Here’s something to dust the cobwebs off your gray cells. Hopefully, I can word it well enough to convey my thoughts.
I was running my S1 diesel around the layout this afternoon and was noticing once again how soothing, realistic, and prototypical the repetitve “clickity clack” of the metal wheels on the metal track were to my ears. (Blame it on the musician in me.)
This got me to thinking. In MRR, one of the main reasons we use 36" flex track on our layouts is not just because it gives us the ability to dictate any size radius curve that we want, but also in order to help us achieve using the fewest rail joints as possible on our layout. Fewer joints means more stability and fewer problems of kinking and electrical continuity due to expansion and contraction of the track and wood during the change of seasons. All VERY GOOD reasons for doing so.
With that said, however, one disadvantage to using long continuous sections of track like that is that it not only makes the layout less prototypical visually, but audibly, too.
From what I’ve read, except for the continuous welded rail (which could be up to 1/4 mile long), most prototypical rail is 39’ long. Now if I calculate that out correctly, that would be approximately 5.4" in HO scale - less than a 6" piece of sectional track.
Obviously, laying down 5.4" sections of track just for prototypical and “audible” accuracy is not only NOT practical but, in all likelihood, more trouble prone. Even so, a question still comes to mind: “Do I really want to switch out my sectional straight or curved track for flex track and lose the realism of the sectional track ‘prototype sound’?” (I’ll let you know my answer as soon as my new layout experiences it’s first year of existence and temperature and humidity changes. I do have a dehumidifier near my layout so I’m hoping that should help out things. [:)])
Anyhow, it was just a thought I had kicking around in my head. Would enjoy “hearing”
So if you can run your trains and enjoy the soothing sounds of clickity-clack, then we can assume that your layout, although constructed with sectional track, operates well and is fairly free from derailments. In that case…
My answer to that would be a resounding no. If it already runs fine, why mess with it? You’ve got good operation and the sound you want.
Now if you were thinking of going to flextrack to change to a lower profile rail, or for some other reason, the answer could be different. Or if you start to have operational problems.
If that’s what you want… consider using a dull chisel & hammer to add a depression in the rail surface… tap lightly to reduce rails going out-of-gauge and hard enough to make that ‘nick’
How about the clickety clack of ribbon rail, with a joint ever quarter mile or so? Music to the ears of Philip Glass, perhaps:
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clickety
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clack
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clickety
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clack
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clickety
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Clack
I used a Dremel cutoff wheel to cut grooves every 40 scale feet into Atlas code 100 flex track on the old Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club layout and could not tell any difference in the amount of clickety-clack noise, even with metal wheel sets. Why? Because of the sound deadening cork roadbed and 2 inches of sound board under the track. If your track is mounted direclty on plywood, you may notice a difference, but for some reason you don’t hear it if the track is sound isolated.
Perhaps the reason for your lack of sound would lay in the track itself. Are the grooves large enough to make sound as metal wheels pass over them? Take a look at some of the 90 degree crossings (or whatever devree you choose) and run some metal wheels over them. I’m not saying make the grooves in your flex track as deep as those as crossing re naturally noisier than track joints. I would suggest testing various grooves in what I call “crap track” (the stuff that can’t be used on a layout) and make the groove a little deeper each time untill you hear that clickety clack. If you find that a desired groove looks too bad to be used, you still have not touched your Flex Track. Hope this works.
~Brian~
A dremel cutoff disc should cut a wide enough groove, but you may need to widen it more to get a good click or clack. As long as you don’t cut all the way through the rail you still have electrical integrity. Using metal wheelsets would give better volume I would think. My track is mounted on cork and I can hear the rail joints plainly. I have replaced almost all of my wheelsets with metal wheels.
I am glad you posted this. I too enjoy the noise and wonder why modelers go to such great pains to deaden the track noise. I have worked on railroads and have yet to hear a silent one yet.
I dont worry about track noise and spike my roadbed to plywood, I enjoy the rumble. Others may look down there nose at that, but what the heck Im half deaf from setting govenors on EMDs anyhow. I have a covered hopper I changed to metal wheel. One is a tad tight and has a slight squeal, as like a draging brake shoe, doesnt rerail and may get tired of it, but for now I just kind of enjoy it.
A friend of mine has a great layout, fantastic scenery and when his silent trains run, to me they are just electric trains. However this is what he wants and I trully respect that.
Some are into locomotive sound (with sound deadening track) and love it. I doubt if it will be long when there is sound installed in boxcars resignating track noise, squealing brakes and flat spots. Speaking of flat spots prototype wheels are or were condemed at 3 inch. I may even try that, I doubt if it would work…just a though I will do later as still have a bit of track to get laid. to finish my upper level.
So dont worry about what people will think, its your railroad…go for it.
I would be wary of cutting grooves in the track, especially if using DCC, since dirt would collect in the grooves and interfere with your locomotive.
Reed
Well, if you have flextrack already, I would go with notching the track rather than cutting it completely, since then you don’t have to worry about creating extra joints and having them go out of alignment.
As for dirt getting into the grooves, I don’t think that would be a problem, since your wheels shouldn’t be going that far into the grooves anyway.