Hi,
I’m am in the very early planning stages of building my first official layout. I was wondering; Is it possible to build a multilevel, portable foam base layout? If so, how can I support the upper board over the lower board. I only plan to have two levels in one section of the layout. The rest will be at grade with gradients at the sides to gain access to the lower level.
You need to laminate the foam onto something like plywood, 1/4in maybe. This will support the foam and prevent if from snapping in two if you put too much weight on it(what a disaster that would be) and also gives you something to work with to mount the upper level.
Ups: Lightweight; easy to form terrain; dimensional stability.
Downs: Susceptible to breakage if unsupported; sound-deadening properties not so good.
The first drawback can be addressed, as Bill said, with a thick plywood support. This, of course, adds weight - life’s full of tradeoffs!
I used foam board in my yards, industrial areas, and upper level, and I’m happy enough that I’d use it again, with a few modifications to my methods of attaching track.
That should have been a THIN plywood support. Oh, for an edit button!
Do you thing Balsa wood can be an option if I get the 1", Pink, Foam Boards? And; would I only need to apply your method to the lower level or the upper level? I plan on making my layout portable and which would mean building the layout in sections. This will be somewhat of a challange, but I’m thinking 4x3 foot sections in some areas, and maybe, 4x8 or 4x4 sections in others. The section with two levels will hopefully also be built in sections.
Thanks for your help and input!!!
I’m using foamboard on top of a sheet of plywood for my 2’x4’ N scale layout. I framed it with 1"x4" pine. I’ve seen foamboard layouts that use the pine framing around the edge of the foam, with framing underneith.
The only issues I have with foamboard are in mounting the roadbed and track. I’m using Liquid Nails to hold the cork down,with map pins to keep it in place until the adhesive sets. Still, it tends to move around a bit, especially on tighter curves.
If I were to do it again, I would go back to the old method and lay the cork on the plywood, and just use the foam for the hills and such.
John
Don’t use balsa wood! It is so weak that the foam would be supporting it instead of the other way around. (Besides, where do you get a 4X8ft piece of balsa?)
I would think sbout using 1/4in thick plywood on all levels, with the foam on top, and maybe using 1/2in plywood to make supporting brackets, etc. Shouldn’t weigh too much.
I have a 6X12 foot layout that is built using a 1X4 perimeter frame and 1X2 stringers every foot under 2 inch foam sheets. I have a second level that is 2 feet across one whole end of the layout with a subway station under and multiple buildings and tracks above. I used 1/2-inch foam for the upper level and supported it with 1X1/2 aluminum angle at several spots. I stayed away from wood because of the weight (my whole layout raises up to the ceiling when not in use during the summer). I used 2-inch dressmakers pins to secure all of the track going right through the foam track bed into the 2-inch foam and it works extremely well. (Also makes layout changes real easy). If you send me your email I can send some pics.
Bob R.
karmakreations@hotmail
I was thinking along the lines of making kind of a skelatal structure underneath the foam. Not so much underneath the whole board. I’m not that experienced with using wood and other building materials so I’m relying heavily on you guys(LOL).
Thanks!
I laminated 2 layers of 1/2 inch foam board on my 3 X 6’ N-scale layout. The foam board is supported by a frame of 1 X 3 boards around the edge with 2 1 X 3’s placed like bed slats across the width of the layout. I was concerned about how well it would hold up, but after over a year, I am pleased with the results.
I used Liquid Nails to glue the foam to the layout and to glue the layers of foam together, and I used yellow carpenters glue to glue the cork roadbed to the layout. Track nails will hold - the first time you put them in. If you pull out a nail and try to put it back in the same place, it doesn’t hold very well. You would need to drill a hole in the next tie over and put another nail in.
I have been very satisfied with this layout and am planning to use foam board again on future layouts.
