Foam board instead of plywoow?

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
No one has mentioned any thicknesses for the foam yet...

I would recommend 2" foam over a grid with spacing no more than 24" on centre. Grid can be made of 1x5 (actually 4.5" high). This is the standard that we use at www.hotrak.ca, and it works very well.

The increased weight of the O scale trains may warrant a closer spacing of the grid, but probably not heavier framing.

Good point about leaning/stepping on the layout. The extruded foam (i.e. pink or blue) will not crumble or crack, but may dent a little bit with any pressure. So you will need to re-enforce the layout anywhere you need access. I just read (probably here at The Gauge) about a large layout where all the roads were made to be walked on - that way, access can be gained, but the place to step/lean is obvious.

Andrew
 
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