Track Noise

[insfil]

Any thoughts out there on how to reduce or eliminate track noise?

[rtraincollector]

What type of track you have helps some but a lot use like 1"- 2" Styrofoam you can get at your home supply stores and then put your covering on that then your track making sure your not going all the way thru to the wood as there your screws/nails would just carry the noise thru and you would be right back where you started at.

[Firelock76]

 Some kind of padding is good, styrofoam, insulation foam, cork roadbed, or a Homasote tabletop if you can find Homasote locally, but remember O gauge trains are noisy to begin with.  You can minimize the noise to a degree but never eliminate it entirely, depending on the speeds your trains are operating.

That's not such a catastrophe either.  Real trains are noisy.  At any rate, to me at least, one of the attractions of O gauge is the way the whole house shakes when the layout's in full operation!

As an aside. I can't understand why some people are bugged by the sound of an old-fashioned E-unit.  To me that's part of the charm of post-war Lionels.  That "buzz" always seemed to me to be the promise of the fun to come!

[insfil]

Thanks for the info, I agree with you in so far as the enjoyment of the noise produced by real trains and their model counterparts. My basement layout which runs two trains, soon to be three, as well as a point to point trolly line does give off a lot of track noise which I really love, however, I also have an around the wall layout in a den which is a smaller area and the one train going around the room is quite loud and the sound carries into other areas as well, which can be distracting when conversing with other people. 

I just came across an old article in which the author stated the use of old carpet or rug remnents cut to track size would eleminate the noise greatly, since the height of my around the wall layout would prevent anyone from seeing the  roadbed, that might be the solution to my problem.

Again, thanks to all for your ideas. 

[rtraincollector]

That will help but remember the noise will travel down threw the nails/screws you use to hold the track down if you fasten all the way thru to the boards

I have a shelf layout in my den 14' x 16' and it can get noisy I used carpet and then put liquid electrical tape on the screws and it helped but can get noisy.

[BigAl 956]

It would help to know what track type you intend on using. FasTrack is the noisiest out there, Scaletrack and Realtrack probably the quietest.

For my O tubetrack layout I put down about 1 inch of Styrofoam over OSB. I cover it all with green AstroTurf carpet and that does the trick. To quiet FastTrack I thought of cutting strips of fiberglass insulation to pack under the track but have not tried to actually do that yet.

If you screw the track tightly with long screws that extend into the base lumber, that does transmit a lot of noise. I use screws that barely reach the lumber base and I do not screw them tight, I leave a millimeter of space to minimize vibration transfer. I experimented with using O-rings under the screw head but the results were inconclusive.

[lion88roar]

I've used tubular track, FasTrack and Atlas 21st Century Track. ALL of them are noisy.

The room's construction comes into play, the materials used to build the layout structure come into play, as well as the track, AND the rolling stock.

My train room is in a finished basement with drywall on the walls and ceiling, and carpet over concrete floor. The layout is raised 37 inches off the floor using 4x4 posts with mortises at the top for the 1x4 framing to rest in. There is 1/2" plywood over the framing and 1/2" ceiling tiles on the plywood (secured to the plywood using contact adhesive). The Atlas track is secured through Woodland Scenic foam roadbed to the ceiling tiles ONLY (screwing into the plywood causes the vibration to be transferred from the track to the plywood). I have run trains slow and fast over this track and they are ALL noisy - but the worst are trains pulling empty boxcars (doors closed), covered hoppers, and passenger cars. The reason is because these cars act like drums and amplify the noise.

My Christmas layout is worse still because it goes under a tree in our sunroom and the flooring in there is tile. The layout is also unfinished so the voids between levels are empty - also acting like drums.

So the answer to your question is

1. You will NEVER have a silent train layout
2. You can reduce the noise by using sound deadening materials under your layout out
3. Fill your rolling stock that is not open with some non-flammable material (cellulose insulation is a good option, or pillow batten)

[CB&Q]

okay you want quiet other than the normal wheel noise over rail joints use homasote period it comes in 1/2" 4x8 sheets is messy but it works.

