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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by pcarrell I agree that it is a bit "over-engineered" for your puposes. That is why I suggested somewhat lighter materials using the same basic idea. I think 1/4 inch luan half circles, overlapped halfway and glued together, supported by verticals with strapping metal crossbraces to keep it thin so the grades don't get too bad, might be a good solution. I think if you use foamcore you might find that the roadbed is so think (if it's going to be able to support itself well) that if you are going to have a manageable grade then your radius would have to be very large. Maybe you are abundantly blessed with space and this is not a problem, I don't know. That was just my first thought. [/quote] I am trying to find some figures for the modulus of elasticity for plywood and for foamcore. I could set up and measure it of course, but I am at my desk for a few days not in the lab. Our experience with foamcore has been rather interesting. It's breaking load is, of course, not particularly high. But before it breaks it is more rigid than plywood. I am trying to understand the fascination, or maybe fixation, with plywood. Do we buy it because it is cheap? Because as far as I can determine, form a pure performance viewpoint, not taking cost into account, products like foam-core, gator-board, core-flute (plastic corrugated cardboard look-alike) and foam products such as those from Woodland Scenics and Noch (Germany) offer far higher performance and much lower weight. Of course, I should emphasise that I consider materials like MDF, masonite (hardboard), chipboard and the like to be unsuitable for model railroad use. John
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