Sub Roadbed

[boatwrench]

Locally I have only been able to find 1" thick pink extruded foam. I have a piece that is 53" x 36" and it flexes under the weight of N Scale. How thick of plywood is recommended for the sub road bed under the foam. This is my first foam based layout and I am trying to save weight. TIA.

 

[Olie]

Depends. You can go with tempered hardboard if you're framing supports it. If all you have is the outside edge supported, I would recommend 1/2" plywood or thicker.

 

[fcwilt]

Hi,

Or you could add additional supports using whatever material you used for the perimeter.

Frederick

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Lots of depends here?
How large is the planned layout?
How is the perimeter framed?
Even a 4x8x1/2 plywood would need a minimum of 3 cross braces, but they can be 1x3.

To save weight - make all the framing 1x3 and cookie cut the 1/2 ply subroadbed.

 

[boatwrench]

Thanks everyone,

The layout is a simple folded oval with a passing siding. The final dimension will be 53" x 36".

I have plenty of 1x4 in the garage and was planning on using that for the frame. I also have some 1/2" plywood in the garage so will be on my way towards running trains hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Appreciate everyone's advice.

 

[Olie]

Thanks everyone,

The layout is a simple folded oval with a passing siding. The final dimension will be 53" x 36".

I have plenty of 1x4 in the garage and was planning on using that for the frame. I also have some 1/2" plywood in the garage so will be on my way towards running trains hopefully by the end of the weekend.

Appreciate everyone's advice.

I might catch some flak for this but don't over do it. I've seen too many layouts that are built to withstand a 500lbs bomb. The more you add to the frame, the more weight the frame has to handle. Just my two cents.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Perhaps you could use the foam board on edge, glued to the foam board that is flat to provide the rigidity that you want.

 

[jdetray]

In a similar situation, I glued two layers of 3/4-inch foam to 1/4-inch plywood. Here is the plywood/foam sandwich.

Then I supported the plywood/foam sandwich on 1x3 lumber on 16-inch centers. Here is the benchwork on which the plywood/foam sandwich rests.

- Jeff