Conrail Windsor St Yard (York PA) Engineering Report

[Ed Kapuscinski]

rather then sand down the landforms of your foamcore to get to a set height for the street tracking why not just restart the whole thing s make sure the track is laid so its more even?

I have given that approach some thought, but I'd rather keep the track level (for performance sake) than deal with the terrain.

[Lemosteam]

I dont think that sanding foamcore will work.  once you get through the cardboard shell you will turn the foam to dust.  Why not find a material that is the same thickness as the railhead height from you base?

[wazzou]

I dont think that sanding foamcore will work.  once you get through the cardboard shell you will turn the foam to dust.  Why not find a material that is the same thickness as the railhead height from you base?

I've got to agree here.  The shell or backing is a paper of some sort and the soft candy middle is not like regular foam.
If it were me, I would use Artist's Mat Board used for matting in picture frames. 
It's probably the right thickness based on my experience, is available in different color and textures, is easy to cut and is pretty cheap.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I dont think that sanding foamcore will work.  once you get through the cardboard shell you will turn the foam to dust.  Why not find a material that is the same thickness as the railhead height from you base?

Well, we'll just have to see. It's all glued down now! I'll also likely be covering it with lightweight sparkle as well, so it'll be sealed up.

Fingers crossed, and thanks for the warnings.

[wazzou]

Pfttt.  So much for proof of concept.   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Pfttt.  So much for proof of concept.   

As I said in the update... "Godzilla like progress".

[C855B]

Well, we'll just have to see. It's all glued down now! I'll also likely be covering it with lightweight sparkle as well, so it'll be sealed up.

Glitter, or sequins?

Good luck with the foamcore sanding. As soon as I processed it was foamcore and not XPS foam I knew you were sorta in trouble. Sanding paper laminates usually shreds the paper and makes a mess, and John's right in that once you break through the paper you will hit bottom quickly. The foam is very low density and will surprise you.

[OldEastRR]

Glitter, or sequins?

Good luck with the foamcore sanding. As soon as I processed it was foamcore and not XPS foam I knew you were sorta in trouble. Sanding paper laminates usually shreds the paper and makes a mess, and John's right in that once you break through the paper you will hit bottom quickly. The foam is very low density and will surprise you.

Be sure to take pics of the aftermath, tho. Good lessons for anyone else who wants to go that route. We learn from our mistakes.....

[coosvalley]

You have not finished the scene yet and they're all predicting doom!

I had the same thought as the others, though. I guess you'll really have to make this work so all of us naysayers have to eat crow...

If this doesn't work out I say try out DAS clay(and maybe the pavement rollers from RailNScale)...It's pretty fun to work with...It comes in black and white so you can mix them to get a grey..Water makes it mix better, and keeps the working time extended..

[basementcalling]

80 pages about EdK and Conrail. Who woulda thought either was possible? 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, so today I performed a test by sanding a section of the foamcore.

It works fine. Yes, there's now exposed foam, but that's what I was going for. It'll be covered by layers of other stuff so I'm not worried about it at all now.

[Lemosteam]

Great. If you can do that, I can tip a tree!

Wait! Pics or it didn't happen!

[jpec]

Balls...wish I'd been following this a little closer. I have a bunch of Tomix slab track that is a perfect match for the height of foamcore. Instant street running with having to fuss with sanding and filling...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Great. If you can do that, I can tip a tree!

Wait! Pics or it didn't happen!

Fair enough!

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[C855B]

Color me surprised, but good deal. I surely have enough (...OMG...) foamcore laying about, so I'll try it again. Was this by hand, or were power tools involved?