Will it soften the sound even with Fast Track, and will it suport trains and track without a plywood back? Thanks!
NO, NO
Personally I like “SoundBoard” over Homasote. It deadens the sound better, holds track screws quite well, and the best part it is cheaper. Almost forgot, both are made by the same company. Either one though should be mounted on a plywood base since neither product has a structural rating.
Ricky L: My [2c]
Homasote will support trains and track without a plywood back BUT, I have found that, you will need some sort of support. I have used a grid-work system in the past. The main reason is to make sure the board remains flat and level and does not sag. On one of my layouts, instead of plywood, I used ‘peg board’. This too, however, needed some sort of cross beam support for the same reasons.
I use the traditional tubular track so I can’t comment on the Fastrack. Great “?”. Good Luck!
I used it under my tubular and under the fasttrack. It is a sound deadener under the tubular but you still hear the slide under the fasttrack. I have 2x 4s under the homestote every 16 inches and it supports me on top of the layout. It is great to put in screws to. Hope this helps.
laz57
I think the key to toning down the noise on Fast Track is to fill the void under the track. I would try to fill the void with jute or carpet padding, that should cut down on the noise significantly, just cut it into strips and press it under the track then glue it to the table top. If you use screws to hold the track down the noise will transmit through the screws to the table top, it will not be as loud as it is without the padding but if your going to go as far as using the padding you may as well use the glue too.
Paul
The padding in the void may help a little, as will any number of other solutions that have been posted hear and elswhere. My experience with FasTrack (which I otherwise like) has been that the annoying part of its sound seems to be an unpleasant raspy hiss (almost a spitting sound) and which does not seem to let up much regardless of wlhat is done to the plastic “sounding board.”
I think it is mostly coming directly from the tops of the rails, due to the contact/separation by the wheels with the rails. If I’m right, it should sound about the same if you could suspend the track in mid-air, without any resonating cavity or train-board. It’s almost as if like you can easily make it worse but will find it difficult to make it better.
I’ve even read of one guy who painstakingly fed some kind of cushiony material (pipe cleaners, perhaps?) through the inside of the rails themselves. Gracious!
Maybe we should stop fooling around with the track but rather line the walls of the train room with wedges as with an anechoic-chamber. Or use ear plugs, or some of those noise-cancelling head phones, or simply “enjoy,” and remember that real trains are noisy too. (I know, I know…)
Are there any acoustical engineers around?
In any event, the most recent “public information” as to what works and what doesn’t will almost certainly be found on the FasTrack forum on Yahoo.com, moderated by H. Michael Spanier.
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