I agree with Kevin's observation. When things are fastened together, sound absorption disappears.
Its the vibration created by the moving trains that gets amplified throughout the structure is what causes the noise. Generally, the denser and heavier the benchwork, the less the trains will cause it to vibrate.
If you ran trains on benchwork made of concrete, you'd probably not hear any noise transmission.
Multiple layers of different substances tend to vibrate at different frequencies, so they may cancel each other out. If you're really concerned about absolute quiet, probably make a sandwich of various materials and fasten them together with caulk to change the frequency. But that's a lot of work for probably marginal gain.
- Douglas
My experience with cork, foam, and now Homasote, is that once the ballast is glued down most of the sound dampening qualities are gone.
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With track loosely fastened, cork seems to be the best, but Ballast needs to glued down.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Well, I don't use foam for a layout base, but was surprised to read that it's not all that good for suppressing sound. Cork isn't bad, but ballasting will negate some of its sound-deadening properties.I have noticed that layouts on Homasote are fairly quiet, whether or not there's cork atop it.
A plywood tabletop can really amplify sound, especially of it's not well-supported. My layout's upper level is on a well-supported base, with ballasted cork under most of the track, and I'm not really bothered by the sound. However, my layout is DC-powered, so there are no sound effects to be drowned out by ambient layout noise.
Wayne
I need some input as to the sound deadening properties of the commonly available cork roadbed when placed on 3/8" plywood. Is it enough or would is a layer of foam under the cork the best way to go? Thanks!
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/