Running Bear's Coffee Shop LV


News from Stuttgart:
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BigE said:
tootnkumin said:
2 concerns I would have about foam on it's own (there seems to be widely differing views on it's sound absorbing or increasing abilities) are, 1: that you would have to avoid leaning on it where there aren't any timber supports, especially with an elbow. 2: that without cork as a track underlay, it wouldn't hold track pins securely enough.
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Good points Toot. I was thinking of foam over complete plywood decking.
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Take it from someone who's been there:
My previous layout was 2" foam on 1/2" plywood. It was great for carving in riverbeds, etc., but when it came to drilling holes and mounting signal posts - it failed me completely. Some standard-sized drill bits of the narrower diameters were too short to go all the way thru both layers, so I had to buy extra-long bits to be able to get thru it. And I needed to rig-up special platforms to keep my signals and crossbucks standing upright; nowhere near as easy as setting them on plywood and anchoring them with a few spikes. Now I'm just using 1/2" plywood with cork roadbed under the main line tracks; sidings and yard tracks are directly on the plywood, so they will be at lower levels in relation to the main line. I'll use leftover foam to make small hills.
 
tootnkumin said:
2 concerns I would have about foam on it's own (there seems to be widely differing views on it's sound absorbing or increasing abilities) are, 1: that you would have to avoid leaning on it where there aren't any timber supports, especially with an elbow. 2: that without cork as a track underlay, it wouldn't hold track pins securely enough.
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Our club layout is foam sound/noise has not been a problem to be honest. Foam held track-pins just fine until the glue and ballast dried, then all the track pins were lifted..so that wasn't an issue. That all being said I still think the best under-track foundation is still homasote, its really quiet, makes a great foundation to mount signals,towers,track etc on, and did Isay its really quiet.
 
I've often meant to look up what Homasote is and whether there's a similar product here. Seems that we have a product called Cane-ite or sometimes Canite in metric sheet sizes, 9.5mm (3/8") or 12.7mm (1/2") thick. Made from pine softwood with a similar process to Homasote.

NZ had the same, but known by it's brand name of Pinex insulating board. My first house had it as the ceilings.
 
WJLI26 said:
Good Morning, Happy friday. 68 and sunny at the Jersey Shore.

I'm a grandfather again. Baby boy born in Clarksville TN yesterday. Mom, Baby, Big sister and Dad all doing fine. Road trip coming up.

I feel so much better than yesterday. I still don't know what caused the problem.

Have a great day.
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Many hearty congratulations to you and the family mate, I hope that happy parents and the wee bundle of fun are doing well...! :D
 
Toot'n,

While I DO NOT advocate this by any means, my front of the layout extensions are 100% 1" foam covered in a layer of plaster. There is nothing supporting the foam what so ever other than where it has been glued to the other foam butting up to it. I wouldn't want to put any weight on it; however, I do "gently" lean on and against it without any problem - so far.

With that being said, I am going to put some 3 X 1 supports beneath it eventually.

As for the noise factor, I have only used foam on 1/2" ply and don't find it noisy; although, I have nothing to compare it to.
 
Morning Gents,
66 and cloudy here. Looks like the 2 days of snarky drizzly rain is moving out today.
I successfully did absolutely nothing once again yesterday.
Guess a couple days to re-group and just think is fine.
3 orders are suppose to come in tomorrow: the FP45 SF Warbonnet from Terry, and 2 small orders of misc stuff from MBK.

Tracking info on the molds from Chet indicate it arrived in Denver 9/25 (Fri.) at 17:21 and nothing since.
No new ETA has been given.
E.
 
Thank You for the many good tips! This is mostly to convince HIM since he does not take MY word for anything! I love the guy like a brother but he is THE arguingest MO-FO in the west! When HE builds a layout he can top it with whip cream for all I care! I will be going with 1"foam on 5/8 ply. I will try all some and none of the fastening techniques in various places till I find one I like. No matter what is used a 100 car train is going to make some sound!
 
CSX_road_slug said:
Take it from someone who's been there:
My previous layout was 2" foam on 1/2" plywood. It was great for carving in riverbeds, etc., but when it came to drilling holes and mounting signal posts - it failed me completely. Some standard-sized drill bits of the narrower diameters were too short to go all the way thru both layers, so I had to buy extra-long bits to be able to get thru it. And I needed to rig-up special platforms to keep my signals and crossbucks standing upright; nowhere near as easy as setting them on plywood and anchoring them with a few spikes. Now I'm just using 1/2" plywood with cork roadbed under the main line tracks; sidings and yard tracks are directly on the plywood, so they will be at lower levels in relation to the main line. I'll use leftover foam to make small hills.
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No roadbed cork or foam, no signals planned and If it weren't for my wife there would be minimal to no 'scenery' at all. I want some yards for switching action and lots of track for running long trains and that is pretty much all I am after. I will be the only one down here 99% of the time.
 
