# Has anybody glued track directly to extruded foam?



## beachbum (May 1, 2010)

I know all the arguments why one shouldn't glue track straight to extruded (pink) foam, but I'm looking for examples of people who have actually done it and how it turned out. Looks like Darnaby did it on his Maumee and Mindheim is doing it on his Miami spur in the latest issue of "MRP".

Tnx!


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

It is done using latex, not silicone, caulk . It's what I plan on using.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Yep latex caulking will do the trick!


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## beachbum (May 1, 2010)

Any noise issues?


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

i do have some areas like that. does get more noisy then i would have liked.


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## swiggy (Jan 25, 2010)

this is how my layout has been constructed. I used low temp hot glue though


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

I second swiggys use of hot glue using low temp.. works great.

Thats how i layed my roadbed. I used woodland scenics foam road bed. I wouldnt use anyother way to flue down road bed since you can move to each section within minutes if not seconds.

So does caulk for track, they both work great, caulk or hot glue you cant go wrong


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I've used silicone caulking with no problems.


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## warbyrd12 (Apr 16, 2012)

*Noise issues???*



beachbum said:


> Any noise issues?



I was reading a little into this thread, and I was thinking....(lol) Again, I am returning to this hobby after many years, so these questions may be silly to most, if not, all of you, so here it is:

When it comes to noise on the track, especially in areas where the rails connect, wouldn't that sound be more realistic? What I mean is, when I run my "temp" layout, I love the sound it makes when the trucks roll over these areas, don't you? I understand you don't want it so loud that it becomes "disturbing",

I have read about people who have been weathering track as well. I think to someone who is very serious about scale detail, he/she would appreciate a weathered track. At this point, I am interested in just getting a layout started. Weathering track, to me, is like splitting the atom. Is this where sound deadening comes into play? Is it like another... scale effect?? I wish I had the know-how to create such detail as I have seen in this forum. I guess time, patience and a keen eye is what I will have to develop.

I will be moving into my new house soon, and the area in the finished basement that I can use is 22.5'x19'. Nice and BIG. At that time, I will be constructing my layout, but I have so many different ideas in my head. I have been messing around with Anyrail...a lot of fun, and very easy to use, but I just can't make a decision on what to do. I guess I will try to find the layout section of this site and see what's out there. Any pointers on track layout is happily welcomed. One day, I hope to become a "go-to" person on this forum as well, but for now, I have to learn to crawl.

Thanks! Bill


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## twistedtree (May 23, 2012)

*alternative to glue for securing track to extruded styrene foam*

i am trying 2 sided carpet tape in case i want to change it up later or would silicone be easy to pull track off of later?


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## beachbum (May 1, 2010)

warbyrd12 said:


> When it comes to noise on the track, especially in areas where the rails connect, wouldn't that sound be more realistic? What I mean is, when I run my "temp" layout, I love the sound it makes when the trucks roll over these areas, don't you? I understand you don't want it so loud that it becomes "disturbing".


The issue that most people are concerned about is the extruded foam acting like a drumhead and making a lot of rolling noise or transmitting engine "growl". This is different from the clickety-clack that people expect to hear on jointed rail.

At least that's what I was wondering about - would a layer of some kind of flexible ahdesive like latex caulk reduce any "foam" noise or not, compared to say cork roadbed, etc? My motivation is that I don't want to mess with roadbed if I can avoid it b/c I'm cheap and lazy. 

Everybody probably perceives the noise level differently anyway, so I'll likely just set up an 8-ft run of flex on 2-in foam on shelf brackets and do some experimenting.


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## matt785115 (Feb 13, 2012)

I used WS black foam roadbed, with low temp hot glue and caulk. I found the hot glue to be faster. It was a piece of cake. i also found it for $25 for 3 rolls(more than i would need). just keep an eye out for a sale. my trains run smooth and quiet. just my 2 cents


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Using latex caulking is the best (IMHO) adhesive for laying track and roadbed. It holds very well and allows for thermal expansion and is also easy to take back up if you need/want to change the track layout!
As far as it cutting down noise it does help over using nails but does not offer much help for foam noise deadening!


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

Sean is right-on non-petroleum based latex caulk is great for laying track and track bed. The WS roadbed seams to reduce the noise level a little better than cork (have not used a noise meter to back up that statement)


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## beachbum (May 1, 2010)

Yeah, I've used the WS roadbed on foam, Midwest cork on foam, and Homasote sheets (not Homabed) on L-girders. I'm trying to avoid all of them this time around for various reasons. I've also looked into Easy Mat and camper top tape. Flexxbed is pricey.

But I don't want "noisy" benchwork, so I might just buy 0.25-inch 4X10 roll cork flooring underlayment from Lowes (~$65) and cut my own roadbed strips. Then probably use latex caulk to adhere the bed to the bench and the track to the bed.


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## dougget (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi.
I plan to use the WS foam roadbed for my main lines, but also plan to glue (with latex caulk) track directly to my 2" foam base material on my sidings and spurs. Will probably ramp down using layers of card stock or something, then ballast everything for a nice finished look.

I didn't really think about the noise associated with a train rolling on foam. I also don't intent to use any DCC sound. I guess I'll just adjust the volume on my mp3 player as needed 

Doug


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

matt785115- i also use the low temp hot glue, works great plus its faster then waiting for glue to dry... otherwise i would use caulk


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## hoscale37 (Nov 20, 2011)

There's a huge article in the newest Model Railroader magazine for July talking about this...

Starting on Page 56.

http://mrr.trains.com/sitecore/content/Magazine Issues/2012/July 2012.aspx


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## matt785115 (Feb 13, 2012)

I used both because i am still pretty new at this and like to try multiple ways of doing things to see what works best for me. so many people have great ideas, and there is so much knowledge here i have learned there is no "one" way of doing something.
now that my track has been down for a while, the caulk does hold better. i have had to go back and redo some of the places where i used hot glue, in those places i may not have used enough or did something wrong, but its still a learning process.


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## JPIII (Jun 24, 2012)

I am certainly going to give it a try. The mainline section will have foam roadbed & ballast but up in the hills.....loggers, for the most part, just dropped ties on the dirt & laid rails with minimal attention to the contour of the ground.

I plan to cover the foam with plaster cloth/whatever then sand the roadbed semi-flat & glue the track to that......may even sprinkle some ballast on there to cover the glue.....but basically lots of grass/ground cover to do the hiding.


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## matt785115 (Feb 13, 2012)

that sounds like a good plan to me, cant wait to see pic's when you get some of it done!


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## JPIII (Jun 24, 2012)

Heh.....me too!
I have many plans. Some of them mighi even work out.


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