Best roadbed

[Anonymous]

Whats the best roadbed for absorbing sound?
In S and HO gauge.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Woodland Scenics foam is more insulating than cork, especially when cork dries out. But I wonder if balasted track transmits some noise.

[AggroJones]

I've used WS foam and cork on my current layout. I regret the WS. It may be quieter at first, but after ballasting, that crap becomes an amplifier! Much noiser than the cork. Plus WS foam has a hard time laying level on curves. Cork is a peice of cake.

Go with the cork!

[Anonymous]

Good thing you posted that Aggro, I was goin' to use the WS roadbed, but I'll stay with cork if what you say is true!

[wp8thsub]

Cork is OK for absorbing sound but doesn't hold spikes well.

Woodland Scenics foam is an awful product the popularity of which confounds me. It's too squishy to sand smooth, won't hold spikes, becomes a sounding board when ballasted, and will pop ballast loose if you accidentally press against it.

I hear good things about Vinylbed but haven't personally used it.

My roadbed of choice is Homabed http://www.homabed.com . Contrary to internet rumors, Homasote doesn't change much dimensionally due to changes in temperature or humidity, especially the 1/4" and 1/8" thicknesses sold by Homabed. It's extremely easy to work with; it installs just like cork or WS foam and can be cut with a utility knife.

[Anonymous]

Hi wp8thsub, I'm in the process of rebuilding in HO & I noticed that you mentioned the Homabed in 1/4" & 1/8" thickness. What thickness would you prefer to use & what do you use to tack it down with ? & is there any down falls with using this product ? My layout will be in a basement room when finished & will be mostly rolling prairies but am thinking about adding at a latter date some mountainous trackage also. Thanks for the web site info. & thank You for your time.

[Anonymous]

Will painting the cork help slow the drying?
thanks again

[Anonymous]

Woodland Scenics foam

[Anonymous]

I like the Woodland Scenics foam. Haven't had a problem with it and it's easier to deal with. Even after ballasting no problems. I change things frequently and it's a lot easier to take up and move about. It tacks into place and just hit it with a little Elmer's glue lightly and your set.

RMax

[IRONROOSTER]

I have been happy with cork. It goes down easily, and is easy to smooth with a suraform plane. It seems fairly quiet to me, but my wife says I'm getting hard of hearing[:I] Don't know yet if that's a curse or a blessing[:)][:)].
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Cork is the best. i use regular nails to hold it so i don't have a problem. My club also uses cork but the GLUE the track down.

[wp8thsub]

QUOTE: Originally posted by stokerk

...I noticed that you mentioned the Homabed in 1/4" & 1/8" thickness. What thickness would you prefer to use & what do you use to tack it down with ? & is there any down falls with using this product ?

I use both 1/4" and 1/8" in HO. Note that prototype mainlines usually sit higher than secondary tracks on better maintained ballast. I use the 1/4" for mainlines and the 1/8" for sidings and spurs. Homabed sells shim material to connect the two, but I prefer to use pieces of cedar door shims under the 1/8" stuff. Either way it's a good idea to belt sand the transitions smooth before laying track (I have a cheapo belt sander from Wal Mart for this job).

I have not encountered a down side to warn anyone about Homabed, unless you're shopping on price. If you are sensitive to price and want to get away with a cheaper material, cork can be made to work in a similar fashion (it just won't hold spikes as well). Use HO scale cork for the mains and N scale cork for secondary tracks and shim the transitions. Lay the N scale cork in one piece as it comes from the box (i.e. don't split it in half) and it's about as wide as HO scale ties, so the ballast will fill in along the edges and viewers won't know which material you have under the track.

[Anonymous]

Thank You "wp8thsub" for your reply. I'm trying to do a little experimenting with my rebuilding project to see if I can come up with some newer & better solutions. I'm going to give your idea a shot. As far as the cost goes, I'm not too worried about it. If it works it's worth it to me. If we stay in this house & don't sell it. This should be my last layout rebuilding of this magnitude. "YEAH RIGHT..........I'VE SAID THAT BEFORE! " ....................Thanks Again...................Happy Rails..............

