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Valances General discussion
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Regular poster 418 posts Bing Regular poster 418 posts
Bing

I was banging around in the train room the other day and had my yearly flash of thought that made some sense. I thought I would see if any one agrees or has thought of it before.

My idea is to make the valance around my layout from 3/4" foam. It is light enough to require lightweight hangers, easy enough to paint and best of all softer than wood when you hit it with your head. plus if you have a twelve inch valance you get thirty-two running feet out of a 4' x 8' sheet.

Any thoughts?

God's Best and Happy Rails to You!

 Bing,

The RIPRR (The Route of the Buzzards)

The future: Dead Rail Society
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rsn48 Frequent poster 565 posts
rsn48

I think the foam would get

I think the foam would get banged up over time and not look so great, even if it started out looking good with paint on it.  Sometimes tried and true is tried and true for a reason.
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Bill Brillinger Moderator 4,902 posts
Bill Brillinger

Cloth

Cloth valances make a lot of sense to me.

Bill Brillinger

Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, and owner of Precision Design Co.
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Bing Regular poster 418 posts
Bing

More on valances

Bill:

I've found that cloth valances tend to "show" the lighting behind them. They are also impossible to attach any light reflectors to.

rsn48:

True they won't hold up as good as wooden valances,but if it comes to the valance or my head, I'll vote for another chunk of foam out of the valance rather than my head. Don't ask how I know this.

God's Best and Happy Rails to You!

 Bing,

The RIPRR (The Route of the Buzzards)

The future: Dead Rail Society
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AlanR Regular poster 236 posts
AlanR

Sounds like...

...you may need a hard hat in the railroad room! 

Alan Rice

Amherst Belt Lines / Amherst Railway Society, Inc.
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Bill Brillinger Moderator 4,902 posts
Bill Brillinger

Using a Rail

I would put up a rail that holds the lights and reflectors then I would hang the cloth on the back side of the rail. It is true that you need a fairly heavy cloth or 2 layers to block the light, however if you are using reflectors they should be positioned to direct the light away from the valance anyway.

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If you used continuous sheet metal for the reflector, you could skip the wood rail and use magnets to hold the cloth to the reflector.

Bill Brillinger

Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, and owner of Precision Design Co.
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clo1163 New member 12 posts
clo1163

Gatorfoam

Have you considered gatorfoam? Comes in various thicknesses, is lightweight but has an exterior veneer.

-Christian
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