Hey guys, before i buy a lot of the stuff im going to need for my layout, i have a question to ask. which would be better, pink extruded foam with Woodland sceinics trackbed, or mdf board with the automotive sound deadening material and cork roadbed as shown in the Model Railroader 9 Guides for Model Railroading success - Guide 2:Track tips and techniques? I plan to use the woodland scienics foam risers, so im not sure if the MDF board's purpose would be deafeated, or if on the risers, the sound deadening material would take care of the noise. Im not familiar with the sound deadening material, but i do know that i can find cork road bed easily. Thanks for the help.
You should go have a look at some of these discussions,...
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/266194.aspx
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/266150.aspx
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/215744.aspxhttp://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/264774.aspx
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
The sound deadening idea is probably a swing and miss. The quiestest tracks I have, from layout to layout, is the kind running over a bridge of any kind suspended at both ends. Next is spline roadbed supported on risers, and not the kind of roadbed supported by nails or glues tight against a hard flat surface.
As soon as I ballast and fix the grains with glue, the sound rises once again. It's the ballast transmitting the mechanical harmonics to the surface of the layout, which then acts as a drumhead, that ruins it all if quiet ops is your aim.
You'll need a thin-ish, maybe 1/8", layer of a rubbery product between the surface of the layout and your roadbed, and it must be wide enough that the groomed ballast doesn't spill over its edge and get glued to the sub-roadbed. I would think that drawer liner, available in 4' rolls at dollar stores, might be the way to go, but I couldn't be bothered this time building a layout.
Best is foam base with cork roadbed for many reasons. Foam can be very cheap or even free (yes you can use the white beaded stuff as long as you cover it with something like plaster cloth. Cork because it can be easily carved and sanded when in place, so if that transition is not perfect, sand away, even with a small electric sander. The WS inclines are great but why buy their risers as that material can be had alot cheaper or for free. Yes I built a large layout this way and I got to tell you, being able to drill holes through the foam with a bit in your fingers made doing electric real easy.
Regardless of which path you choose, I'd suggest substituting plywood for the MDF. The latter doesn't take screws or nails well, and is not welcoming to Atlas track nails, if you use that method for securing the track, even atop cork (the nails are long enough to reach through the cork to whatever lies beneath).MDF also requires more support than does plywood of comparable thickness.
Wayne
Wayne has stated what I left out, and my thanks to him for thinking of them all. I tend to be long-winded, so................
MDF, the 1/4" thick stuff in 4X8 sheets, is very good for spline roadbed. But, even at 1/2" thick, it tends to sag in a somewhat humid environment over time unless it has lots of support under it. Getting track nails into the sides of it is almost impossible unless you pre-drill.
Hello all,
I use 1-inch foam over 1/4-inch plywood with Woodland Scenics foam roadbed.
My pike is a 4'x8'. The supporting framework is on 33-inch centers.
I changed from 5/8-inch MDF board under the foam with no framework to 1x4 framework.
The MDF board was extremely heavy as opposed to the entire weight of 1/4-inch ply with a 1x4 framework.
The combination of 1-inch foam and WS foam roadbed deadens the sound sufficiently for me, even after ballasting.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"