blue or pink insulating panels

I don't believe these would be any more of a fire hazard than the plywood, they're building materials designed to retard burning.  I haven't seen any significant difference between the blue and pink panels.  From another website...

Both pink and blue foam boards are rigid insulation panels made from extruded polystyrene. The chemical composition, manufacturing process and insulating capability of the two products are similar; the principal difference between them is that they are manufactured by two different companies. Pink foam board is manufactured by Owens Corning, and it's marketed under several different brand-specific product names, including Foamular, Propink, Thermapink, and Insulpink. Blue foam board is manufactured by Dow Chemical Co., and it's marketed under the Styrofoam brand name.

 

If they were that much of a fire hazard, they wouldn't be allowed in home construction, would they?

 

Rusty

Your old layout sounds like my old layout, it was my first and my wiring was a horrible mess. Getting back to the subject at hand, yes definitely use it, I did and don't regret it at all although go with 1" if you don't live in So Cal as we can only get 1/2 inch here and only pink. It is easy to work with and you can do many things with it.

 

i plan to build a layout as soon as I finish my garage storage area and want to use either pink and blue foam boards...what is the best way to fix the track and various accessories to the foam board? Glue? Screws? Thanks!

High density Styrofoam (blue or pink) has it's place in our hobby, mostly for scenery purposes for walls and mountains. As far as it's sounds deafening qualities, I don't think so. I would not use it for that purpose.

What do you recommend PTC? 

I use homosote glued & screwed to the plywood. I've also seen some folks use blue or pink boards under the table but this is overkill not to mention backbreaking work under the table.

I've built 3 simi-temporary layouts using blue or pink sheets as the only platform or sheeting material. Sometimes it just sat directly on the carpeted floor other times is was supported by a simple framework of 1x4's with 2x2 legs. The sheeting worked fine as a lightweight replacement for plywood but it doesn't cut down on any sound as far as I'm concerned.

For true sound deadening, plywood with a homasote top sheet seems to be the way to go. However, that's a much heavier and permanent way to build.

 

Many of the guys I've met in On30 use blue insulation foam as the base for their modules. I've also met a few two-railers who are using the 2 inch thick board as the base for their two-rail layouts. I shouldn't worry so much.

Agree it is more of an insulating material that sound deadening, works great for scenery!

As stated, pink or blue insulating foam panels are not sound deadening. They do not hold nails or screws very well either, but are great for making rock formations, simulated concrete block walls, etc.

 

For sound deadening installed over plywood, use the proven, traditional Homasote, or the somewhat cheaper QuietBrace, which as the name states, is for sound insulation. Home Depot carries QB, but not all the stores have it.

 

Good luck!

 

Alex

Alexander Müller

 

I had blue or pink foam sheets, 1 or 2" thivck under my last 7 layouts . No problems I was told by Fire Dept once the top was painted.

I used Homasote/Soundboard over plywood but I also used 2" pink (Owens Corning) as the  "base" for a 12' portion of my elevated line. (Why is another story as is whether I would do it again.)

 

To secure my traditional O gauge tinplate track to it, I put a line of Elmer's Glue/Titebond III Glue on the bottom of a piece of 1/4" x 1/2" pine that had been cut to the size of the black ties, painted black and slid under the ties. Once the glue dried I screwed the track to the pine. Works fine.

 

As for other track types, in a chapter of Peter Riddle's book he demonstrates how he used the pink foam as his "base" and secured the track to it using Foamboard adhesive commonly found at any hardware or big box home improvement center.

 

So it can be done.

 

IMHO if used on top of plywood it works like Homasote/Soundboard to reduce the sound.

 

Hopes this helps.

 

Mike

I used pink, blue and green foam panels on top of my layout.  Depends on what supplier you buy from for the color.  The blue or green stuff was available in 4X8 sheets and the Pink was 2X8' sheets.  It's all the same stuff.  I found it a lot easier to use and not as messy as Homosote.  I also used Fastrack and don't have any noise issues.  Three Rail Lionel tin plate is about the nosiest track I have heard.  I also used drywall trim screws to hold the track in place.  The heads are just the right size to fit in the countersunk hole on the fastrack.  I just snugged them down and they hold the track in place.

I used 1/2" sound board for sound deadening on my layout. I think that the unbranded board I used is basically the same thing as SoundBrace, but I can't be sure. I laid the sound board over the plywood on the entire layout. Sound board is very messy to work with. To minimize the mess, I vacuumed both sides of each sheet and then painted them with latex primer. That takes care of the dust problem. Sound board is easy to cut. You can use a knife, but I prefer a saber saw with a very fine tooth blade. A drywall saw will also work. 

 

Our toy train museum also uses sound board when building layouts. It is much cheaper than Homasote. It holds screws reasonably well if you don't get too enthusiastic tightening the screws.I've stripped out a couple of holes, but not many. I use a Wiha screwdriver to minimize the torque on the screws.

I use a utility knife to cut QuietBrace - no mess at all. For curves and angle cuts, as to simulate roadbed, I use a jigsaw with a knife-edge blade (*), and it works great. And that is correct; it holds screws very well to hold the track down.

 

(*) Bosch T113A3 Knife Edge T-Shank Jigsaw Blade, like this:

 

 

Good luck!

 

Alex

Foam insulated foam board does not retard fire and it is used in building construction but not as a fire retarding material.

Should not be a problem using it on your layout, but not for sounding proofing.

Chris

The color is one thing but the difference is the PSI (pounds per square inch)

I recently needed to buy some to insulate before they pored the concrete floor ... needed a higher PSI then the stuff used in walls. 

I use 2" foam board on top of plywood. Using Woodland Scenics foam roadbed and attaching it and the track with two-sided carpet tape, the trains run very quiet. When I turn off engine sounds, all you hear is the clicketty- clack of wheels on rail joints. 

I second this. Use cork roadbed or cut homosote or quiet brace for roadbed for sound attenuation.

 

Putting the whole layout on a layer of foam board is really to provide the ability to easily cut in depressions in the terrain or to lower buildings with bases.

 

The knife blades for the jigsaw are also very good and make working with the foam board easy.

I use the foam sheets..dry wall screws hold just fine...
And I like the rumble you get as the train passes...

Once you ballast your track, the glue that holds your ballast in place will also hold your track in place. Screws are not necessary.