I apologize if I am plagiarizing but a recent post stated:
“Some modelers claim that foam over plywood is quieter than either foam or plywood alone. Since I haven’t experimented much with either alternative, I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
As I begin my new layout and along with the advent of locomotives with sound - what is the quietest roadbed possible (but inexpensive). I would be interested if anyone has experience with the foam over plywood or what other recommendations are out there?
In my opinion, the quietest is 1/2 inch plywood sub-roadbed with 1/2 inch Homasote on that, then WS foam pre-shaped roadbed on that (glued down) then the track, also glued down. Ballast glue should be matt-medium. This was very quiet on my last layout. White glue dries hard and transmits noise, bypassing the soft qualities of the WS foam roadbed.
My present layout is 1 inch blue foam on luan and it is noisy. The WS foam pre-shaped roadbed helps, but not much. Not at all like my previous layout.
Our club layout is 3/4 inch plywood sub-roadbed with cork roadbed. It is quiet also.
I have 2 layers of 2" foam over 1/4" plywood, set into box frames (sides are 1x4, crossmembers are 1x3). Track is on cork on top of that, and I don’t think it’s noisy at all. My revious layout was a single layer of 2" foam on top of a box frame (completely on top, no inset liek this one) with Woodland Scenics foam roadbed under thr track, and I didn’t think that one was loud at all either.
Other say the same thign is way too loud. I’m not sure what they are hearing - all I hear is the ssssssss of the metal wheels on the track, and htere is no wierd amplification of the mechanism sounds in my locos, so when I run the one I have with sound all I hear is the sound, followed by the sound of the metal wheels on the cars it’s pulling.
In both cases the roadbed was fastened to the foam with caulk, and the track was fastened to the roadbed with caulk.
While I generally agree with using matte medium rather than white glue for ballasting, and while it is true that dried matte medium is quieter than white glue, it is still noisier to secure the ballast with matte medium than if the ballast were not secured at all. In my experience, dried matte medium transmits noise from the moving trains even though the noise is less offensive than when using white glue.
Rich
P.S. I should add that my track is on Woodland Scenics Foam Track Bed on top of a 1/2" plywood surface for what that is worth.
In years past I had tried some blue foam roadbed and the noise was so loud I couldn’t believe it was a small HO engine and a few freight cars.
One thing I picked up on from the comments - glue vs nailing track down. If you are spiking the ties down to plywood then the sound will transfer I believe. Glue is better and quieter.
The matte vs white glue??? I think I will experiment with both. I have never worked with matte.
On my layout I have 2" foam over open grid. 1 1/2" foam on 1/2" plywood. Spline on plywood. Spline on open grid. Track on cement roadbed on cement board and track running along a steel stud. The difference in sound and volume does not change that much as a train moves from one to the other. The one exception is the cement roadbed on cement board. In this case all you can hear is the wheels on the rails. Otherwise it is dead quiet.
As far as all the others go the change from one to the other is more of a change in frequency not so much a change in volume though it is there but slight at best. I think more sound comes from the wheels on the rails than most people think. I also think the acoustics of the room play a larger role in noise than what the benchwork does.
I had my old 10’ x 5’ plywood pacific in the family room with ceramic tile floors and then had it in the carpeted dining room. There was a huge difference in the noise level yet it was the same layout.
In closing, on my current layout with many different materials used at various spots around the layout. You cannot tell what kind of benchwork the train is on once the sound is turned on. All you can hear is the engines.
Someday I’ll make a video of some loco’s going around my layout with their sound off, and you can hear the sound difference with the same points of reference. Just my [2c].
I’m running 2 inch foam over half inch plywood. Wheel noise stays on the track and doesn’t transfer throughout the layout. The foam also allows you more flexibility to carve sections away to add scenery detail.
I’ve come to suspect that the key to my own quiet roadbed is the latex caulk I use to fasten everything together. It remains rubbery even when cured, so vibrations don’t transfer from layer to layer.
Even flex laid on thin extruded foam (fan-fold underlayment) caulked inside a steel stud rain gutter fashion is astoundingly quiet.
I wish I could say the same for the gears in my ancient motive power!
Instead of using matte medium to glue the ballast, use Future floor polish (or Kleer).[:O]
It may sound strange, but it has been tried by many more than me.
It is very nice to use, I tried it on my new layout and it is more quiet than the matte medium in my opinion. Another advantage is that it doesn´t float the ballast all over the place either.
Hi I use foam (WS- Woodland Scenics) trackbed over wood, glued down with wallpaper glue.
I get good sound from my sound equipped loco, the only other noise is straight back from freight car wheel to rail contact (this can be likened to a hiss or jet engine depending on speed)
Would you explain the method you use to glue the ballast with Future floor polish? Do you use it straight from the bottle or do you thin it, and if so, with what, how much, etc.? Do you use an eye dropper, spray, or ? Do you use the floor polish to glue roadbed to homosote/foam, or homosote/foam to plywood? Do you use cork roadbed or WS? Any other things we should know? This use of floor polish sounds interesting. - Lloyd
I’ve come to suspect that the key to my own quiet roadbed is the latex caulk I use to fasten everything together. It remains rubbery even when cured, so vibrations don’t transfer from layer to layer.
I think there’s truth to this. If latex caulk is not THE key, it is certainly A key. I have caulked WS and cork to extruded foam and never had a problem with train noise. I’ve not tried track caulked directly onto foam but I might try an experiment, just to compare. My Athearn coffee grinders on the other hand…