Genesee & Wyoming - The Bay Line

[poppy2201]

Change in plans.  Before I glue down any foam I am going to do the backdrop.  In our apartment complex we can paint one wall an accent color as long as you prime it when moving out.  I just received permission from the management for a variance and paint about a 13" high backdrop around the two walls.  The walls are fairly smooth and this should be easier than constructing a backdrop and attaching it to the benchwork.

Project for tomorrow after selecting some paint!

Regards,
Charles

[Ian MacMillan]

Nice of them to allow that but I would still do your own backdrop, say like Masonite around the layout and attached to it. That way you can cove the corners. If you do it right you may only have 1 or 2 joints.

[poppy2201]

Nice of them to allow that but I would still do your own backdrop, say like Masonite around the layout and attached to it. That way you can cove the corners. If you do it right you may only have 1 or 2 joints.

You are right Ian.  The more I thought about it the more it made sense and that is the route I'm going to take.  I guess I was just trying to find an easy way out.  Besides, with the lighting issue I have I'm going to need something to clamp those LED lamps to.

Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

Despite what Ian suggested and what I said I was going to do, budget constraints overruled practicality.  I already had some paint so I went ahead and painted the wall.  I think I can disguise the corner with the many Southern pine trees I am going to have to plant.  In addition, the wife wanted some floating shelves in another room so I am going to add some here.  One of them is curved so that will help with the illusion I think.  Also, this is going to give me something to mount some LED pucks for lighting.





Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

Glued down the first piece of foam and used whatever I could find heavy enough to weight it down while it cures.



Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

The first layer of foam is down, glued and cured.  Sometimes the knife has a mind of its own so anywhere there were gaps where pieces butted against each other I filled it with spackling compound and lightly sanded smooth.  The area that is not "foamed" is where the port/water will be.  I'm working with Pete Nolan to get a container ship for the port.  Still working out some specs and details.




Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

Major setback with this project and I am at a loss right now what happened.  I noticed that an area of the foam was lifting up.  Before any conclusions are reached, yes I did remove the plastic film from both sides.  I used Liquid Nails for Projects as I have done for years.  I could lift the foam up with my little finger and it separated.  You could see the evidence that the Liquid Nails had reacted with the foam.  The Liquid Nails that remained on the plywood was still wet to the touch and this is after seven days since the first layer.  I have never had Liquid Nails for Projects react like this over the years I have used it with foamboard.

So now I am in a deconstructing stage.  At the same time it has caused me to rethink the track plan and/or the benchwork.  As I am dismantling the top it is evident that there are some reach issues.  All this that has happened may be a "silver lining".  At least that's what I'm telling myself so as not to invent some new words.

Regards,
Charles

[avel]

That's not so bad. I usually use Gorilla glue or the Loctite Powergrab that comes in a caulking tube to glue the foam to wood.

[LKOrailroad]

A lot of foam people mistakenly think is Styrofoam is actually expanded closed cell polyurethane. The barrier properties of polyurethane can drastically slow the cure of adhesives which rely on solvent evaporation before polymerization, of which Liquid Nails for Projects is one. Always possible you got a bum batch but I suspect the pink board you have is polyurethane foam and that is why the adhesive is slow to cure. Still, it sucks to have to do it over. At least you discovered the reach problem before track was laid.

[poppy2201]

A lot of foam people mistakenly think is Styrofoam is actually expanded closed cell polyurethane. The barrier properties of polyurethane can drastically slow the cure of adhesives which rely on solvent evaporation before polymerization, of which Liquid Nails for Projects is one. Always possible you got a bum batch but I suspect the pink board you have is polyurethane foam and that is why the adhesive is slow to cure. Still, it sucks to have to do it over. At least you discovered the reach problem before track was laid.

What I used was the Dow Corning pink foam (Foamular) which I have used over the years before.  The Liquid Nails for Projects literally started eating into the foam on the first layer laid.  I suspect possibly a bum batch of adhesive and I double checked the labels to ensure that it was compatible for foamboard.

The mod to the benchwork is not going to be a big ordeal.  The changes are a fairly easy fix but I will lose out on some scenery areas but life is full of compromises.  I'll sacrifice  the scene in lieu of making sure I don't have issues with track laying and reach.

[LKOrailroad]

Yeah, Foamular is styrene. Liquid Nails for Projects should have worked just fine. Must be a bum batch. BTW I work for the company that up until a few days ago owned Liquid Nails. We sold it to PPG in January.

[poppy2201]

Yeah, Foamular is styrene. Liquid Nails for Projects should have worked just fine. Must be a bum batch. BTW I work for the company that up until a few days ago owned Liquid Nails. We sold it to PPG in January.

That's interesting that you worked for that company and I do think it might have been a bad batch.  Anyway,  I'm back on track. After removing the foam fiasco I decided to take another look at the plan. Basically it came down to the decision to just model one large industry for now and that will be the paper mill here. In addition, we may move to a larger place in August and I decided to wait to do the port scene then but still wanted to get something up and running for now.

Once again David Smith came to the rescue with some ideas and I am ready to start in earnest once again while still maintaining an eye for the future. The track you see that's over the outline of the benchwork is what I'll start with first. All of the blue track will be the future expansion if we move in August and will be the industries at the port. All I have to do is add an 8" x 36" section for now. I plan to just put some 8" L-girders to support the plywood etc. in that area. There won't be much weight there and that should do fine. At a later date I can just remove them and slip the other two modules there to accommodate the expansion since they are already built. The shaded area on the plan is to allow for a removable access area to gain access to the turnout there etc.

I put a new plywood top on today and this time I went with a 1/2" stock. Another attempt with foam will follow shortly. The only major change and it's not that major as far as I'm concerned is the minimum radius has gone from 16" to 15.5".

Modified plan:


Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

Work continues today.  L-girders in place for the temporary expansion.  Just need to cut some plywood and then start the foam installation.



Regards,
Charles

[poppy2201]

The first layer of new foam is down.  The section you see where the milk containers and paint can are is the only section waiting to dry.  I used Loctite PL300 for Foamboard this time.  I like this product now because it adheres well, dries fast, and hardly any odor.  Cleanup from any messes is easier than my experience with Liquid Nails for Projects, just some warm water.



Regards,
Charles

[DKS]

Charles, the narrow extension added to the left looks substantially longer than 36". Was that intentional, or is there some strange optical illusion going on?