New layout in the planning stages. Small, dismountable, in the guest bedroom. When I have house guests it picks up and stores in the garage. Garage is too cold for a permanent layout (I'd freeze) and I need it for the car in winter. Planning to do a foam board layout, that blue construction insulation. "Styrofoam" is the trade name on the stuff I have lying around. A wood frame of 1 * 4 pine for stiffness with the foam cut to size and set into the frames, with foam showing on the bottom. (No plywood supporting the foam) Sections held together with carriage bolts and electrical connectors. Legs from 1 * 4 or 2 * 4 with plywood gussets to keep them from wobbling. Legs removable for storage. Terrain features (hills and river valleys) formed by shaping the foam with a bread knife or a hot wire cutter. Questions.
- How does one lay track on the foam? With laytex caulk like Phenoseal?
- How do you acheive the ballast bed under the track? Lay cork road bed on the foam? Cut the foam into a ballast shape with a hot wire cutter?
- How do you attach under table switch machines to foam securely enough to prevent them pulling out when they throw the switch?
- Was planning to make my own hot wire cutter, a surplus 6.3 VAC transformer (or perhaps an old soldering gun) and enough resistance in the nichrome cutter wire to keep the transformer transformer secondary current down to within the transformers ratings.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome
David Starr