Bump-n-go trolley on foam base

Cut a small block of 3/8" wood and cut out a section of foam to fit the block of wood. Glue the block of wood into the foam with liquid nails. Screw the bumper section of track into the block of wood and you should be all set. Larger surface area attached wood and being embedded below the surface of the foam will keep it in place even at the highest speed impacts!

Train Nut posted:

Cut a small block of 3/8" wood and cut out a section of foam to fit the block of wood. Glue the block of wood into the foam with liquid nails. Screw the bumper section of track into the block of wood and you should be all set. Larger surface area attached wood and being embedded below the surface of the foam will keep it in place even at the highest speed impacts!

excellent idea, thanks for the solution

Great question.  I was just staring at the area of the living room where I usually put our tree and wondering how to change things up - wondering about the foam base.  I may have a trolley but may use my new MTH CP train too.  Visitors would like seeing that under the tree, with a few straight sections of track added. 

If you are going to use FasTrack again, I wouldn't anticipate any problems. Use two of the 4" cable ties to hold the track down. One through the track screw hole and foam from the top and the second lock head to the bottom to secure it. If it pulls on the head on the bottom, use a washer to spread the pull area before locking the tie on the end.

Set up a short run and test it.

Moonman posted:

If you are going to use FasTrack again, I wouldn't anticipate any problems. Use two of the 4" cable ties to hold the track down. One through the track screw hole and foam from the top and the second lock head to the bottom to secure it. If it pulls on the head on the bottom, use a washer to spread the pull area before locking the tie on the end.

Set up a short run and test it.

Good tips.  I haven't decided if I'll use Fastrack, Superstreets, or tubular track

Which trolley are you using? Postwar Lionel, contemporary Lionel, MTH, etc.? Some trolleys--especially contemporary issue ones made in recent years--are equipped with smooth and easy bumping mechanisms that do not exert a lot of pressure when activated.

In any case, if I was making such a setup, I would glue O gauge cork (or foam) roadbed to the foam base and would probably use SuperStreets, which I have found to be quite reliable and good looking (especially for trolley operation). Small screws or even nails with a bit of glue applied and inserted through the roadbed into the base foam should certainly keep things in place well enough.

I plan to have a somewhat similar trolley operation running along the living room mantle of my still-under-renovation new home this holiday season since the basement train room will still be a work in progress. Will be using the new battery-controlled Bachmann On30 Norman Rockwell Christmas Trolley. Just received a set and it's ideal for mantle-top use because no conventional electrical connection is required (meaning no dangling cords and such).

Allan Miller posted:

Which trolley are you using? Postwar Lionel, contemporary Lionel, MTH, etc.? Some trolleys--especially contemporary issue ones made in recent years--are equipped with smooth and easy bumping mechanisms that do not exert a lot of pressure when activated.

 

It's an MTH ready-to-run trolley from this set.  I set it up a few years ago and I recall that it required a fair amount of impact to reverse direction.  I will have to test it again, but that won't be until mid-October as I'm in the middle of Halloween yard display prep