I know this has been covered, but I wondered if any new ideas have come up.
I have about 45 feet of Fastrack for a floor layout and it is very loud. The layoout is set up on a thick rug that should do about as good as anything to absorb sound. I can’t imagine it on a hard floor. It seems way too noisy for a permenant layout.
Vibration being the source of noise, I wondered if anyone has experimented with filling it with the house insulation out of a can that sets up hard. Just using screws to secure it to a board does not solve the megaphone effect of the plastic. I even thought about having a friend mill something like wood chair-rail that fit inside and then secure the slanted sides to that every 3-4 inches.
I know some some people don’t mind the sound but it is way too loud for me.
I like the smooth running and the look, but compared to tubular the noise is a huge drawback.
Ordinary cotton has proved to be the best way to lessen the noise. Simply take 2 drug store variety cotton balls and stuff one in each ear. The difference in what you hear will amaze you!
A little known Fastrack accessory is the volume control track. It’s a 10" long straight section with a volume control dial to increase or decrease the track sound to one’s liking. It retails for $19.95.
Have you tried cork roadbed underneath the Fastrac sections? Or maybe you can stuff cotton underneath to absorb the sound.
Sometimes some of us live in apartment buildings and need to reduce the noise factor, I used to live in a duplex house so I had to consider the noise factor also.
This is what I use and it’s been working great. Overall, you’ll still have some noise and that also depends on how you run trains. Either way fast or slow This could be the answer for you as it was for me. Running conventional trains at fast speeds there still will be some noise but it will be reduced a lot. If you run slow prototypical speeds you’ll love the noise reduction. This is assuming you’ll be affixing the track to somewhat of a board.
All you need is some thick, dense carpet padding. (found everywhere) Cut the padding to the size of the track leaving about a half inch protruding from both sides of the track. (not the ends but the sides)You can either trim the excess or use a thin putty knife to push the rest under the track.
Now, if your track is on a board you may have some drumming issues that would happen with any track. I’ve been using this method for fastrak since it came out, it works great for me. It doesn’t eliminate the noise entirely just reduces it by a bunch! In my opinion I like some track noise! Ever hear a train go by without hearing track noise?
As for the insulation in a can, great for scenery!..a real mess for track…I advise against it.
I think one of the reasons that FasTrack gained the reputation for noise was because it was packaged with Lione’s starter sets which are generally lower quality trains. I had the same impression that it was very noisy when I first set up my Polar Express set. However, when I put the Polar Express on my permanent layout that had K-Line ShadowRail tubular track, the noise was just as loud.
I have since replaced all of the track on my permanent layout with FasTrack which I like very well. If you run trains slower with either Odyssey or PS2, there is hardly any track noise at all.
I tried the cork roadbed under one loop of my layout and, although it helped a little, it wasn’t worth the effort. A local train store has a setup in which they laid it out on homosote (sp?) - made a very big difference.
Also, if you lay it out on a board, try to use as few attachments as possible to connect it to the board. The attachments help transmit the sound and vibrations to the board.
When I was using FasTrack on my layout (I’m currently using Atlas), I had it mounted on marine deck carpeting, which at that time covered the whole layout and now is being used on my Standard Gauge pike.
I didn’t find the FasTrack to be all that noisy compared to other brands and types of O gauge track, and I’ve used 'em all at one time or another. Kind of depends on what you’re running on it, to some extent, and also depends on what you, as an individual, consider “noisy.”
My personal feeling is that far too much has been made of the “noise factor” of FasTrack. I haven’t found that any of the O gauge track systems are anywhere near as quiet as, for example, my LGB or Marklin Large Scale, but in large part that’s because those locomotives don’t make near as much noise as most O gauge models (even without sound systems).
On my current Atlas-track layout in O gauge, I’m using cork under the track. Certainly works well enough for me. Since the layout is in the living room, I like to be able to run trains and still easily hear the TV or music without cranking up the sound. The sound of the trains running also doesn’t seem to disturb my dog when she’s napping, so I guess it’s not overly annoying.
He knows better. You know we have met and enjoyed our visit. In fact, I have always called him Dougsnotagrump. Goes to show you, another Yankee fib. [:P] Doug, goes to prove what I’ve always said about those Yanks. Can’t believe a thing they say. [;)]
I have experimented for a few weeks to deaden the sound of fastrack on my layout and this is what I found to work the best.
I found on a permanant layout that carpet padding works the best. I took long sections of track and traced the outline with a marker and then cut it with a heavy duty Fiskars scissors at a angle along the cut line. I then spray painted the edges brown(which is a little to dark).
The pink foam board helps but thats only to isolate from the plywood. I think homosote would be better. Scewing the track down on the foam board only makes it worse, even with a few screws. The pading seems to absorb the sound along with sealing the bottom of the track to not allow the sound to escape. I’ve run fastrack on carpeting and it’s queiter but to me carpet still lets the sound to escape from under the track. I also used 2 layers of snow blanket on my xmas layout and it helps I’ve tested carpet padding on my layout with some of the track on the foam board and some on the carpet padding and the difference is night and day. 50 to 65 percent reduction of noise.
It also depends on the type of locos and cars you run on fast track.The heavier the better. Diecast steamers are quieter than light weight diesels from starter sets. A heavy MTH diesel is quieter. light weight box cars are louder on fastrack as well as the more cars you use the louder it is. The faster you run your trains also makes the track louder. When I had my xmas layout last year, the O27 track was loud with 10 cars on it.
The construction of the room you use fastrack in makes a difference. Fastrack is louder in my living room on carpet with plaster walls than in my basement on carpeting with paneling and dropped ceiling. If you really think fastrack can be loud. Build a shelf layout with Ogauge track i
