I just ballasted a section of the new layout I'm building (the part in the tunnel) and is it noisey! The track is fairly quiet except for the section where I ballasted and then it is quite noisey. Luckily that section will be under a mountain, but if this keeps up with the rest of the ballast I may be forced to skip in on most of the track. Let me tell you how it's built... 37' of mainline on folded dogbone stuck on a 4 X 8' piece of waferboard made into a table with plenty of 2 X 4's as support. The lowest elevation track is placed on cork directly on the waferboard. The rest of the track is on cork placed on layered blue foam. This is my first shot at ballasting track, and it's turned out pretty good. The ballast is actually sifted playground sand (cheap and definately the local color used on the track) and glued in place with white glue mixed with alcohol. It's a bit coarser than the typical ballast, but I'm thinking of going over it with some Wester Scenics ballast. I want to do the rest of the track if for no other reason than to help secure the track firmly to the layout. It's all nailed in place right now. I've run the track hard and pretty much worked the bugs out of it. I do need to cut in a bridge or two, and finish scenicing it with mountains, buildings, and trees. Any sugggestions on how to quiet down the ballast without changing the track elevation? Or do I have to live with it and learn from my mistake? Mark
The noise is because the track is now firmly attached to the layout with the white glue. Before the ballasting the track was just floating, except where nailed down, so there was no direct path for the vibrations caused by the train (noise). If you want to minimize the transfer of noise then you will have to use another type of glue that doesn't dry hard. The only other alternative I know of is to lay the track on something like Homasote. The Homasote will not transfer the noise as much as the chip board you are using.
Ah, the old noise trick . You do everything to make it quiet than use white glue. All your work goes down the drain. There is an out but it is not cheap. It is called Matte Medium. Works like a champ. You get it at an arts & craft store. The bottle that I have is made by Liquitex and is $5.75 for a 4 ounce bottle.
Ahhhh yes. The old noise thing. Your experience happened to me as well in my first layout. ('87 to '94) The layout I began last year, I decided to use HomaBed and short spikes that do not extend INTO the 3/4" plywood bed. The only longer spikes were used at turnouts, etc to insure alignment where I put them. I bonded ballast w/ diluted white glue/detergent and got no appreciable increased noise. HOWEVER, I have thusfar only ballasted about 20% of the track. Some of the suggestions above sound good. I would also try some of the glues that are "softer" when cured. Good luck!! -Kitbash [ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: Kitbash ]</p>
Also, if you can, you may wish to switch from cork roadbed to the newer, noise free black material (can't remember the name) that I believe is manufactured by Woodland Scenics. Cork acts like a soundboard, greatly increasing the volume of running trains.
I use a diluted Sobo white glue (a craft glue) from Solomon. It stays somewhat flexible which means it absorbs some of the sound.
Maybe you're thinking of the flexible roadbed from AMI? I've heard of it but never seen any of it. I've heard some good reports about it though. Do you think I'll have a noise problem where I've got the track running on the raised sections of the track on blue foam? I'm thinking that I'll be O.K. in those areas. I just dread a having to lift up the track o install the different roadbed. It took me quite a while to get all the bugs worked out of the track, smoothing out the corners and relieving them so the trains can run without any problems. Sometimes though the pain is better than the alternative, at least that's what my wife tells me when it's time for a flu shot! Mark.
Whatever you guys do ... Please don't make the same mistake a friend of mine did! He bought that black roadbed, which was like rubber. Sadly to mount the road bed you have to glue it to the table, and to mount track NO NOT NAIL it! It has to be glued or if you nail it your track will look like a wash board! And nothing but short loco's will run on it! A friend had bought it and made this mistake and its a terrible expense and also worthless because the glue only holds it so long and then it becomes loose over time with vibration from running trains!!! Cork is still the best even though its noisy to a point! An idea that seems like it would work with cork. Take an lay a thin flat rubber lining under the cork and mount it on that and then mount your track to the cork. This may be an idea that might help...
"He bought that black roadbed, which was like rubber." That would be the AMI roadbed, a sorta' gooey black rubber. Woodland Scenics (of course) has a new black foam roadbed that's supposed to be quite good -- Using matte medium is also good. Making a solid support (as in larger thickness of well-supported board) is the best start for any roadbed.
WHITE GLUE - hardens and becomes a sound carrier. Now this is news to me. I have read in many noted railroad mags and books that white clue cut with detergent was the best way to go. It was on Homsate board not on the pink or blue insulation board. Now the suggested Matte product from art stores I have used but I thought it harden like white clue. Does the Matte Medium dry with some stretch in the surface or is there some other kind of finish. I was getting ready to do some track using white clue now I'm on hold. [ 05 December 2001: Message edited by: Ben_Hammer ]</p>
For what it's worth, I have always used homasote. I don't notice a difference in sound level after ballasting (using white glue). Then again, I never thought about it. The disadvantage of homasote is cutting the 4x8 sheet. It's quite messy work. Last year I bought some homasote roadbed from a company called Homa-bed. It has basically the same profile as the cork commonly used. The cost, I believe, is comparable. Its advantage over cork for me is that it holds spikes better, and I handlay. Unfortunately, I recently needed more roadbed and foud that Homa-bed has been sold, the new owner is not yet ready to ship, but should be by the end of the year. I do not have the info with me, but I saw the new owners ad in a recent Model Railroader, you may want to check it out. Gary
A couple points: AMI roadbed is a hi-tech rubbery compound that is made to be laid while warm [good directions with box and on website] and without glue it will stick to most surfaces, then the track is pushed into the surface without glue or nails and it will hold the track in place. Ballast can then also be pressed into the material without glue-the key to all of this is for the material to be put down WARM. I'm afraid we model RRers are famous for NOT following directions, then wondering why things don't work as claimed by the makers. Tacky glue, available at most craft stores and Wal Mart, dries soft and flexable and might help with sound deadening of ballast- since it's thicker you water it down more than white glue so it goes further. I use AMI on my branchlines since it is not very thick. On my mainline i use 1/2" blue foam for subroadbed and 5/32" sheet cork for roadbed. The regular cork roadbed can be bought quite cheap, but making neat turnout sections is really tough. With sheet cork you can manufacture turnout sections and cut them out with sissors- anybody priced the pre-made regular cork turnout pieces? Whew! The thin sheet cork and blue foamboard hold nails well for me till i'm sure i like my trackwork and want to ballast it. Curt
Well i personally haven't used Homabed's precut stuff, i'm guessing its probably a really good way to go if you dont want to cut the Homasote yourself. But that being said, my only experience is with Homasote and i'll probably use the stuff unless i was to go with a foam subbase or not handlay any switches. I'm not sure if there's confusion, but AMI makes the "roll" of roadbed, while Woodland Scenics came out with roadbed that is cork like looking sections but made of a different material. Dont know how either work oops--------------- sorry synchropuff i essentially restated what you said [ 08 December 2001: Message edited by: tunnel88 ]</p>
