I am new to the hobby and have been looking for a HO layout to build. I have picked a layout from the HO Modeling Handbook which utilizes the extruded foam as a table top where the EZ Track system is used.
I have bought Atlas snap track and will use cork as the roadbed. Is it a mistake to use this type of track on the foam roadbed? I thought I would just glue it all down with Liquid Nails, as is recommended for the EZ Track. I like the foam tabletop idea as it gives me something to carve up to make the layout look less “Flat”.
I have enough room for a layout 4’ x 9’ with a 18" x 3 ’ attached shelf. My plan is to build the 4’ x 8’ portion first and expand it in phase 2 using the same table. Any thoughts on this plan?[:)]
I used two inch extruded foam for my table top and have been happy. I secured homabed to the foam with white glue, no problems. I also used foam to build hills wedding cake fashion. I attached a wire bru***o my drill motor and started carving away like a wild man throwing pink foam dust everywhere. My helper, a six year old with the shop vac was in heaven, he enjoyed the mess and followed me around everywhere, it was great! Oh BTW, the wire brush in the drill motor enabled me to dig into the top to make draininage ditches along the road side, plus a retention pond, I feel both add a great deal to the layout, and serve to eliminate the flat look.
[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome] Bob, glad you joined. Lots of great people here. I am in CA and have a hard time getting 4 x 8 foam. I think we probably have some evironmental thing because you can get it but its hard to find.
Many use foam for its sturdyness and how light it is. Good product. Right now its $35 per 4 x 8 from the only hardware shop in town I can find it at.
As far as your layout goes, as long as it works for you, it is a great layout. How high are you going to make it ? I got mine at 48" so I can store bikes etc. underneath. Also to make it harder for critters to join the layout.
Hello, Bob, and welcome. [#welcome] Yup, no shortage of folks here to tell you what they think. Vast majority are very helpful…and I’ll try to be one! [:D]
I have made only one layout, and I followed the advice of many knowedgeable people. As you are already doing that , I really commend you. Don’t stop.
Many find that 2-3" extruded foam is plenty sturdy with L shaped legs and some strapping under the foam for additonal support. I used 5/6 plywood and glued 1" layers of foam to it as I built up.
I found that you really should weight the foam with substantial piles of magazines and books across its surface when you begin to glue it on top of ANYTHING. At least, the 1" stuff wasn’t always flat, so it was important to get it there. Otherwise, succesive layers won’t lie flat themselves.
it is fun, and requires patience. I enjoyed my experience, and hope that you will to.
Hi,
I am using 2inch thick 4x 8 pink foam board for my layout with 1 L-girder base tables made from 1x4s
Sorry to hear Turbo One can only find it at $35 a sheet. It’s only 17 to 18 dollars a sheet here in Indiana, and widely available.
Liquid Nails works good for gluing it down.
I haven’t had any strength related issues with it. My reason for using it, is itrains run much quieter on foam, and if I ever move, foam is much lighter and easier to move than heavy plywood.
Plus it is so versatile for making scenery from, mountains, hills, etc.
I live in Indiana ( Ft Wayne area) and homasote is not widely avialble here, and quite expensive.
I am building my layout in mostly a Pennsylvania RR theme with a bit of Nickel Plate also, as the Nickel Plate ran through Ft Wayne, and at a ffacility known as CASAD Depot just east of fT Wayne, the Indiana Railroad Historical Society is restoring Nickel Plate steam engine “765”., a Berkshire.
If anyone feels like sharing ideas about use of foam for layouts, I’d like to hear your ideas.
Right now, I am stilll contemplating the size and overall layout plan for my project. I have a room in my basement which is 15 x 31 feet.
I have about 8 sheets of 4x8 pink foam and a stack of 1x4’s and various other sizes of boards and wood, a brand new table saw, also a radial arm saw, and a band saw, and various power hand tools, so I am all set!
I did a lot of reading before I committed to using foam. But, since this is my first layout, I don’t have any preconceived notions so I’m pretty much free to do what I want, right?
I built L-girders in the tried and true fashion out of 1X3’s, not 1X4’s. Next, my joists across the L-girders are also out of 1X3’s. Finally, I have 2" pink foam glued to that. I used 2X2 legs (with bolts so I can change out the legs if I need to) with carriage bolts and tee-nuts so the legs are adjustable in height.
This is what I have so far and it is light and strong. Using cork for roadbed glued down. Also, I will build my hills with foam but will probably use plaster-soaked paper or shop towels to contour the foam.
Foam here in southern Ontario is about $16 U.S. per 4X8 sheet at my local Home Depot.
