Hoping for some advice. I have a small layout with an elevated portion and I want to build around it. I plan to use styrofoam to build up the elevation and the reason for this choice is I would like it to be portable to take to train shows and the weight of wood would hinder this.
What’s the best method to secure the track to the foam? Do I still need a cork bed for the track? I am using flex track around the curves with an aggressive radius (trolley run) so really needs to be secured otherwise it returns to original shape.
Thoughts or suggestions? I am hoping for a resolution not too permanent in case I change my mind a few years down the road and want to re-use the track.
Inexpensive, holds very well, stays flexible but can be pried up with a putty knife and steady pressure. Working time 30-45 min. Fully cured in 24 hrs. Can be found at any home improvement store or hardware.
I used the caulk that Tom linked to. I don’t think you need the cork road bed, other than the fact that it gives a good road bed profile, you can carve the road bed profile in the foam.
Removing the track is easy with a putty knive type tool. I used a margin trowel, a tool I used alot in my cement finisher days.
My layout is on extruded foam that I used to make hills and valleys. To make the roadbed more even than my carelessly carved foam, I laid down cork roadbed and attached it using caulk. I then attached the track to the cork using caulk.
I have not had any issues with this. I did need to change some track after the caulk cured. I was able to get the track off, but I did damage some track, also.
I use cork because I have it. Ken Patterson does not. He carves drainage ditches on the side of this tracks. His videos also show him carving foam, with an electric chainsaw, in his basement. His tolerance for foam dust is different than mine.
I use Dap 230, which I’m pretty sure I got from one of Cody’s videos.
I use Micro Engineering (ME) cork to give the foam layout a “cleaner” and more realistic look. I secure it with Elmer’s glue since cheap and easy to remove. Don’t ask how I know!
LOL that made me laugh and have to agree. The worst part about working with foam.
Looks like caulking it is then gents. I read about and saw in the store, these foam pins from Scenic Woodlands but they have these massive heads on them and I couldn’t see how they could be used on the track.
Foam pins are more widely know as T-pins and should be available at your local craft store that issues 30% coupons. I use them to temporarily hold things like cork or track while caulk sets up.
I get a box of ordinary paper clips and unbend them into a U shape. These fit well over HO track ties and are long enough to firmly hold track through foam roadbed into pink foam until whatever adhesive you use sets up.
Caulk, see above, All you need is a light smear, if you can see it between the ties, you used too mutch.
To hold track in place I use paper clips, cut in half= 2 Ushaped pins, use over the ties outside the rail. Some of mine are still there even after ballesting.
I no longer use road bed,I move my track around too mutch. I don’t miss the profile
Tpins can be found everywhere,Walmart, drug stores, ect.
I used inexpensive latex caulk for foam to foam, cork to foam and track to cork. Has held up well. Spread very thin, have had no problem when I needed to take up track.
I used sectional track, did use a little weight to hold down for the track work, but not the cork to foam. Think with flex track I’d pin it, as above, and weight it down overnight. For weight I have seen 12 oz cans (filled with your choice of beverage), paint cans or a board with some additional weight for longer, straight sections.
I like the appearance of cork, but that’s up to you.
I think you might be working at cross purposes if you want the track to stay in place when the layout is being transported and yet make it easy to remove down the road.
Our club’s portable layout uses cork on foam. Even with the track fully ballasted the cork and/or the track tends to come loose over time. The problems usually occur where the modules meet but the track has popped loose in other areas too.
Part of our problem is that we haul the layout in a small trailer and the trailer’s suspension doesn’t offer a lot of cushioning. The result is that the layout gets banged around pretty hard on rough roads. If you are going to transport your layout inside a regular vehicle then it won’t suffer as much abuse.
The other thing that happens to us is that the layout is sensitive to excess heat and humidity. At a show we can run for 1 1/2 days without any problems but if the weather is hot and humid, by the middle of the Sunday afternoon, nothing will stay on the tracks. I don’t think that has anything to do with the foam itself. I suspect the wood frames around each of the modules are acting up and throwing off the alignment between the modules.
Eventually we will do the layout over and we will use 1/8" luan plywood glued on the top and bottom of the foam. We will likely use small screws to secure the track before ballasting, and we will use furniture grade 1/2" plywood for the frames.
When ever I’ve laided flex track and switches, I’ve just used regular wood glue, spread out using a piece of paper. I then hold the track down with pins (or thumb tacks, though you may find those a little short…). In my experience this can get things to stay in place plent well.
For road bed I’ve used the woodland scenic stuff, because that’s been what I’ve had, but most people seem to prefer the cork. I’ve also used homasote, which was carved on the sides to get the proper balast profile. I didn’t actually do that part of the process so I’ve got no idea how exactly it was carved.
You could use just use the foam, and shape it to get the right profile, but foam is kind of bad at dampening sound, and if your bringing the layout to a show, I’ll bet you won’t have you trains moving at low, scale speeds (for some reason it seems like all trains show trains run at 100 scale mph!), so sound deadening will be essential!
The above is one big reason I prefer not to follow this trendy practice of using sheet foam and adhesives. On my last layout I had to remove track multiple times for different reasons including temp removal of a couple benchwork sections due to water issues in the basement.
I stick with old school track on plywood with cork or sheet homasote using track nails or MicroEngineering spikes. Track naiks can be removed after ballasting and of course there is no wait time for adhesives to set.
If you need to remove/ revise track before ballasting, simply remove nails or spiked with needle nose.
I just started my first layout last year. I am in N Scale.
I tried the plywood, cork, and track nails. But my old hands and old eyes made nailing N Scale flex track difficult. I actually ruined some track trying.
I finally gave up and went with caulk. I found that if I used very little caulk, I could remove and reposition the track multiple times, even after it cured, with no damage to the track.
I also used foam over the plywood for ease of building up (or down) landscape.
Just my method, and not saying anyone else should do what I do.
I would use cork or foam roadbed and secure it with a foam compatible adhesive such as Liquid Nails Foamboard. I recently discovered Loctite Powergrab which bonds almost immediately. I haven’t tried it on foamboard but I bet it would be compatible.
