Do I need anyhting on top of my foam board before laying track?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
2

A lot depends on how much noise from the trains you’re willing to put up with. Putting track directly onto foam is likely to generate a lot of wheel noise being amplified by the foam. Nails will not hold in foam, so a better way to fasten the track would be gluing it down with caulk.

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3

I should have mentioned that I will be using cork on top of the foam board to lay the track.

4

I would paint the foam and cork your base ground color before laying track.

That way you won’t have pink & cork showing through, especially under the throwbars that you’ll mask while painting the track later.

Just remember to use latex or any water-soluable paint, as any solvent-based paint will eat the foam like the Aliens’ blood did metal in Aliens.

Rule of Thumb for foam: If the substance says “flammable” don’t use it!

5

Greazback,
If you have the July issue of MR check out Lance Mindheim’s article on using foam board as the benchwork material.

6

This is great advice. I totally forgot to do this on parts of my layout and find it frustrating trying to cover some things up. Get the cork down and slap on a very dark colour Latex paint. You’ll be glad you did.

If you really want to do a bang up job, paint the cork the colour of your ballast.

Brent[C):-)]

7

Second the idea of putting down a coat of ‘dirt’ color first. Of course, around here there are areas where the dirt is the color of pink foam. [:$]

[EDIT: Think I’m kidding? Google Valley of Fire…]

Since you’re committed to using cork, that should be painted ballast color - whatever color you plan to ballast it with.[:-^]

When fastening track to roadbed, use the same color of latex caulk. Look, Ma, no holidays.[8D] I mention this because cork over foam doesn’t hold track nails very well.[:'(]

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)