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CNWfan5525

Cork is the best. i use regular nails to hold it so i don't have a problem. My club also uses cork but the GLUE the track down.

What's wrong with glue?

[Budliner]

the TNPR (MIT) club layout uses a wood clapboard bed they sead cork or like I have cork and rubber (just got 3 boxes) dryes out


B -

[AggroJones]

With dry cork, you are supposed to lay them in a tub of warm water and place weights on them to keep them submerged. Let them soak for a few hours, take 'em out. The cork should remain soft and flexible for a few days.

[joebraun]

I don't really know what is "best" but I have been very happy for 20 years with the TruScale simple milled wood roadbed (not the kind with the ties). I have used the matching TruScale turnout sections. For curves, one can use the TruScale curfed roadbed or just use the straight sections with homecut curfs. Since it is natural wood, there may be some ever so slight variation in thickness so it is good to use the dial calipers to match the ends. The wood gives a pretty quiet sound and takes spikes well.

[AntonioFP45]

Hmmmm.........

Cork? Or the newer Black Foam?

Seems like both have pros and cons. Basically I'd like to go with a material that won't sink after a year and still absorb sound reasonably. I'm going to be building a layout soon, and still haven't decided which to use.

To me, the sound of model trains on top of bare plywood is rather annoying, so I've opted not going for wooden roadbed, even though I can virtually acquire, cut, and shape the wood for free.

Guys, didn't MRR do a "Products Review" on the Woodland Scenics foam a few years back? Anyone have that info and was the review reasonably accurate?

Thanks! [;)]

[tsasala]

From reading this thread, it sounds like most of the options have issues. How does homabed hold up over time? What about the AMI instant roadbed?

[Anonymous]

I am only 14 and have no clue what to use i am very tight on money and i just want it to look good.


thanks.

[Adelie]

Looking good is more a function of ballasting and the surrounding scenery (assuming the roadbed was laid well). I'm using both cork (staging area) and Woodland Scenics foam on the Bunter Ridge. I think I like the foam better, largely because it comes in 24' rolls. Cork is slightly cheaper. Foam is quieter. If you use cork, sand the top of it to smooth it out (one of those little electric sanders makes short work of that).

I have also used Tru Scale wood roadbed in the past, and it was fine. I think it is hard to come by these days, though, and more expensive.

I've never used AMI instant roadbed. Other than being careful around the switch points, I suspect it is pretty easy other than you'd better put it where you want it because you probably aren't going to get a second chance (very sticky stuff).

I've never used homasote, either.

[jrbernier]

My layout has Homabed and it was built in 1987-88 - No problems at all! This stuff is more expensive, bit it is a full 1/4" high. Cork is 3/16" high and I use the cork for sidings. I lay the Homabed out about 12" into the siding and then change over to cork. I use a 'sureform' tool to sand down the Homabed so that it is feathered into the cork. This makes a very smooth transition......

Jim Bernier

Jim Bernier

[Pruitt]

For absorbing sound, the best way I know of is a sub-subroadbed. Glue homasote between the risers underneath the plywood (or whatever) subroadbed - it supposedly deadens the soundboard behavior of the subroadbed.

I haven't actually tried that - I read it in an old Tuxedo Junction article in an MR out of the fifties. As far as I know,l that's the last time anyone really did anything on the subject of sound properties of track and roadbed.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Thisonejamie

I am only 14 and have no clue what to use i am very tight on money and i just want it to look good.


thanks.

I like cork. It's cheap, and I can just staple it down with an Arrow stapler. I fastened my track with small nails, and voila! it was done. Ballasting it did not make it louder, and everything has held up well. I have not had a chance to try any of the other methods, but will someday. Only in a small experimental area, though. If you are still trying to decide what to do then, I'll let you know. (don't wait around for me, though! could be 5 years!)[:I] Good luck on the construction. Just take it slow and easy, and it should go okay. Cork, when proprly ballasted, looks good.[8D][tup]

[Anonymous]

It's not just the roadbedthat's a factor with noise generation on the layout. What's the benchwork / sheeting made of? A couple years ago I built a layout using waferboard (OSB) for the "table" and laid cork for the roadbed. Where the track was elevated I used blue foam. When I started ballasting there was a DRAMATIC noise difference between the cork on OSB and the cork on foam. Without ballasting the cork was quiet on the OSB. Once I ballasted it, it rumbled to beat the band.

