A few years back, MR ran an article about a layout that was just 2-inch foam on legs/risers (Coyote Central?) There was another one about somebody who put foam on shelf brackets for an around the walls layout.
Has anybody done this?
How did you run your wiring?
How did you control your switches? Ground throws?
Did you attach a fascia?
Aside from being light and dimensionally stable, it seems like you could put up a significant amount of benchwork / subroadbed really fast using foam and brackets.
Yep; that’s Bill Darnaby’s MAumee Route layout, with a 600’ mainline. It’s been up for ten years or so, and works great.
Yes. See above, and there are a few others. I prefer a layer of 1/8" Lauan plywood between the brackets and the foam, but that’s to add screws and staples to something solid, not to support the foam.
Hot glue. I used staples, but I’ve got that 1/8" Lauan thing going…
Linear layouts are all about becoming the train crew, so most foam linear layouts feature manual throws of some sort. The easiest are Peco switches. Next come Caboose Industries ground throws (epoxied into place). Some modelers use choke cable throws, which have been featured in at least two MR articles over the years. All work well. (I use Peco)
I didn’t; I just sanded the foam base smooth and painted it. But most modelers think that they need a fascia, and add it. If you’re using homemade wood brackets, just screw the fascia to the ends of them, and use some adhesive to stick it to the foam (I suggest SILICONE adhesive caulk for this application; it grips better than latex caulk)
Definitely! Once you’ve got the plan in mind, and have your benchwork lines chalked onto the wall, it takes VERY little time to screw on a bunch of brackets. It took me three hours to add the 140 metal brackets I used on my last multilevel linear layout. Th
I use a light frame made of 1x4 (outer frame) and 1x3 (rafters) lumber. The legs attach to the frame, and then the foam goes on to the rafters. The outer frame protects the foam edges and provides a mounting for control panels and fascia, while the inner rafters give me someplace to put the trestles for the modified cookie-cutter construction. The legs, in my case, are just 2x3’s. This frame is light enough that I could carry the 5x12 foot frame (without legs or foam) upstairs from the garage where I built it to the family room where it lives with one hand. Now that the foam is glued on and I’m working on the layout, it is still easy to push around the room on the casters, and it’s stiff enough that there is no noticeable flexing.
When most people think of this kind of construction, the decision is “plywood under the foam, or no plywood under the foam?” To me, the plywood is completely unnecessary, and it adds cost and weight.
My club built a 4x16 in 2 sections using open grid benchwork on 16" centers, using 3 pieces of 1" foam and a piece of 3/16" lauan between the bottom and middle piece of foam. We would have used just a single piece of 2", but couldn’t find any in our area (North Georgia). I plan to use 2" foam on my next layout using the cookie cutter method (or 2 pieces of 1" laminated together). I will use open grid benchwork because I will have 4’ wide sections to support. I plan to put supports every 16".
Brad
It is all a matter of width. If you are planning anything 24" and under, foam will work fine because you can reach everything and therefore don’t need to lean hard or climb on the tables. I have some parts of my layout 4 feet wide, so there is no way in hell that I am going to use 2" foam alone. Even with supports underneith, I would not do it. I might need to get on the table at times ( hopefully very few times) so I don’t want to go crashing through. Some people will say they can go beyond 24" in width with foam, but then again, some people do 90 on the interstates in rain and snow too, but not me.