fig5 d and has an inwardly facing upright contact surface 66 facing inwardly for contacting the formed plastic foam piece as it travels on the rotating carousel away from the forming zone the circularly curved lengthwise configuration of the cooling rail matches the circularly curved lengthwise configuration of the foam piece that exits the forming station this curvature of the cooling rail also matches the curvature of the outer perimeter of the carousel during operation the circularly curved upright contact surface 66 of the cooling rail maintains pressure on the formed piece as it passes along the contact surface during rotation of the carousel for maintaining the foam piece in its preset configuration the cooling rail entrance region is continuous with the exit opening at the end of the forming shoe and so the formed piece passes continuously from the forming shoe to the cooling rail the cooling rail extends for over half the remaining distance around the carousel and a low friction cooling rail surface preferably provided by a teflon tape minimizes friction between the formed piece and the cooling rail continued contact with the cooling rail surface dissipates heat to the ambient air and thereby reduces the temperature of the formed piece while holding it in its preshaped configuration this cooling process is sufficient to set the plastic foam material in its formed shape by the time the plastic foam segment reaches the end of the.