Peco Underlay

[84A]

I have found a couple of links to threads on this forum and elsewhere on this topic, but thought i'd ask again to see if anyone has found a cure/fix to the following.

 

In the early nineties, I put down most of the trackwork for my current layout. It is fairly big, and it loops over itself, meaning it has an uphill/downhill section, and fiddle roads underneath the station. The entire layout involves Peco Code 100 trackwork, all on foam underlay. Unfortunately, I suffer from the players diesease, and often find myself playing trains upstairs as opposed to actually building - the layout is situated in a loft. I have run models on all sections of it, and am happy with how it has settled.

 

About a year ago, I noticed that one of the associated underlays to a point in the station was wearing slightly - I would go up the loft and find two or three white fly attacking it. Eventually, I removed the point, replaced the underlay, and all was fine again. However, I was at a loss as to why this had happened here and no-where else (as far as I could tell). I then decided to check it out online, to see if others had similar problems. To my horror, I found a number of posts suggesting that the underlay has a life expectancy of between 10 and 20 years. To date, I haven't found any other areas that have degraded in a similar manner, however I find it quite alarming that this could (and presumably will) happen.

 

As mentioned, a large section of my layout runs under itself - it is built in place, and cannot be removed without destroying the layout (there is only really limited access). My question is has anyone found a way to either prolong or stop this stuff from rotting away? I certainly would not have considered foam underlay had I known this at the time, having spent a great deal of money on the stuff intially. I thought about using PVA to harden it, however have heard that this can cause it to shrink and dissapear faster. I also thought about ballasting over the top of it to try and harden it in, but dont know if this would work either?

 

I'm hoping that I am not the only one who is/has been in this situation, and has found a way out of it. Either way, it is bad of Peco as a company to not display this information on their foam underlay products. I would certainly not have considered using the stuff had I known about this then, and feel I have spent a great deal of both time and money getting my layout to a certain stage, only for it to (potentially) have to come up again. Like I say, at the moment it seems to be holding together OK, but i'd rather act now than later, as replacing my layout is going to become harder as the years go on.

 

Chris

 

 

[BR60103]

Chris:

I have no idea.  I have a bag of foam dust which started as a bag of track with underlay glued to it. I've had both the Hornby and the Peco go on me.

[Sir Madog]

Any foam will become brittle and starts to disintegrate after the softeners have evaporated. This process is accelerated, when the material is subjected to higher temperatures - like in a loft. There is no cure for it other than replacing it.

[84A]

Thank you for the replies.

 

 

Any foam will become brittle and starts to disintegrate after the softeners have evaporated. This process is accelerated, when the material is subjected to higher temperatures - like in a loft. There is no cure for it other than replacing it.

 

When purchased, I hadn't been in the hobby long and had no real experience of the use of foam - it was just an escape from work. I had been using Hornby (setrack) sections up until then, but decided to go for something a little more professional. I used to buy the Railway Modeller religiously (before I had the internet), and had read about the stuff in there, and so went for it.

 

Chris:

I have no idea.  I have a bag of foam dust which started as a bag of track with underlay glued to it. I've had both the Hornby and the Peco go on me.

 

That is bad to hear. Surely the question has to be asked how this stuff is still being sold? Surely it should be marketed as a temporary solution for a layout so as not to lead to people such as myself buying it in vast quantities? Why hasn't an alternative that doesnt degrade in this manner not been looked into by Peco and others that sell foam underlay? If, for instance, the plastic that Hornby used to manufacture new rolling stock out of deteriorated after 10/20 years, I cannot see too many people just taking the opinion of `its plastic, its what it does, hey ho' and thats that - this really is very poor. There is no indication of this behaviour on any of the packaging I have, and no indication that the product would behave in this manner given that it is marketed by one of the leading suppliers of trackwork UK (and world) wide.

 

I plan to contact Peco directly, as i'd rather know sooner than later what needs to be done. However, I was hoping someone on here had come up with a way of extending/protecting the foam against deterioration. Unfortunately, it seems as though ripping the whole lot up and starting again is the only answer at this stage - the only saving grace is that I didnt glue any of the track down, but still wasted a good few months (and pounds) getting it to the stage its at now . Hopefully others will see this and similar threads and not make the same mistake I did.

 

Chris

[Silver Sidelines]

Chris, I use Peco Streamline pinned directly to the baseboard.  If all fails simply pull out the underlay and tap the holding pins down further.  If the track is not pinned down then perhaps now is the time to add a few pins and pull the underlay out from beneath.  On a heavy well supported structure the underlay will not be doing much for the sound deadening - a heavy structure will just absorb the noise.  If the underlay is there for appearances you will have to do what I was told on this forum to do and that is add some ballast.

 

Just another view on the situation - hope it helps.

 

Regards

 

Ray