I am building my layout in 4 sections.the first section i put together was foam board over plywood about 3x7.After dealing with it the other sections are as follows-an alod hollow core door for the large yard area-traditionalgrid frame for other 2 sections.I see only one advantage and that is weight.The disadvantages of working with it made me change in mid stream.If you are looking for portability i wouldnt overlook it,but be prepared for a few headaches.Woodland scenics does have a nice riser system for use with foam board however.It is a bit spendy,but does save many hours in labor.
I recall in an MR about two and a half years ago that some one built a foam layout using foam as the material in open grid construction, then laying foam flat on top. This would offer greater rigidity to the layout. If you are going to be moving the layout lots, however, I would not use foam as your main support material.
If it is to be moved occassionally, then by all means go with foam.
I’m also building a foam board layout, and I need to know, will AMI instant roadbed will stick to the foamboard?
Doesn’t AMI stick to just about anything?
I’ve built a small foam based layout for Lionel 3 rail trains. Good things: easy to cut and shape; cheaper than plywood. Bad things: very fragile; needs lots of support (approximately every 2 feet); doesn’t hold nails well.
You could use foam to build your grades, or use foamcore board for the purpose.
I have an Nscale shelf layout around the perimeter of a 10 x 10 room. It is made with 1 & 2 inch foam on hollow core doors and mounted on shelf brackets. There is very little weight and the layout is very rigid. I used woodland Scenics foam cement to attatch the foam. The layout varies in depth (from edge to the wall) from 8 inches to 2 feet. I am very pleased with this arrangement.
AMI will work just fine on foam. MR did a project layout using AMI on foam, but they didn’t follow the instructions (Wisconsin Central) and they had problems. The AMI president wrote to MR telling them of their error in laying AMI. AMI works very well with foam.
Balsa may be lightweight but it is not strong enough to support anything but air. You need something strong like plywood.
Irv
ksax, when you say support do you mean the train or you leaning on the bench? My new section is framed with 2X4’s (that was a mistake) and has 1/2 plywood and then 1" foam board. While working on a spur my belly did deform the foam a little. Trains still run fine so not a problem.
If you mean will it support it self and a train, yes it will.
Foam inside the mountain supports the train with no issues. As far as supporting it own weight, depends on the span.
This is inside the mountain, I used a steel stud that you can get for $3.50 at home depot. It spans the 7 foot opening to the hidden stagging. Mountain is now around 15 inches tall, will be adding around another 15 inches before I am done.
I will add it is easy to carve and paint.
These hills are lift off with no support! I had to remove them a few times do to derails and track cleaning. They are 3 foot plus and support there own weight with no problems.
Tip on buying foam, if you find a piece at Home Depot that is damaged you can get a discount!!! My last piece list was $12.00, got it for $3.25!!!
On nail the track down, I used latex caulk to hold down the road bed. Then spike down the rails. I have had no issues and new section has well over 200 hours on it. You can caulk yo hold down the rails as well. If no road bed, straight caulk will work.
Hope I was of some help.
&n
I used three layers of 1" foam over a 1 x 3 “ladder” type frame, supported by shelf brackets screwed directly to the wall studs (around the walls layout). The layout base is very rigid and not at all fragile. I did not use any plywood underlayment and things are fine. Now, if you want to stand or sit on the layout-yes, ply is recommended underneath the foam! The stud/shelf bracket attachment arrangement is rock solid. This construction has allowed me to “excavate” below grade for a yard/industrial area and makes scenery/feature creation easy. I use latex caulk to attach most everything to the foam including cork roadbed and then track to the roadbed. The drawbacks that I see for foam include: 1) messy to cut and shape. You MUST have a vac handy- always 2) I feel the foam/cork combo is noisy as opposed to cork on homosote or plywood. All my engines are DCC sound equiped so I don’t really notice the extra noise however if sound is off I can then hear what I feel is more resonance. 3) Solvent based “anything” must be avoided or the result is a gooey mess! Overall I like using foam very much owing to its light weight and versatility. I’m happy I used it for this layout.
Foam layers used-
Shelf bracket/ladder design detail below-
