and I find that works well for me. Trains make a lot of noise in
real life, so a small amount of track noise to me is appropriate.
Paul Schmidt:
Sound doesn’t scale down any more than weight
does. Ergo, the quest for quiet roadbed is quixotic.
Dissenting view:
A downhill train on continuously welded rail, or
a freight car coasting in a yard, can be
very
quiet, to the point of
being dangerous. Let’s go on.
Bob Kingsnorth, “the guy,” wrote “Quiet roadbed, better train
sounds” for “How to Build Realistic Reliable Track,” a
Model
Railroader
special issue published in June 2009. Find it at
Crandell:
Kingsnorth’s analysis settled on camper tape for road-
bed, and caulk-installed track as the overall quietest system. If
you use acrylic latex caulking sparingly to affix your tracks to the
roadbed, no matter what the latter is, you will have reasonably
quiet track. As soon as you ballast, your tracks will be more-or-
less as noisy as any other. The single greatest culprit for noisy
tracks is the hardened ballast. I have always been amazed at how
quiet the tracks are over my wooden trestles and bridges. While
my ballasted rails are noisy, when my trains pass over a bridge,
they go dead quiet.
Bruce:
Hollow plastic boxes are noisy, and deadening the
echo and rattle helps. Dampen the sound in enclosed cars
with a square of foam carpet pad bent into a U between the
sides of the car. For HO or smaller scales, use a cotton ball or
makeup sponge.
Pat Miller:
I used lauan plywood roadbed. I found it to be
extremely loud, so I’m back to cork after using the plywood in
a whole yard. A friend of mine tried camper tape but the tape
dried out after a couple years and caused track to come loose in
places. It was a disaster.
Questions, Answers & Tips - 2
Bob Kingsnorth:
“The camper tape dried out after a couple
years – disaster!” Sorry to hear it. Mine has been in place for
six years and is as good as new. I used model V610BK Gaska
Tape
. I use a layer of Alex caulk between the
camper tape and the plywood, and do not rely on the manu-
facturer’s adhesive. The Alex allows me to adjust the position
of the tape, and I use Alex to glue the cork to the camper tape.
Some adhesives could cause a deterioration of the camper tape.
My layout has seen seasonal temperature swings from 55 to 85
degrees Fahrenheit, and unknown humidity swings but I have
never experienced any negative effects. Rigid it is not. Just quiet.
The glue used for ballast and plaster hard shell scenery can
transmit noise. I used DAP 3.0 caulk to glue the flex track and
1
1. Earplugs will cut down on noise in the train
room but negate the investment in sound-equipped
locomotives.
MRH-Nov 2014
