Hello all. This post will be ongoing and include the slides that I used at my latest clinic on the use of Gatorfoam® (GF) and model railroading. If you GOOGLE search for "Modeling with Gatorfoam" you will also find links to the manufacture's website and some of my other posts. I plan on adding to this post, daily if possible. The last attempt I made ended up not uploading and I lost an hours worth of work.

Tip: To avoid losing data I am writing in MS Word and copying and pasting into this blog.

Safety Tip: DO NOT keep hammers close by when working with computers, especially late at night.

Slide 1 showing the Gatorfoam® (GF) extension to my N Scale Mooers Junction Railroad. From the top is a 16” wide soffit of ½” GF hung from the drywall ceiling, with plastic hollow wall anchors and 8/32” allthread. The backdrop is 3/16” GF with the right 4 foot wide panel painted for me by Dave Myers. The grey rock area is removable, and  mounted on a ½” x 10” x 8’ GF panel over a 6 track staging yard. The green fascia / control panel is GF and part of the 3 5/8” wide perimeter framing the 21” wide x 8’ long extension to the main layout. The extension goes 8 feet between supports and spans over a rolling work surface made from a 24” x 6’8” SOLID core door, mounted to a 4 foot wide rolling wire rack.

Slide 2

Slide 3 This is ¾” plywood sold in 4’ x 4’ panels at a national chain store. The price comparison above is related to these panels. You can get better quality plywood for additional costs.

Slide 4 Amazing! You would think a 24” x 80” work surface would be overkill for N Scale! Slide 4 Amazing! You would think a 24’ x 80” work surface would be overkill for N Scale!

Slide 5 Note the 3 5/8” spacers on the ½” x 10” GF liftoff over the staging track area. This allows limited access and will be covered with a 5’ long section of removable scenery. (The section can be seen in the pictures above. On the right you can see the green blanket on the bed, leaning against the wall, and the file box is sitting on a 4’ wide rolling wire rack that goes under the butcher paper and paper towel rolls.

Slide 6 A recent shot of structurally complete extension. Note the small space between the GF soffit and the backdrop. The backdrop is actually ½” higher than the bottom of the soffit as I may run ceiling panels from soffit to backdrop in the future. Notice the installation of the 3/16" GF backdrop panels. The insulating properties of the GF keeps the cold winter air of the rails and the GF base keeps the heat from the baseboard heater from warming the layout surface. All surfaces feel cool to the touch on a constant basis.

END of Day 1, March 24,2013 posting My intention is to include all the slides from my presentation (100 plus) so that you can jump forward and back as the post gets longer.