# Foam board without Plywood support ?



## Dudlee99

I'm building a 74 inch x 33 inch layout on 1 inch pink foam.. My goal is to keep it as LIGHT as possible so I can store it in a closet if needed. Its an inside and outside loop. I'm thinking once the scenery is built up, it will need an 1/8 inch plywood sheet glued to the foam for support.. I'd like to skip the plywood base but wouldn't want the foam to brake apart once its completed and trying to lift it off the table.. Anyone been down this road before ?
Mike


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## Nikola

Many folks seem to get away with foam only, but if you are going to move it gluing a sheet of luan plywood to the bottom will not add much weight.

You could cut large holes in the luan to lighten it further. This would lighten it further with no loss of strength.


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## Fire21

One inch foam is pretty flexible. Moving it after the layout is built would be a challenge, I'd think. Two inch is much more rigid. With one inch I believe you would need the plywood backing to maintain board stability when moving. Cutting out pieces like Nikola suggests is a good idea.


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## sid

could you not put in a couple 1 x 2's like an X patern to support the whole shabang X's are pretty stout. very light easy to grab hold of to flip or pick up an move . oh and you could put a very thin ply base on top of that for even more support and still be very light. just glue all the wood so it dont shift around.


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## Bwells

How about using a hollow core door? Plenty sturdy and if you can find one with mahogany/luan skins it will be lighter than that with Masonite.


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## Marninw

A 1X2 frame around the outside would stiffen it up without adding much weight.


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## Lee Willis

Bwells said:


> How about using a hollow core door? Plenty sturdy and if you can find one with mahogany/luan skins it will be lighter than that with Masonite.


I used this approach when I had a similar layout. It worked great for fifteen years. didn't even need thick foam atop it. Used some very thin stuff.


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## Guest

My O gauge layout is 1" foam, no plywood and no problems. It's built in sections and has survived 2 moves with no damage. The foam is amazingly strong.


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## Nikola

I second the hollow core door. They are light, inexpensive and take track nails very well.

But OP already has the foam panel, so might not need the extra expense compared to a sheet of luan.

One disadvantage of hollow core doors is running the wiring. They are not truly hollow; there is a honeycomb cardboard structure inside that gives rigidity, so you cannot directly snake wires in between.


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## CTValleyRR

I am a huge advocate of not using a plywood bade, just L girders on 16" to 18" centers in a wooden frame. That form of construction is excepetionally solid and will support my weight.

As long as your frame is sturdy (and L girders are a great option for that, too) it will work.


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## sid

any pics of these ? hummmmm ( quote )
My O gauge layout is 1" foam, no plywood and no problems. It's built in sections and has survived 2 moves with no damage. The foam is amazingly strong.

I would like to see this as im interested now. all are great ideas .


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## Guest

sid said:


> any pics of these ? hummmmm ( quote )
> My O gauge layout is 1" foam, no plywood and no problems. It's built in sections and has survived 2 moves with no damage. The foam is amazingly strong.
> 
> I would like to see this as im interested now. all are great ideas .


This photo shows the wood benchwork, 1" extruded styrofoam, half inch carpet padding for noise reduction and the top layer.









This shows the upper level made totally from foam, no wood at all. Plenty strong enough for O gauge.









This photo shows the benchwork, foam and carpet padding a little better.









This shows my N scale layout that I had from 2005 to 2014. N didn't need the carpet padding for noise reduction. It was just the benchwork and 1" extruded styrofoam.









I hope these pictures are helpful.


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## Dudlee99

Thanks for all the suggestions. I got busy today and went with the 1x2 X and an outside frame also. The completed frame weighed 6.0 lbs..


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## Nikola

That looks nice.
.


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## cole226

i'm a little late but, you could have ripped some strips of 1" foam and glued on for your frame and X and had the rest of the sheet for landscaping.


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## sid

Dudlee that looks real nice . now i wanna build one like that too... 6 lbs WOW thats a good wieght. please keep us updated with the photos and progress. i really like that table. nice job


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## sid

Country Joe i really like that loco in pic three . thats a nice unit. Thank you for the pics. now i have a better idea of how its put together. love that loco.


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## Guest

Thanks Sid. That's a Railking Dreyfus Hudson, maybe my all time favorite locomotive.


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## sid

cole226 said:


> i'm a little late but, you could have ripped some strips of 1" foam and glued on for your frame and X and had the rest of the sheet for landscaping.


 funny i was thinking about making a whole table with only pink foam board this way. after much thinking i believe it would be plenty strong enough and extremely light wiegh table being 39 x 90 . i could easily pick it up and move it to say a coffee table or something like that. using 1 inch foam for the flat top and 2 inch for the bracing edging X ect.
one problem with the X is that it can allow twisting but some bracing very few would stop that.


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## Yellowstone Special

Nice photos, Joe. I too, like your O scale Railking Dreyfus Hudson.

