One of the goals of this railroad was to create something that was both interesting but also portable. The benchwork needed to be lightweight, sturdy and affordable. I had used white Styrofoam in the past and found that despite some of its more challenging characteristics, namely the mess that it makes, the white beaded foam was a practical building material.
I used Atlas track Planning Software to create my layout using N scale code 55 track components and flex track sections. I exported the Atlas software plan as a vector image and converted it into a full-size PDF using Adobe illustrator. I printed the entire track plan as tiled pages so that I had I want to one representation of the layout printed on a series of eight and a half by 11 sheets of paper.
I covered a 2-inch thick sheet of Styrofoam with white glue and adhered each paper sheet to have a full-size diagram to work from. I purchased a Hotwire foam cutter to do most of the shaping work – it was a significant upgrade over utility knives and hacksaw blades. I shaped the baseboard to match the track plan diagram and then removed the material where the rivers would be. I laminated the two sheets of Styrofoam using liquid nails and lined things up precisely as I relied on accuracy for both the bridge and the switches.
I created a simple wood lattice using 2×2” spruce to support the two layers of Styrofoam. This additional supports ensured that the Styrofoam could not flex or bend. They, too, were adhered to the Styrofoam using liquid nails. Overall the entire benchwork ways no more than 10 pounds and can be easily transported around the house.