Plywood, while it is time-tested and time-proven for benchwork, is too heavy and too expensive for my needs.
My layout is 8’ X 16’ , double dog-bone (more like a “C” actually).
Fellow northener planning his new layout…did you use the 2" foam on risers as your subroadbed or as a tabletop attached to the joists?..just wondering about elevated track sections & how you handled them.
I like the thought of using foam & look forward to ofurther responses from those in the know!
I just glued down 3 inches of blue foam this past weekend using Carpenters glue. Boy does that ever hold it! I put some pics in here if you want to go back a couple of days or maybe you saw them.
I glued the foam to 1/2 inch plywood only because the front of my layout is all curves and I wanted to eventually attach a nice facia and needed something solid to attach it too. Also since I cut two rivers, it acts as the base for the water.
I tried to keep the 4 sections as light as possible in case I ever move. They are bolted together. But I can tell you that the 2 or 3 inch Foam with some stringers and cross pieces under it, should work very nicely with out the plywood. Its very strong and stable. Just make sure you get a nice flat piece to begin with. The legs can be attached to the stringers. and you can still make it sectional if you want with a little careful planning. and it will be very very light.
Having completed construction of my new 4 x 8 Train Table/bench …with guidance from WGH’s DVD and special magazine devoted to the topic, and having decided on an “engine” and road, I am ready to move on to the next step. I have tried unsuccessfully to purchase 2 styrofoam 4’ x 8’ x 1" boards. I live in Brooklyn, New York and none of the Home Centers, hardware stores or local lumber yards stock them nor are they willing to order them for me.
Any help anyone can provide me in advising where or how can purchase them would leave me eternally grateful.
As fate would have it, I live in Brooklyn, New York as well. A few months back I was looking for the extruded foam boards and found them at both Lowes and Home Depot on 3d Avenue. They had 2" thick panels of 4x8, which should work for you. They may have had 1" as well. It was in the far rear left of each store. Your timing may have just been off and they may have been out. Also, in both stores, the employees disavowed any knowledge of stocking this material. As far as they were concerned, it did not exist. I had to hunt it down on the shelves on my own. Good luck!
I have just finished my benchwork consisting of 2" foam on top of an L-girder frame of 1x2’s with 1x2 girders and 1X2 legs. It is plenty strong and stiff, and very easy to move.
For the elevations, I started with Woodland Scenics risers, but found it much easier to simply make shims for my 1" foam sub-bed cutouts. I glued the risers under the sub-bed, and sanded the transitions between adjacent boards. When I was happy with the smoothness of the transitions, I filled any gaps between my shims with Great Stuff.
You can also use 2" foam for risers by turning it on edge. This works for both level track and grades. Just lay out the shape on a 4’x8’ sheet (or what’s left of one) and cut it out. The 2" thickness(width) is fine for cork or other roadbed.
I have experimented a bit with using this approach for curves. My smallest radius is 24". Just cut almost through the 2" thickness every inch or so and snap. It’s certainly cheaper than WS inclines.
Throught he basic 2" of foam, I just use a small drill and twist it in by hand. It’s not long enough to go all the way through (unless I use pliers to hold it) , but once the hole is mostly through,the solid conductor #20 wire I use for feeders can be poked through. A bamboo skewer works well also, they are plenty long enough to go through 3-4" of foam. If you want a smaller hole, a piece of piano wire would work very well, or straighten a piece of a metal clothes hanger.
John, I just use a hand-held drill (AC or DC), even an electric screwdriver (if the bits will fit), and get 1/2" bits that are long enough for the job. Depending on your skill, patience, and drop wire thickness, you may be able to get away with as little as a 1/4" drill bit. I have used bits for both metal and wood on foam; it matters little. If it is attached to plywood, though, the answer is obvious.
I used foam sheets as the base for the town at the top of my grade. I covered it with plaster cloth and painted it before landscaping and adding the buildings. I have a gravel company spur running through the town. I use E Z Track too, and it works just fine.
All of the above is great advice and so true of that beautiful foam. I have used it in climate controlled areas, and now, I’m planning a layout in an unheated garage (see “unheated garage” thread on this forum). I suspect, and hope, the foam will prove to be yet another way to help prevent warping caused by excessive changes in temperature and humidity. It’s simply the best thing you can use to build a layout. This has wandered from the original question, bpo20897, but you, too, will be singing the many praises of foam!
I just picked up a jeep full of scraps at a building site down the street. It was free. Keep an eye on new houses near you, especially at basement building time. Remember, some is blue, some is pink, some is yellow and smaller pieces glue together.