I understand that the Lionel FasTrack noise question has been raised/discussed at nauseam. So I apologize in advance for bringing it up again. However I am new to the hobby and planning on heading out this weekend to buy the materials I need to build a 5 x 9 layout. From what I have read after many hours combing through past threads is that the best subsurface options when using FasTrack are ½ inch plywood covered with one of the following1. Homasote2. Acoustic Ceiling Tiles3. Window Sill Foam strips I excluded the Pink/Blue foam board as most of the post I have read seem to indicate that these products tend to make the noise worse. Without turning this into a debate about whether trains should make noise or the pros/cons of FasTrack vs. other products, I would like to hear from members who are actually using FasTrack on their
it doesn’t matter how you attach the ceiling tiles or homasote to the plywood, you simply have to make sure the screws attaching the FasTrack to the ceiling tiles or homasote do not penetrate and attach to the plywood.
homasote and ceiling tiles are both 1/2 inch thick. don’t think I have ever seen them thinner or thicker.
There was a lot of discussion on this in this thread from 4 years ago:
FasTrack is too loud. Any cure?
There is also a Yahoo group out there that has covered issues like this extensively - I don’t recall the link, but perhaps someone else can post it.
I have a 5x8 layout with fastrack and used 1/ 2 inch plywood and 1/2 inch homasote and covered it with a thin layer of indoor outdoor green matting. then i stuffed rubberized foam under the track roadbed and fastened the track to the homasote, I am new to this too but i have had no problems, and the track is fairly quiet now.
I have many issues of Model Railroader and The Model Builder from the 30’s and 40’s and they were addressing track noise back then too. One article went into various methods for quieting track and they parallel many of the attempts today. One of the most important things found back then was securing the track to the base with rubber cement. I’m sure caulk may have the same effect but the key was to isolate the track vibrations from the surface it sat on. They took it one step further back then and used ground up rubber for ballast too which is a bit extreme but we are talking about 75 years ago.
I have a 5 1/2’ x 10’ Fastrack layout. I used plywood and topped it with 1" blue foam. I believe it works pretty well; however, I don’t mind a little toy train noise. Lionroar88 is correct about not having your screws go through the foam and into the plywood; that will transfer the noise and mitigate the foam. The best reason for me to use the foam is for sculpting scenery. I hope this helps.
Joe
One thing that I discovered is that rubber ballast from Scenic Express for some reason knocks down track noise.
I have a good size Fastrack layout. I used 3/4" pink foam on top of 5/8" plywood. The 3/4" pink foam works great because many of the accessories have 3/4" bases and can be made so they are level with the top of the foam when it is carved out. Regarding the securing, I used latex caulk. First, I put sill seal foam under the Fastrack and then caulked the Fastrack roadbed to the Pink foam. You can easily scenic around the caulk/foam, etc. Is actually fairly quiet.
Dennis