I’m currently building my first model railroad. It is a 16’ x 9’ L shaped HO scale layout. I’m am using 4" of EPS foam throughout. I have already purchased most of the cork roadbed that I will need and I’m in the beginning stages of glueing it down. I’ve come across a few posts where people claim that the noise is an issue when using the cork on foam benchwork. Is this really a very big issue? Most of the noise complaints come from people using 2" or less of the EPS. Will my 4" help reduce noise? I plan to have sound in some of my locomotives. Does that negate the noise? Will I regret the cork? Is the Woodland scenics foam roadbed easier/harder to work with? Should I bite the bullet and switch to the WS foam roadbed?
I have used cork on 2" foam and can’t tell the difference between it and Homasote when I run my trains unlike cork and bare plywood. I’ve used the WS foam roadbed on Homasote only and can’t tell the difference there either. The WS roadbed is shorter (2’ instead of 3’) but you don’t have to trim the edges if you split it. When I run out of cork, I will use WS roadbed because I really don’t have that much track left to lay. It is easier to work with and it’s already black. Hope this helps some. And after saying all that—welcome to the forum. Just don’t get stuck here all the time because you’ll never get anything done. Archie
I personally don’t think the sound difference with cork is that great.
Ron