I have looked high and low for 2" foam for my new N scale Layout but just cant find it here in Texas !!!
Plan “B” is to layer a few sheets togather and try that!!! The 64 million dollar question is will it work??
We will see!!! more later
It will work, but it could work fairly well or really well, depending on the adhesives you use.
I only know of one that would bind hard and firm (but I hasten to add that I am not familiar with many of the potentially suitable caulking compounds out there, and many of the glues). It is not hard on the foam, won’t dissolve it, but it is also fairly costly. I am talking about Gorilla Glue. It must be exposed to just a bit of water for it to work as intended (read the label!), but that is one tuff stuff. It dries hard and stiff, and will help to impart the resistance to sagging that I think you meant to afford yourself with the 2" foam.
One caveat…it doesn’t carve worth beans. If you are going to shape and contour this stack, use something else.
-Crandell
Perhaps the Universe is doing you a favor. Foam of any sort isn’t required or necessarily desirable to build a layout.
Mark
It also depends on what your plan is. If you plan a flat layout then you don’t need anything but roadbed. if you are going to cut out to make streams with bridges while keeping the track level then foam is for you. Gluing layers will work fine either way…
Too bad you can’t find the 2," but some areas don’t seem to carry it. Any cheap acrylic latex caulk will bond it together just fine. Mine has been together for several years with no problems. You can use the same product to attach cork, track and most anything else to your layout.
Good luck,
The thickest foam any stores here in SE Arizona carry is the 1 inch white beaded or the blue extruded foam. I have glued layers together using the cheapest latex caulk I could find and it works very well. You will need to put some weights on top and let the two layers sit for a day or two until the caulk sets up.
I don’t know about Gorilla glue, other than I’ve heard that it expands as it cures. If I were trying to join sheets of foam, I think I’d be inclined to use Liquid Nails for Projects.
The problem that I see with any of these adhesives is that you will not get 100% coverage. So if you start cutting into it, you might encounter a void or unbonded area.
I am also not a big proponent of using extruded foam for scenery for the simple reason that stuff ain’t cheap, that being said you should have no bonding problem what so ever using either silicone based adhesive caulk the cheaper the better it’s basically all the same stuff. Just make sure you get the stuff that drys hard and not the permanently pliable stuff used for sealing showers etc. The other more cost effective alternative is just straight yellow carpenters glue. The secrete to bonding extruded foam when using it for modeling is you need to keep the two pieces compressed until your adhesive sets up.Even when using silicone caulking and you don’t get “100% coverage” as you put it the bond is so strong that the “void” so to speak will mean nothing. The stuff is messy as all get out when you start to shape it so be prepared to have shop vac at the ready and running as you chop away.
I use 1” foam on my layout and am happy with it. Everything you see in this photo is 1” foam.
Doc
I have a 24’x24’ HO layout and, frankly, I agree with Markpierce ! I have 260 yds of track with 110 turnouts, six reverse loops and 3 wyes. I cut ravines into the 5/8 in plywood layout base and build mountains with plywood arcs, covered with heavy screen wire, plastic cloth and Sculptmold, or Hyrocal plaster. Why does one need 2" foam ??? The cork roadbed below the ties is enough to deaden the sound. I can put in double coil solenoid motors, with less than 1 inch length of the wire to control the switches, (with the tabs connected directly connected to the solenoid base, which is inserted in a rectangular hole cut into the plywood. My sawmill complex is mounted on a pull-out drawer, so the I can have access to the tracks in the rear. Lift outs with Luan bases rest directly on the plywood base. Very realistic and NO problems. Bob Hahn. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Then,click on the photo series to the left, to see other scenes on my layout. 
Nice looking stone viaduct who made it or did you scratch build it?
People get fixated on building a layout a certain way. There is absolutely no right or wrong way to do it, providing it works to satisfaction. My current layout has foam, spline, plywood, cement board, angle iron and a steel stud. It will have two significant areas where I will be using screen covered with plaster cloth or some other goop that I haven’t yet decided on.
The reason I chose foam for the flat parts and the more shallow mountain areas is because I wanted to model the west coast which is a rainforest. You can’t walk ten feet without having to cross a ditch, creek or river. I liked what others had done with foam and I thought that was the way to go as wanted a lot of waterways. Plus I had not used it before and I wanted to try it.
As far as using spline. I wanted a long climb up and down through the Rockies that was to be about 75’ in length. Spline fit the bill for a few reasons. First it was a newer method and I just wanted to try it. Also it a whole lot cheaper for such a long “up and down” than cookie cutter.
As for any layout I may build in the future. I may use plywood, foam, spline or cookie cutter or anything else I may find. Change is the biggest part of growth. That includes moving on to new methods or changing back to some old ones. The biggest factor that I think would determine the method I would use is layout size.
As to the OPs foam problem. If getting foam is a problem you may want to rethink and/or mix and match construction methods. Home Depot or Lowes should bring foam in for you if you order it, as it is in their product line. Good luck.[:)]
Brent
The background mountains, shoreline, and viaduct are all 1" foam as I said before. I find it very easy to carve anything from foam. I have built mountains 2-3 feet high and they weigh only one pound. This makes it easy to create many scenery shapes on the workbench then take them to the layout and drop them in place. Since I have this liftout capability I can reach any place on the layout.
Doc
Thanks for the pics Doc![tup] You just gave me a great idea for my one and only liftout that I have been frustrated about.[:)]
Brent