Im looking for advice on how to construct a mountain on my first HO scale setup. Ive got a 6 by 8 foot plywood base with rigid support. Im going to run a lower train, and one in the mountains. From what Ive seen so far, people use insulation foam in several layers. Then shave it down to thier liking. Im a real noob at this, so dont assume I know anything. My little boy is 2 and really loves trains. I want to do the best job possible. Any suggestions or tips from all you pros would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to email me. Thanks.
I’m building a coal country “N” scale layout, my first since my teens, 30 years ago. I have a base of 1x3" with 1/4" ply on top, and then 1" pink foam on top of that. I’ll be using Scenic Designs ready made foam inclines and grades. Check out there site. or better yet if your Local Hobby shop has their Design Book buy it. I think I paid $5 and it really made it all make sense. If your willing to pay a little more for their premade stuff, it will shave alot of time off of DIY and it is really well thought out. Also check the links in many post here. There are lots of those who have been there, done that and are more than willing to share. Good luck, keep us posted. Dave
Thank you for the info. Have you got a link for the site? I cant seem to pull it up. BTW, why do you reccommend putting the sheet of foam on top of the plywood? Im using Bachman EZ Track. How would I attach the track to the styrofoam?
Here’s a “mountain railroad” using foam that may give you some ideas. I’m a “noobie” too but don’t let that slow you down (much). [:)]
Attaching Track: I’m using Kato Unitrack whic is similar to Ez-Track. I’m going to try holding it down with RTV Silicon. I bought some used Unitrack and it was held with that. It will hold it in place nice, but also will release when you need it, and doesn’t attck the foam.
Here is the Web site, sorry it’s Woodland Scenics:
http://www.woodlandscenics.com/
There are some great ideas on J.W. Murray’s site. When I get mine past the benchwork stage, I’ll post some pics. Keep asking, there is a lot of experience on the Web. Dave
I use newspaper balls and covered them with WS plaster cloth. Then I coat it with about 5 layers of thick, water based sealer from the Hardware Store.
It comes out nice and smooth, and strong enough to support a two year old (perhaps more sealer to be sure though).
I’m building a mountain railroad too, after a flat and several modules. I’m planning to use risers and 1x3 lumber to support the roadbed, then use cardboard lattice and plaster mostly for the mountain slopes (as in Dave Frary’s Realistic scenery book). I’ll experiment a bit with stacked insulation foam under my mountain town and mining area. I’ve used foam on modules and it works well, but gets expensive to cover bigger areas - and I prefer plaster rocks anyway (I found I was often putting a plaster layer over the foam to get rock faces to work). As the mountains I’m building will be mostly covered in trees, what’s underneath as support is less critical. One advantage to open grid benchwork over the plywood top and stacked foam is access to the tracks in case of a derailment, or for maintenace of switches etc.
I am getting ready to construct my 1st mountain RR also, Crawford Notch, mountain division. I obtained the books and especially the videos from Woodland Scenics, and I found them to be excellent. I will be using their techniques. Check them out at http://www.woodlandscenics.com
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