Foam board (How thick)


FR8TRNZ1

FR8TRNZ1

FR8TRNZ
How thick of foam board do you recommend using for my layout.
Or do some of you not use any.
Thanks Mark.......
 
I'm thinking about using some when I start construction on mine. I'm thinking about starting with 1" then go from there.
 
The thickness may not be so critical as the price and how much work you want to do to stack the various thicknesses to achieve the contoured terrain you have in mind. The more layers, the more glue and cutting/shaping you have to do.
 
I think I used 1 1/2" pink foam board from home depot. been 6 years without any issues. easy to use and cut. biggest issue is mounting switch machines and keeping them attached.
 
My 10x6 table layout will be N-Scale on a grid of ~16" squares without a plywood base, so I plan to use two 1" thick pieces of foam for the base. This will allow me to easily form a 1" thick river though the upper half simply by cutting the river area out of the top layer. Additional layers of 1" thick pieces will be cut to shape and used to form hills, grades, mountains, etc.

I may even cut out most of the scenic areas on the top layer so they can be removed and maybe even swapped out for different scenes, like special holiday scenes. The remaining areas with track will be glued to the bottom layer.

If I find the two 1" thick pieces might not be strong enough, I will opt for a 2" thick piece for the bottom layer and then still use the 1" thick piece as described. Not sure how all this will work, but I'm going to give it a try.

EDIT: I'm also trying to figure out the switch machine stuff. :)
 
thanks for that tip. but its to late now LOL....I just pulled them out and went manual.

I will add a tip of my own. Use a hot knife or hot wire when you cut the foam. smooth and easy without the mess. a little bit of a smell when you cut/melt the stuff but nothing a grown man would complain about if he has a little air flow thru the room!...
 
flyboy2610 said:
Inlay a piece of wood wherever you need to mount a switch machine. Glue the wood securely to the foam, then mount the machine to the wood.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the easy part. Trying to decide which track and switches to use is another story, and that's mostly where I'm stuck. I think it's narrowed to Atlas, Atlas Code 55, or UniTrack, so another trek to the LHS and local club is in order as soon as I can find the time. :)
 
I use 2-inch thick with no framing on shelf brackets, 1-in or so if I laminate it to a hollow core door unless I want more depth to the scenery. You can always laminate several layers to get whatever thickness you want (pretty much).

To use or not use extruded foam has taken on the proportions of a religious argument in MR circles. LOL!
 
Lots of variables.
I used 2, 2" pieces...maybe a little much. But i can really get down.
 
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