Has anybody carved out their own grade on extruded Styrofoam instead using the Woodland Scenics ones? The grade I need isn't an exact fit for the WS inclines so I want to try to do my own. My idea is to cut the foam in the shape of the roadbed where the grade will be. Then take two pieces of rail and clamp them on either side of the roadbed so they follow the desired gradient. Then run a hot wire foam cutter down the rails to cut the desired grade. After that, fill and sand, fill and sand, ect. to get a flat roadbed. Do you think it'll work? Eric
That sounds probable, but like you said, sand and fill, sand and fill. I carved my own grades out of bead foam for a previous layout, using a paint scraper (the kind that looks like a cheese grader). See post #12 in this thread. Though it worked, I'll never go that route again. Its terribly messy, and the grade will never be as perfect as a WS incline. On my current layout I used a new technique using 1/4th inch foam board. I cut a long strip to the angle of the grade, then glued that standing upright. the 1/4 foam board is flexible enough to follow any radius. Going around a curve helps the structure giving it more than 1 axis of support, but if your grade is straight all the way, just fold an inch flap at each end to give the support a z shape. Then on top of that, I glued more foam board cut to the shape of the roadbed path. Post #383 of this thread shows this approach. The foam board technique saved me quite a bunch over WS inclines as two sheets were 4 bucks. I elevated my entire layout from those two sheets. Just out of curiosity, what grades are you trying to get? Though WS inclines are 2, 3 and 4 %, stretching, squishing and or combining any of them will get you virtually any grade.
If you're trying to squeeze in a grade, you're kinda asking for trouble. The WS inclines are VERY accurate! The hardest part I had with them was the transitions at primarily the top. I needed to spend more time easing them up...but I never had the space becasue the grad always ended at a switch lead!! PROBLEMATIC!
Its around 2.8%. The problem it that the grade will rise about an inch, flatten out for a turnout, then rise another inch. The horizontal run on the grades can't be the standard 24" or 48". I want to use spiral curves on the approach and departure from the turnout to eliminate problems I could use the WS 4% grade, run the track up to 1" height in 24", have a longer flat area where the turnout will be, then run it up the the 2" height. I would have to change the track plan a bit but not impossible. I just wanted to try making my own first. I like the ideas you guys have given so far. I don't think I can get 1/4" foam anywhere around here though. 1/2" might be a possibility. I'm going to give it a shot tonight. I'll take some pics. Eric
1/4 inch foam board can be found at any art supply store or arts and crafts store. Its the stuff that is sandwiched between two thick layers of paper. Now, my first thought.. does the turnout absolutely need to be level? I have 4 turnouts on 2% grades on my layout. I guess I'm a little confused as to why WS inclines would not work for this. You can stack and cut your inclines to length for your 1 inch rise, then for the length of the turnout use a riser, then continue your incline on top of the riser after the turnout. Or are you just looking for more options with less cost? In which case I contest the foam board approach is the cheapest I've experienced.
Cost isn't a huge issue. I guess its more of a "can I do it" without having to buy WS stuff online (no local hobby shop around). Eric
I make all my own grades.I use solid sheets from one level to the other,my scenery is solid foam.I fit the full sheet,then draw where the grade will be,about as wide as 1 1/2 times the track width.I have a hotwire scroll saw I made,I cut out the entire grade from the sheet.I reinstall the sheet,the reinstall the grade section,screwing and glueing it down.Then I remove the sheet,leaving the grade.I rough it in with a saw,then I use a sanding block with 40 grit sandpaper to finish off the grade.When you replace the sheet,you now have a perfect grade inside the sheet.I mark the walls of the sheet with a marker,and then I rough in the inclines up the wall with the saw..
AH, ok. Yeah, ordering WS online practically doubles the cost from shipping. Your original idea seems promising, however it will be a very tedious chore. A quick search on Google found a place called Dots N Doodles in your area, which sells the foam core boards I use. At 4-6 bucks, its worth a try. I should also note, I elevated my entire layout in about a half hour (40"x90").
That could be an issue, the shipping. Anyhow, in my case I found the way to remove that transition problem was to use a piece of lower percent gradient at hte very top, and then cover the entire grade transition with a continious piece of at least 1" foam. The result is a nice gentle bend that is fully supported.
I used two sheets of 3/4" foamboard, leaving the bottom one solid as a base, but cutting the upper one to form a curving 2% grade with smooth easements as shown below. I drew and cut the upper foamboard to form the curve. I created supports in 1/4' increments using 1/2" and 3/4" foam pieces in combination. The first 1/4" support was a chunk of plywood, but all after that were chunks of foam until I reached 2-1/2". For instance, the 1/2" and 3/4" supports were cut directly from 1/2" and 3/4" foamboard, but 1" = 2 x 1/2", 1-1/4" = 3/4" + 1/2", 1-1/2" = 2 x 3/4", etc. I was able to maintain a 2% grade by carefully placing the foam chunks using a level with a thin piece of plywood under one end that gave me a centered bubble with a 2% rise. I was surprised at how easy and quick it turned out.
I cut my entire roadbed from a single sheet of foam, and placed supports underneath it to build up my grades. Hard to describe, but a picture's worth 1000 words:
For our club layout, I made all of our grades out of 2" high density foam. I just figured out the length and height of the grade I was trying to fit in and cut wedges off the edge of the sheet then turned the wedges on their side to give me the desired grade. If the roadbed needs to be wider than the thickness of the foam, you can make more than one wedge and stand them side by side. I used a retractable snap off blade knife with a new blade and made the cuts in three or four passes extending the length of the blade each pass until it reached through the foam. A strip of panelling with a factory edge makes a good straight edge. Clamping it to the foam lets you make accurate repetative cuts.
not the way to do it Thanks everybody. I wish I would have asked this question before I glued down my foam. There are alot of great ideas here to make grades. Unfortunately, my idea definately wasn't one of them. This is what I got: Not even close to what I think would be fixable. Oh well. I think I'll try the foam core next. Eric
If you take your yellow tool and scrape scrape scrape along the path of the grade, you'll eventually get something smooth. But you'll be scraping for a while.. and might reduce the grade to nothing before the end.
I think you can still fix this. Take a sheet of 1/2" foam, lay it on top of what you've got there, and cut as necessary to fit the contours of your existing layers, just like you see in my earlier photos. You'll end up with smooth, seamless grades.
I already cut off the offending foam so it not going to be fixed. I wasn't entirely sure that the grade was constant either. Tracy, I really like your cookie cutter method using the foam. I had seen that done with plywood but not with foam. Its a great idea. Have you run across any strength issues? Eric
Make sure you have supports underneath every six inches or so, there won't be any strength issues. It's not going to support your weight, but it will have no problem holding up an N scale train. For spots that will have additional weight to support, say a cluster of buildings, just build up additional support from underneath. You can see in my pictures, the center section I've done just that.
