Fastrack & 1" Thick Foam

can't find screws longer than 5/8"

Uh, hardware store? You may have to adapt/drill out your track holes to accommodate the 1"foam base.

I just added on to my layout using 1" foam underlayment. I use Gar Graves/Ross track. I used drywall screws in most places (through the drilled tie and into the plywood 1"+ below), and in spots most visible I used smaller-headed wood screws, and painted the heads black. You could paint yours gray, maybe. They do come longer than 5/8". Really.

FastTrack takes #4 wood screws. They come in a variety of lengths. If your local hardware store doesn't carry them they can be found on amazon and other online vendors.

Are you going straight onto the foam board?  The reason I ask is I used some indoor/outdoor carpeting as my ground cover.  I laid the FasTrack on top of that.  It gripped the FasTrack well enough that I never screwed it down.  Two years later, no screws and no problems.

MikeH posted:

Are you going straight onto the foam board?

Yes, my goal is to go through the 1" foam board completely and then grab a little into the wood table top.

Sorry I can't because I have build 6 layouts throughout my life and always used drywall screws with tubular track into plywood or homosote. It is noisy and I am looking for an option with a new layout I will be building. I will be using tubular track. Plywood seems to be the sound amplifier in the equation. Has anybody experimented with sound deadening material UNDER the plywood and using scenic woodlands roadbed.??

I have over three scale miles of Fastrack and only have about eight screws in the track on ceiling tile over foam. It really doesn’t move on a tabletop. I don’t think you can find #4 screws long enough for what you want, anyway. If you’re sure about fastening it down, I would use caulk. 

I have a dual mainline layout on an approximately 8' x 10' U shape using FasTrack on top of 2" foam and it is not fastened to anything.  I've been running it that way for about 5 years now with no problems.  I have it powered using .110" connectors every 3rd or 4th section of track from underneath so I guess that helps it from "creeping"?

Try McMaster-Carr, others available, below is just one they offer.

The Fastrack profile is  close to 1/2", so the screws need to be longer than 1 1/2".

Thank you all for the input, for those with foam, do you get any squeaking in certain places as the loco goes over track that is on a foam seem?

Although my Fastrack is on homasote, and I use 1" screws, I have an On30 layout which uses Bachmann track on a foam base, so it's the same concept.  

When building it, I assembled all of the track and used small nails to hold it in place.  Then,  I put a bead of Loctite Power Grab adhesive where the beveled edge of the track meets the foam.  It dries clear and holds very securely.  After it dries, the nails or screws are then redundant and can be removed if desired.  (Before committing to this approach, I tested it by attaching a spare piece of track to a scrap piece of foam; the strength of the bond is amazing.)

Power Grab comes in tubes which fit a caulking gun and in smaller hand-squeezed tubes that have a cap.  I like the small tubes better because my skills with a caulking gun are not great. 

The main drawback of this approach is that later revisions to the layout will entail scraping the adhesive off of the track, and removing it from the foam will leave gouges in the foam which will need to be filled.

I used fastrack over 1” foam on my layout. I then used the 5/8” screws here and there to hold the track in position. It has never moved and has made it easy to make changes in the track plan. I believe there is only one spot where I used a longer screws to hold a turnout in place after I added a small yard. 

I use indoor/outdoor carpet over 1/4 inch pegboard on a Sievers benchwork. I don't think it is loud. I use an occasional screw thru the carpet into the pegboard mostly at the curves where the Fastrack seems to gap over time. The pegboard is sturdy enough to walk on since the Sievers is on one foot centers and as a bonus  I have a hole within 1 inch where ever I want to put a wire thru.

I have an 11'x22' twice around the room layout using fastrack. The only place I use screws is to hold the track in alignment on both sides of a lift bridge to allow access to the center of the layout. The fastrack holds well, and without screws holding it to the wooden bench frame, it is reasonably quite.

Fireball RR posted:

Thank you all for the input, for those with foam, do you get any squeaking in certain places as the loco goes over track that is on a foam seem?

No, but I hot glued my pink foam to the table top. Others have used construction adhesive, gotta work "fast" when using the hot glue. 

FWIW if you'll be adding scenery this quiets the track even further.