Starting The Track Base

Now that the framing is complete I can turn my attention to actually modeling the railroad.  First up is the foam that will fill in around the support brackets and support the track and scenery. 

I decided to try a less expensive route for the foam base.  Instead of 4 inches of expanded polystyrene (blue or pink foam)  I choose to start with 4 inches of the less expensive expanded polystyrene (white beaded foam).

To get the 4 inches I am using two layers of 2 inch foam boards.  The fist layer is cut 3 inches narrower then the depth of the plywood base to provide a wire chase at the front of the railroad and glued to the plywood with liquid nails for projects. 

The second layer is cut to the full depth and glued in place over over the first layer. 

Once those layers are in I top it off with 3/4 inch expanded polystyrene foam and weigh everything down until the glue dries. 

With all the layers in place the foam is approximately 1/2" higher then the front valance.  I plan on tapering the edge of the foam down to the facia board with a hot wire cutter as the scenery progresses.

Cork roadbed will be placed on top of the foam if needed after I do some sound testing. Another option is to hot wire the road bed out of the 3/4" foam after the track is installed. 

Revised Upper Level Plan

The size of the upper right deck (above Georgetown) is fixed but the track plan is still evolving.  At the moment I am considering using the entire upper deck to model Georgetown Junction.  I have tried to model this area before in a smaller space and it has never looked right.

It looks like a long dull section of straight tracks on paper, but what if it gave me the opportunity to include main line details like signals, well groomed main line track and a place to showcase some heavy motive power even if it just sits idle?

Another though... This arrangement would give the operators a chance to block cars heading to the staging tracks. The staging track closest to the backdrop could also serve as Silver Spring Yard and add a bit of interest to the switching duties of the trains heading for Georgetown.

A few mock up track layouts once the foam is in place will help me decide.

What Looks Good on Paper

What looks good on paper doesn't always look good in real life.  I was and still am very pleased with the decks and helix I built a few months ago on the left side wall, however the upper deck on the right side wall has been bugging me to know end.  It just didn't look right and I figured out why... Depth!

With the right side decks are 6" deeper then the left side decks.  The overhanging upper deck completely cut off the view of the lower deck where Georgetown Yard will be located.  After looking at it for a few months I decided to cut back the depth of the upper deck to 16 inches. I will loose some model space on this level but it will open up the lower deck to extra light and easier operation of the runaround tracks in the back of Georgetown Yard.

 I have updated the track plan to reflect the changes made in deck size and will post them up next.  I also started work on the foam base near the helix.  More updates to come.