Good morning. Cloudy and 55*F in central MD. Haven't seen the sun for several days now.

Boris - Somehow I missed your post about becoming a grandfather. Congrats!

* * *

Nothing new with me, just been using whatever free time I could find on the Saturday to continue working on the McDonalds project. Got some high-risk tasks done, so hopefully that will make the remainder of the project a little more enjoyable. I've stopped taking as many in-process photos as I was originally doing, since that really slows me down and people don't seem interested in them anyhow.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
 
My last big layout (N scale) had a pressed fiber board (3/4" thick) for the deck on 1x4" framing.
Kind of odd shaped table like a hexagon with 2 opposing sides pulled out. Overall it was roughly 6' x 8' best I can remember.
It was actually a work-in-progress I bought from a high-school buddy's Dad who had started to build it and lost interested.
The fiber board was a material a lot like what you find in office drop-ceiling tiles about 2'x3' in size. It was really easy for me to work with.
It needed no sound dampening what so ever. The main lines (3 I think) had cork roadbed but only for looks.
I got everything the guy had for $125. Lots of engines (all or most steamers) and rolling stock. About 100' of track. Somewhere between 20 and 30 turnouts - all remotes. The guy hadn't finished putting the track down but he gave me all his sketches for various plans he had come up with.

it was that layout where I cut my teeth on "real" model roading. Taught myself how to do all the wiring and built the mountains for it.
Most all my structures were scratch built with balsa based on plans from various MRR Mag. articles.
Amazing there never was a single picture ever taken of it.
E.
 
new guy said:
No roadbed cork or foam, no signals planned and If it weren't for my wife there would be minimal to no 'scenery' at all. I want some yards for switching action and lots of track for running long trains and that is pretty much all I am after. I will be the only one down here 99% of the time.
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NG if it's giving you enjoyment then your doing it right! :D (A signature quote from somebody on the Kalmbach forum).
 
CSX_road_slug said:
NG if it's giving you enjoyment then your doing it right! :D (A signature quote from somebody on the Kalmbach forum).
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That is the PLAN but we all know how THOSE work! Lately there has been minimal enjoyment! The resistance I'm getting from my 'help' is perplexing. He can not understand my need to put foam over the ply and does not think it is a viable surface. MY concern is the many, many incarnations the track will go thru and the ply is not what I want to be replacing time and again, foam seems like a best answer for that issue. His main beef seems to be 'tacking' the track down 'permanently' which is something that may never happen on most of the layout. He thinks ply is better for that and I keep TRYING to tell him 'permanent' track is going to be VERY RARE on this layout! Only at the ends on the big turns is the track in any way going to be permanent!
 
new guy said:
No matter what is used a 100 car train is going to make some sound!
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Be like standing near a real one. What could be better. Actually at my AMRA club, the main north line is only about 30' from the back of the clubhouse, so we do get to enjoy the real rumble. They're thinking of putting a camera on the roof, linked to the TV, so we can watch them too.
 
new guy said:
That is the PLAN but we all know how THOSE work! Lately there has been minimal enjoyment! The resistance I'm getting from my 'help' is perplexing. He can not understand my need to put foam over the ply and does not think it is a viable surface. MY concern is the many, many incarnations the track will go thru and the ply is not what I want to be replacing time and again, foam seems like a best answer for that issue. His main beef seems to be 'tacking' the track down 'permanently' which is something that may never happen on most of the layout. He thinks ply is better for that and I keep TRYING to tell him 'permanent' track is going to be VERY RARE on this layout! Only at the ends on the big turns is the track in any way going to be permanent!
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Actually NG, I would suggest the homasote seeing you may/will be shifting your tracks. One of it's other uses is in offices etc for notice boards where stuff gets pinned up frequently.
 
tootnkumin said:
Actually NG, I would suggest the homasote seeing you may/will be shifting your tracks. One of it's other uses is in offices etc for notice boards where stuff gets pinned up frequently.
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After looking that stuff up, that might just be exactly what I had going on 40 years ago!!!!
 
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