STARTING A NEW HO LAYOUT, MY LAST LAYOUT I USED CORK ROADBED WHICH WORKED FINE. I HAVE ORDER SOME WOODLAND SCENICS FOAM ROADBED AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL BE ALOT EASIER TO WORK WITH. LOOKING FOR PROS AMD CONS ON FOAM. ALSO WOULD ELMERS WHITE GLUE BE OK TO ATTACH THE FOAM TO SUB ROADBED (WOOD) AND TRACK TO FOAM.
THANKS FOR ANY INFO IN ADVANCE, RANDY
I Like foam better than coak, but there are those who prefer the cork.
Cheap LATEX caulk works to hold the road bed down and to hold the track to the road bed. Lay a small bead and spred with a putty knife. You don't have to use much. Pins hold the roadbed down nicely while it dries overnight. Heavy books hold the track down as does pins and track nails.
ARTHILLI Like foam better than coak, but there are those who prefer the cork. Cheap LATEX caulk works to hold the road bed down and to hold the track to the road bed. Lay a small bead and spred with a putty knife. You don't have to use much. Pins hold the roadbed down nicely while it dries overnight. Heavy books hold the track down as does pins and track nails.
On my new layout I am also using foam roadbed. Clear latex caulk works best, but if you want to pull it up later, use the colored latex caulk. You will not be able to reuse all of the roadbed, but you can salvage the track. The clear caulk holds much better but it is harder to reuse the track.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I use black latex caulk to fasten the foam roadbed and flex track.
RBOLIN2828 STARTING A NEW HO LAYOUT, MY LAST LAYOUT I USED CORK ROADBED WHICH WORKED FINE. I HAVE ORDER SOME WOODLAND SCENICS FOAM ROADBED AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL BE ALOT EASIER TO WORK WITH. LOOKING FOR PROS AMD CONS ON FOAM. ALSO WOULD ELMERS WHITE GLUE BE OK TO ATTACH THE FOAM TO SUB ROADBED (WOOD) AND TRACK TO FOAM. THANKS FOR ANY INFO IN ADVANCE, RANDY
I used the foam once also, but I had problems with.... Make sure you don't pull or compress the foam roadbed before glueing down. This happened mostly on corners where track curved... You'll be eventually left with humps, bumps and gaps.. Here is where my problem existed.. I'm sure there is a right and wrong way, and you'll have no problems.. Just don't do what I did!!
Bob Kingsnorth
I've used WS foam roadbed on two layouts now, and like it very much. A couple of lessons learned:
Start with your subroadbed with a pencil line drawn down the center. I run a thin, S-shaped bead of yellow carpenters' glue over the subroadbed, so that the "S's" run to about an inch on either side of the centerline. I split the foam roadbed and lay half at a time, lining the flat (non-beveled) edge right up on the centerline. Then you can lay the other half up against it. Work slowly and keep it as smooth as a billiard table. The wood glue has enough tack to hold curves, but gives you a lot of working time, and because you're laying half the roadbed up against your centerline, it's easy to get it in the right place. I then lay scraps of 1x3 lumber over the roadbed and weight it with some pavers I have lying around (although heavy hard-cover books will work fine too). Make sure you use the lumber or something that will distribute the weight evenly, or you will end up with dents in your foam, and you'll have to wait until they expand back out before laying your track.
After about 2 hours, you can remove the weight (although it doesn't hurt to leave it on longer); after about 12 hours it will be completely dry. Then you can lay your track, centered over the split in the foam. I use gray DAP adhesive caulk for this task (DON'T EVER use white, it will show through no matter what you do) -- a thin bead that I spread out with a putty knife to about a 16th of an inch thick. Use the same method of weighting the track that you did for the roadbed. If you have a particularly stubborn piece of flextrack that insists on moving, you can use a track nail or two to hold it in place until the caulk cures.
I wouldn't call it foolproof, but I've had great results with it. Good luck.
P.S. Watch the SHOUTING.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I find the foam to be incredibly easy to work with. Although I have never used cork, i hear of teh need to presoak and contraction and expansion with change in temperature. The foam needs none of this. Just slit down the middle, apply glue, and let dry. I use Elmers carpenters glue. It afixes the roadbed securely but still allows the foam to be ripped up in case of a mess up, and it even lifts easy enough you would be able to salvage most of it. I am not sure of sound deadening qualities, but the foam does an alright job of it.
The rights of neutrality will only be respected, when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral. -Alexander Hamilton
When you talk about the WS "foam" are you talking about the white sub-roadbed risers / grades etc. or are you referring to the WS black roadbed strips?? Generally you would use the risers to raise the track above the plywood, and use their glue (either hot or regular) to glue it to the plywood. Roadbed would go on top of the riser, track on top of the roadbed.
I use the WS foam roadbed. I fasten it down with Elmers white glue. You have to split it in curves or it will kink, but it's perforated, so it's easy to do.
It has worked well for me.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I've always been a cork user in the past, with all my HO layouts except the latest. With that layout, and now my under construction N scale layout I've been using the WS Foam Bed with good results. I like buying it in boxed coils as you get quite a bit at once.
As stated by everyone else, I hold mine down with the cheap colored latex caulk using pins to hold it place while it dries, and then repeat the same to hold down the track on the foam, using Atlas track nails to hold the track in place while the caulk again dries.
Modeling the fictional B&M Dowe, NH branch in the early 50's.