Happy Trails to you.
Much of LION'S layout is built on 'mini-tables" and these mounted to the table framework. Most tables use Celotex ceiling panels (very light, easy to cut with excellent dimensional stability in changing temperature/humidity situations. Alas, these particular panels are no longer made. They disappeared with the advent of fire codes, but the LION had ten panels from buildings that we had torn down or remodeled.
To make a short story long, when I ran out of these, I used 3/4" foam as a table topper, and laid the tracks right on top of these. The trains ROAR like, well like an elevated subway train, so LION decided that this was a good thing. (Him runs subway trains, you know)
So you want to hide the noise, and the LION thinks he wants to mount transponders under the layout connected to loud speakers to make the trains roar even more. That is also SOUND SYSTEM of LION.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
thanks for all the response's ,lots of great ideas .
I'm leaving now for a 7 day 100 mile trek up th Muir/PCT trail in the sierra Nevada with my son,but upon my return I'm going to try some of these and mite try and do some sound test for comparison . bye for now and as we say on the PCT (pacific crest trail) "stay hydrated" Jerry
EMD.Don Curious, if one were to use 2" thick (or two sheets of 1" thick glued/lamenated together) extruded foam glued to wood stringers/crosspieces spaced close together (8" or so apart...size of layout dependent of course) would this help deaden the vibrations yet still provide for a more light weight construction over the extruded foam over plywood method? Happy Modeling! Don.
Curious, if one were to use 2" thick (or two sheets of 1" thick glued/lamenated together) extruded foam glued to wood stringers/crosspieces spaced close together (8" or so apart...size of layout dependent of course) would this help deaden the vibrations yet still provide for a more light weight construction over the extruded foam over plywood method?
Happy Modeling!
Don.
It seems that the foam has absolutely no sound deadening properties but in fact amplifies the track noise through it. For some reason the modules that were built with 1 inch thick foam is quieter than the 2 inch thick foam modules. One member built a module with 1/4 inch Luan top and bottom with fiberglass insulation between them. Very quiet that module is and just as light as the foam modules.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Do any of you know,if they still make those self-stick,indoor,outdoor carpet tiles?? Seems like that would work also..
Cheers,
Frank
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."
On our portable modules built with 2 inch foam surrounded by wood frame the sound is amplified through the foam and is loud. Just adding the cloth skirting around it down to the floor cuts down the noise considerably. When we set up on carpeted floors the sound is reduced further to nothing but metal wheels on metal rails. I recently retired my modules and have them set up in a spare bedroom. I hung cloth on the front and rear of the modules to cut out the sound reverberating against the wall. I still get some noise from the hardwood floor they are on. But you get the gist. Containment is the best you can do for the lightweight construction methods incorporating foam layouts.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
A good sound deadening trick I learned from an old body shop guy: stick on floor tiles.
They are asy to wokr with and add mass which changes the frequency of the vibrations of the panel they attach to. Works great in the cars I've done it to. Should be easy to attach to the bottom of the foamboard. And fairly cheap especially if you get discounted/discontinued stuff.
Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction
Is anyone in the music industry, they have access to the tool one would need to make a recommendation.
I have a related question, so I'll ask it here, so it will hopefully help others with "sound" questions.
Is it better to attach a sheet of foam to a piece of luan or 1/2" plywood for sound reduction, than to leave it just caulked to the framework?
I know the OP has his in place and is looking for ways to quiet it, but for those who are just starting to work on benchwork, they could decide whether prevention or reduction methods would best suit them.
Thank you,
Richard
Big Jerr - How have you laid your track on the 2" foam, and then on the 1" foam? For example, my layout is built like your bottom part. I used WS foam roadbed. Clear Dap to hold the roadbed to the foam and the track to the roadbed. I also used matt medium for the ballast glue.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Jerry. be careful with that rubber stuff, it may eat your foam.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
thanks guys ,the rail road sits in a single car garage thats been metal studded drywalled and a indoor out door type carpeted , the r.r. is two level and made what mite be called domino light weight modules for a possible move or relocation , The lower level is 1'' foam on grid frames with a layer of 1/4" ply in between and for what ever reason is not bad (probably height and carpet under ) but the upper is 2" foam glued/daped direct to the grid frames but is at eye level 15+" above lower level this is where it gets loud . the idea frank brought up interest me as well as the sound batting at the big box stores ,weight is the key ...Jerry
Big Jerr,
I know of something that would work,for sound deadening,,,but you didn't mention where your layout is. If it is in your basement,,you can put throw away plastic drop cloths on your floor and purchase a couple of cans of automotive rubberized under coating,,,surely will deaden the sound,,the smell will go away,in a couple days.. Just a thought!!
I think that if you were to use DAP Alex Plus to fix several lengths of wood or carpeting under the foam where you can get at that nether surface, you might find it acting like a dual-density layer or a baffle of sorts. Is the foam board just sitting on the joists/frame elements under it at the moment? If so, try putting a bead of the Dap between them all where they touch. If you want to be able to remove the foam board, place wax paper over the wood surface. The Dap will still adhere to the foam, and it will also conform to the shape it needs to form a cradle over the bearing surface, but the wax paper will act as a barrier to adhesion on that bearing surface and prevent it.
-Crandell
I had a 5' x 10' layout years ago that I would set up in the dinning room sometimes and the kitchen/family room other times. There was a huge difference in the noise level between the two rooms as the dinning room had thick carpeting and was full of furniture. The kitchen/family room had ceramic floors and wide open spaces. The layout was very loud in the family room. Room acoustics play a big role in noise levels.
I think having carpet under the layout would help a lot. There is sound insulation batting available at the big box stores that works really well. I have installed this between floors in a house, it was amazing the difference. You could put this on the underside of the layout. Even stapling carpet underlay to the bottom of the layout will make a noticeable improvement.
I helped construct a commercial recording studio in Vancouver once. We filled the walls with sand. Talk about sound proof! You could put a plywood bottom on the layout, drill holes in the foam and fill it with sand. It would then be as quiet as you could ever wish for. Of course you would never be able to move the layout afterwards.
hi all ; a couple a years back there was some threads on the " drumming effect " sound when running train over foam board-on-girders or grids and was wondering if any one has found a way of reducing this magnification of metal wheels on rails ?
OH ,and I'm NOT talking the prebuild solutions like camper foam and such under cork or such ,what I'm looking for is more of a retrofit to an already built R.R.
Some were mentioning some success with adding pieces of batting,egg cartons, soft foam , or such to the underside to "kill the drumming" that results from the rigid 2" foam over open grid or girder .SOOO just asking if anyone found a killer cheap & simple fix WITHOUT ripping up trackage ?
lets try to avoid the " I dont have this problem,what are you talking about" " as it is more evident on high or second decks than lower or first decks , and those who have it know what I'm talking about....Jerry