I had same issue with previous layouts so loud even a conversation in same room was a shouting match at best.

to attach the homasote to wood use cheap painters caulk and drywall screws let setup for 24 hrs remove screws and paint brown green whatever you like then attach track to the homasote using 1/2 #4 screws tighten screws to a snug fit and you and entire house can talk as you wish in train quietness.

or if you have an air brad nailer you can use them in place of screws to hold homasote to plywood and no folks those tiny nails going into wood does not create any noise.

best part of using caulk when you tire of current layout you can take a small hammer and a 3" blade scraper and remove all of the homasote in one piece for reuse on the next layout.

the foam under the wood only deadens the reverb under the layout doesn't really stop track noise that much above it I have tried the other technics hands down was the homasote I can hold a conversation as well as talk on phone all while my 4 trains are running.

that is my 2 cents for what its worth good luck on getting things quiet.

[AF53]

Brent - A month or so ago you went at length about what you found as to cause of "the noise" . I had never heard anyone bring your thoughts into the subject before and it made a lot of sense. I wanted to chime in on that topic then but failed to do so. Now I will. My American Flyer track (original Flyer track), makes little to no noise at all. You do hear the "click-clack" as the heavyweight cars go over the connections, sounds great. It's placed on a thin paper like material from my local hobby shop that simulates grass. That paper is directly on the plywood. I'm not saying your theory isn't correct, but maybe there might be some other factors in play?

[lion88roar]

Ray,
Absolutely there are a lot of things that come into play... I listed a few here, but there are additional aspects that should also be considered.

I haven't played with my grand father's AF stuff in decades, so I can't comment on what you are realizing with regards to your AF setup... in my case my layout is 3 interconnected levels, the main level is 2 tracks side-by-side, the second & third levels are a folded dog bone. I have a large void beneath the main level and the floor, and a void between the levels. I have noticed that as I build the scenery and enclose the voids, the noise drops. I have also noticed that if I run just a consist of flatcars and open gondolas the noise is lower than if I run empty boxcars with the doors closed, or if I run passenger cars. There is definitely something about how the cars are constructed as well - those with metal floors are quieter than those with plastic floors. I also think the construction of the trucks has something to do with it...

Like I've said before, I have done all I can think of to reduce the noise level. I have a feeling when I have the scenery completed and I have put the panel skirts up along the circumference of the layout the noise will be even lower. I plan to insulate the inside of the panel skirts too.

Forgot to mention - I think a lot of noise reduction has to do with trial and error based on how your room is finished. I'm sure some methods will work better in attic spaces than in unfinished vs finished basements vs out buildings.

[dougdagrump]

For the around the ceiling track I used  Baltic Birch plywood topped with Woodland Scenics foam, glued down, with traditional tubular track which is hotglued to the foam. No screws or nails thru the track into the plywood so it is extremely quiet. To eliminate the druming effect in the closed freight cars I loosely fill with polyester batting.

 

[riverrailfan]

insfil

Thanks for the info, I agree with you in so far as the enjoyment of the noise produced by real trains and their model counterparts. My basement layout which runs two trains, soon to be three, as well as a point to point trolly line does give off a lot of track noise which I really love, however, I also have an around the wall layout in a den which is a smaller area and the one train going around the room is quite loud and the sound carries into other areas as well, which can be distracting when conversing with other people. 

I just came across an old article in which the author stated the use of old carpet or rug remnents cut to track size would eleminate the noise greatly, since the height of my around the wall layout would prevent anyone from seeing the  roadbed, that might be the solution to my problem.

Again, thanks to all for your ideas. 

The sound is reverberated off the walls(mine are plaster). I used 1x10 pine boards on my shelf layout with foam padded carpet  and standard o track. The track was not screwed down. The only quiet rolling stock was plastic wheels. Other than that, metal wheels on metal track produced noise.

[handyandy]

My layout is built on a hollow core door slab. Not the most sound deadening thing to build an O-gauge layout on I know, but it makes it easy to move around.

The top is covered in two layers of foam underlayment for laminate flooring. I used a green fleecey blanket throw to cover the foam. The track is old tubular track with a few screws to keep it from moving. The screws are not drawn down tight. The blanket wraps around under the layout and acts sort of like an insulator between the layout and the table it sits on.

Properly lubed, my Marx 3/16" scale tin cars roll along almost noiselessly except for the low clickity-clack at rail joints. My postwar Lionel and MPC cars make more noise. Boxcars get stuffed with old holey socks where possible. Old socks really cut down on the drumming of the hollow plastic cars.

[BARailroad]

I think the idea of stuffing boxcars is one I'll have to try.  Good tip!  I do run my shelf layout with carpet under the tracks and it does help.