed helped. We also started using heavier skirting.