I'm fascinated with that shot of your N scale layout when you had it. I like the idea of using 1" styrofoam and think I'll use that when I start my N scale benchwork. 

Thanks.


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## CTValleyRR

sid said:


> funny i was thinking about making a whole table with only pink foam board this way. after much thinking i believe it would be plenty strong enough and extremely light wiegh table being 39 x 90 . i could easily pick it up and move it to say a coffee table or something like that. using 1 inch foam for the flat top and 2 inch for the bracing edging X ect.
> one problem with the X is that it can allow twisting but some bracing very few would stop that.


39x90 would be strong enough to be self supporting on a fixed mount, but not to move. The issue is the leverage of grabbing a 90" long rectangle by one end and attempting to carry it. If there were any significant weight on the far end, it would not work.


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## Guest

These pictures are of an N scale traveling layout built by a friend in NY. The layout is 2" foam, there is no wood. The layout has been displayed at shows for many years. It's approximately 30" x 60" and very light weight. It's over 10 years old going to a few shows each year and still going strong. Extruded styrofoam is much stronger than you would think.


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## Guest

Yellowstone Special said:


> Nice photos, Joe. I too, like your O scale Railking Dreyfus Hudson.
> 
> I'm fascinated with that shot of your N scale layout when you had it. I like the idea of using 1" styrofoam and think I'll use that when I start my N scale benchwork.
> 
> Thanks.


Thanks Vern. I love streamlined passenger steam engines.

These are a few photos from that layout. It was L shaped, 11' x 6' with each leg 30" wide. I had a lot more photos but can't find them.


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## sid

country joe that little layout is very cool looking i like it. do you know off hand weather that Railking Dreyfus Hudson in N scale . it is a pretty neat loco. i too feel that if 30 x 90 was made with light wieght in mind it could be moved pretty darn easy. not talking about moving it from place to place on a weekly or monthly deal . only like moving from one home to the next. couple years inbetween moves. i think it should hold up just fine.


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## sid

dudlee any more progress im watching keep us post and with pics please. i like pic they speak better than words.


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## Dudlee99

Great photos Country Joe. I like that N 30x60 layout. 

Making progress on my74x33, started a photo update thread under "My Layout"
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=170378


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## Guest

sid said:


> country joe that little layout is very cool looking i like it. do you know off hand weather that Railking Dreyfus Hudson in N scale . it is a pretty neat loco. i too feel that if 30 x 90 was made with light wieght in mind it could be moved pretty darn easy. not talking about moving it from place to place on a weekly or monthly deal . only like moving from one home to the next. couple years inbetween moves. i think it should hold up just fine.


I'm pretty sure Con Cor made a Dreyfus Hudson many years ago. I don't know if any are available or if it's a good locomotive.

My friend's layout has survived traveling to and from many shows over the years and was his home layout as well. It still goes to shows without damage.



Dudlee99 said:


> Great photos Country Joe. I like that N 30x60 layout.
> 
> Making progress on my74x33, started a photo update thread under "My Layout"
> http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=170378


Thanks Dudlee. You are making good progress on your layout. My N scale layout also used the same folding tables as their base.


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## DennyM

That's a really nice layout Joe. I don't think I've ever seen a N scale layout finish like that.


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## sid

oh ok thank you.


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## lend33

I have a foam-board only 4' X 6' using 2 layers of 3/4" each. I used 2X4 sheets and glued them running crosswise from each other using gorilla glue. it is very rigid. I have moved it up and down 2 floors for the last 3 Christmas holidays (6 moves total). It still very much intact.


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## Yellowstone Special

Country Joe said:


> Thanks Vern. I love streamlined passenger steam engines.
> 
> These are a few photos from that layout. It was L shaped, 11' x 6' with each leg 30" wide. I had a lot more photos but can't find them.
> 
> View attachment 452394
> 
> 
> View attachment 452402
> 
> 
> View attachment 452410


Wow! Thanks for sharing these additional photos, Joe. I like your little town, station, and factory siding. 

Photos like these help me with what I'm trying to visualize in my mind with what I want on a future N scale layout. I've been spending some time online looking at N scale structures, trackside accessories, vehicles, etc.

Do you ever miss N scale?


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## Guest

DennyM said:


> That's a really nice layout Joe. I don't think I've ever seen a N scale layout finish like that.


Thanks Denny. My friend who built the traveling layout is an excellent modeler.



Yellowstone Special said:


> Wow! Thanks for sharing these additional photos, Joe. I like your little town, station, and factory siding.
> 
> Photos like these help me with what I'm trying to visualize in my mind with what I want on a future N scale layout. I've been spending some time online looking at N scale structures, trackside accessories, vehicles, etc.
> 
> Do you ever miss N scale?


Thanks Vern. Yes, I do miss N scale. With N it's more about the railroad than the individual trains. With O we focus on the trains and have some scenery. With N you really get the feel of a railroad running in a big world.


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## Yellowstone Special

I'm beginning to see what you mean, Joe. Thanks again. :thumbsup:


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