Using pink foam insallation

[robcope]

I want to use foam isulation on top of plywood for my layout, so I can incorparate a river into the layout.  Is this a good idea?  How do you atatch the track?

Thx, Rob

[Roger Perkins]

  Yes, I can recommend the use of extruded polystyrene over a plywood base for an n-scale layout.  I used the 2" thick material.

The technique I used for the river was the cut the foam before I fixed it to the plywood.  Thus I could simply move the two sections of foam apart for the width of the stream I wanted to gain that length to the layout.
I used spackling compound on the river banks to blend it with the plywood surface.

[dtpowell]

Hot glue, a small dab every few ( 6" or so) inches This may not be the best way to attach the track to the foam, but it works for me and the track is fairly easy to move without damage if you change your mind. Note: this is if you're using EZ track with roadbed. Otherwise, I'd use liquid nails adhesive to attach cork roadbed and a thin coating on the same on the track. Hold the track in place with small brads or pins until the glue is dry.

[DoubleDAZ]

Yes, I can recommend the use of extruded polystyrene over a plywood base for an n-scale layout.  I used the 2" thick material.

Someone in another forum suggested using just 2" stryofoam, no plywood base other than for buildings, on an open top construction with supports at 16" intervals.  Is the foam strong enough for that?

[dtpowell]

I can answer your question from first hand experience from O-HI rail to N scale. Yes, and the buildings too. O scale does require closer spacing for the supports. I used 8 in spacing and please noted this is only a temporary installation for the O. In N scale you should have no problems.

[DoubleDAZ]

Thanks.

[DoubleDAZ]

Here's a website that shows foam at work:

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/customer/gallery/2_modelrr.htm

[railsider]

You'll want to reinforce with wood below the track locations. That's where the weight is, and where you need all the stability you can get. Buildings, unless they are solid, aren't a big weight factor. And, yes, 2" pink or blue foam building board is the stuff to get. Bonus: you can poke trees in easily, sculpt for landforms (or glue hills) and paianat with water-based paint (spray will eat the plastic -- test first on a scrap!)

You can, by the way, get some very nice -- but heavy! -- resin-cast N-scale buildings from the Liberty Falls line ... now discontinued, but there is a very good website at cruizn4sailz.com where leftover stock can be picked up very cheap. Houses from the fictional town of Liberty Falls were sold by subscription for several years until the artist died and the company collapsed. LF was a mythical 19th-century town in Colorado, with Victorian homes and shops, and a whole "town history" storyline. Some of the models (designed here and then manufactured in China) are sharper than others, so you should check the photos on the site. Dillard's sold them at Christmas for several years. You can also find them in thrift stores now and then, though they are often damaged.

There are also other lines, quite similar, though no reliable on-line source, such as Norman Rockwell's Main Street, Pueblo Encantado (NM & SoCalif style, only 9 houses, sold in 1994 by Broadway Stores and hard to find) and some others that are a little larger than 1:160 (be careful!).

Most of these have a little "display base" that you'll want to eliminate. But don't try to slice it off. Instead, position it on the foam where you want it, outline the base, carve an indentation about 1/4" or 3/8" deep, and glue it in. Then plaster or scenic up to the edge and paint to match. Some are mounted on polished wood, which you can pry off carefully.

Happy Hunting!

Railsider