The layour I'm building now has 3/4" plywood for the "table" and the elevated track, and it will be averlaid with 1" blue foam, on top of which I'll put cork roadbed. I'm hoping that betwen the foam and the enhanced stiffness of the 3/4" plywood I should have a nice quiet layout.

Mark in Utah

[selector]

I'm beginning to wonder if glueing down the ballast is such a good idea. I have only glued the top 1/2" so that it forms a protective shell to the still-loose stuff below it. My road is still quite noisy.

It would be a great help if someone (or a team of someones) spent a week of nights and did a trial with various combinations of sub-roadbeds and roadbeds, anchored and non-anchored, glued and non-glued to see how each does at quietening things up. It would be a boon for those of us who have sound to not to have to keep the volume quite so high so as to hear flange squeel, for example, above the truck noise.

Just thinking.

Why doesn't MR tackle this type of project? As a magazine dedicated to our craft, you would think they'd do comparisons, or hire someone to do it and to report.

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by selector

I'm beginning to wonder if glueing down the ballast is such a good idea. I have only glued the top 1/2" so that it forms a protective shell to the still-loose stuff below it. My road is still quite noisy.

It would be a great help if someone (or a team of someones) spent a week of nights and did a trial with various combinations of sub-roadbeds and roadbeds, anchored and non-anchored, glued and non-glued to see how each does at quietening things up. It would be a boon for those of us who have sound to not to have to keep the volume quite so high so as to hear flange squeel, for example, above the truck noise.

Just thinking.

Why doesn't MR tackle this type of project? As a magazine dedicated to our craft, you would think they'd do comparisons, or hire someone to do it and to report.

Selector. You have a very good idea, but don't sit on it! Make the effort.

Click on this link: [e-mail]
When it opens up, write your suggestion.
On the Subject line, write: Attention Bergie and Andy Sperandeo. You will likely get a response within 24 hours.

Let us know your results.[:)][:D][8D][;)]

[Don Gibson]

Go with CORK.

Any drying out is minimal. Homosote is pressed carboard - and delaminates with moisture.

FOR SOUND , use 'RUBBER BASED ADHSIVES such as 3M or Matte Medium for securing cork, track, and ballast. Hard glues such as ELMER'S negate it's sound absorbing properties - as does nails that couple the track to the plywood 'sounbdboard' underneath.

I've been doing (Soundtraxx) on-board sound pre- DCC, and I use double thickness cork (O guage + HO ) for realistic double profile, and super quiet..

Better looking! Better running!

[Don Gibson]

To expand on the above: At one time HOMOSOTE was king. It was insulation for buildings and offered sound insulation when layed on top of plywood. Locomotives with small speakers were very limited to very few do-it-yourself'ers with 'PFM' or 'On Board' Sound systems. $$$$

Tiny 1" or less speakers are limited by how much air they can move, and so as not to be competing with motor vibration, certain steps need to be taken with that in mind.
If you use any plywood sheet's they act as a soundboard for any vibrating source above.Think of it like a sandwich. A vibrating motor above and a soundboard underneath ,with insulation in between.

Let's Say, Cork: Putting a hard glue on a soft sound absorbing cork surfacecompromises it's sound absorbancy. Contrarily, It create's a 2nd sound radiating surface.

Putting nails through the cork into the plywood is OK, but not through the track, into the plywood, (that transmitt's sound). The idea is to DECOUPLE.the vibrating track from any 'Soundboard'.

Laying track on a double layer of cork is 'sweet'. (No ballast with 'hard' glue).

[selector]

AntonioFP45, done. Thanks for the suggestion. [^]

Don, thanks for addressing this with your experience. I may just rip everything up and do as you suggest....in the fall. I really do not like to have my QSI volume as high as it is, but I can barely hear the flange noise when I activate it unless my setting is fairly high. [V]