Foam core boards for roads

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I am just finishing laying my track and am now starting to worry about the towns and all the other good stuff. I was reading an artical about using foam core boards for roads. The pictures look ok, not really great but ok. Has anybody used this stuff for highways? It is something that I can get in town as opposed to having to order. Any thoughts?

Thanks for any imputs.

2

Works good for straight roads.

3

Your roads look alot better than the book that I am reading. Have you used that stuff on all your roads?

4

I use the foam board for concrete roads. For blacktop roads Durhams water putty, n scale balast for gravel roads & dirt for dirt roads.

5

I use the gray colored art foam core board from Hobby Lobby. The only drawback is that it is 5mm thick so you need to add shoulders to the roads.

You can spray paint it too without having to worry about it curling.

In the photo below, I used it for village streets and for the train station platforms. The gray color is sort of like asphalt. I use automotive striping for the lane dividers and shoulders. If I were more particular about it, I could weather the roads and add surface cracks.

Rich

6

Have to go to town tomorrow, so I will get some at Wal-Mart and start playing with it. The photos look GREAT.

7

Looks good,. What is durhams? It is good to know that n scale balast works for gravel roads, I plan on lots of gravel roads.

8

White 3/16 20in x 30in form core at Wal-Mart $1.40, best price I’ve seen, just bought 5 pieces, $2.49 everywhere else I looked.

Wayne

9

So you just cut it to the width you want, paint a base coat on it, glue it to the table, feather it in with plaster of paris. Is that right so far? How do you get the seams in the road?

All of the photos look good. It gives me hope.

10

I cut it to 3 inches for two lane road. I used n scale ballast for gravel shoulder. For joints I used a fine point sharpie.

11

It appears the foam you are describing is sandwiched between two layers of either paper or plastic. Another foam Hobby Lobby carries is called Funky Foam or Silly Foam and comes in 2mm, 3mm, and 5mm thicknesses. It is solid foam but flexible with no covering layers. I have used it for track roadbed but it works for roads, structure bases, etc.

12

I have a town square I have started using a brick pattern road made from styrene that ill have to cut to fit but on my 2 other roads I planed on just painting on top of the pink foam base and ill see how that goes down the road.

13

Thanks everyone for the great inputs. Next trip to the city I will go to Hobby Lobby and check out their Silly foam. I did get four sheets of foam at Wal-Mart. It makes it even better when your wife works there and you get 10% off so that makes them $1.26 a sheet.

Thanks again everyone.