Track roadbed type and material

I used the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed, and found it easy to use with my 0-27 track, and it quieted the trains down. I glued to the top of a ping-pong table, and then used cable ties to further reduce the noise.

All the products on the market are good. I personally used Midwest cork roadbed. After my track was down but not secured I slid the half section of roadbed under the ties and secured the roadbed on the edge using atlas track nails. The other half was very easy to slide in from the other side and nail down like the first side. Not many nails are needed. Once all track has roadbed under it you can fasten the track with Gargraves 3/4” screws. That holds everything in place. This method is not the best for sound deadening. Also since it’s not glued down it is very easy to make track changes if needed. Take the screws out of the track, pull the tiny nails out of the roadbed and reuse everything.

I went with foam roadbed purchased from eBay. Several forum members have suggested it in numerous threads. Look for seller Sparks00033 on the auction site. There’s a sample piece available if you message them and ask. Excellent value and extremely easy to work with. The sound deadening quality is very noticeable too.

Thank you for your input on this. I will definitely purchase the Atlas track nails and the screws. Good idea on not gluing the bed down as I seem to be moving the track slightly to make it all fit where it should be. My tables have homasote (as a sound deadening material) on the top of them, so there really is not an issue with noise. The non-permanent aspect of installation sounds good to me! Thanks again for your ideas.   Dave A.

@Dave A posted:

My tables have homasote (as a sound deadening material) on the top of them, so there really is not an issue with noise.

I also have the homasote. A combination of that and the foam roadbed has made a drastic noise difference. I sure do wish I did something like this on my first layout which was screwed right into the plywood benchwork. I only have postwar conventional so it can get just a tad bit noisy.

I like Vinylbed (now called Flexxbed).  It comes in 3/8" and 1/4" heights and is a rubber composite material.  It has superior sound deadening to cork.

George

I got samples from Flexxbed and the eBay guy Sparks00033.  I went with the eBay guy as I felt his product equaled Flexxbed in every way IMO and came in longer strips for convenience.  Finally it was also considerably less expensive than Flexxbed.

I also looked at Woodland Scenics Track-Bed, but the eBay product again came in more convenient six foot strips instead of two foot strips.  Did I mention it's much cheaper as well?

Again, thank you all for the responses! I'll give the e-bay guy a shot and see what happens. With combining the nails and screws, no glue and putting the roadbed on hemasote, I should be all set! All of my trains are post-war Lionel and do make some noise. Now, I can't wait to get started! Thanks!!    Dave A.

Question about the eBay roadbed - can you use it without ballast ???

My previous layout had Vinylbed without ballast and I kinda like the look - I hope to do the same on this layout - roadbed / super o / 919 Lionel grass

Also this was 3/8 thick which I liked but there were times I thought it looked a heavy

Thank you

Joe S

I dont see why you couldn't. I don't have ballast at the moment and it seems perfectly fine.

As long as you like the look, why not?  This is the stuff I got from seller sparks00033.

I agree with @BillYo414 and @gunrunnerjohn that it’s fine without ballast. The edges have angled cuts so the grade looks more realistic with the ground. I still haven’t added ballast and mine is working just fine. I’ve ordered from Sparks00033 numerous times since and every time everything went smoothly.

I also have ordered from Sparks00033 and had zero issues. I'm very pleased!

Hmmm… anyone used the Sparks roadbed under FasTrack? Any noticeable noise reduction?

@GregK posted:

Hmmm… anyone used the Sparks roadbed under FasTrack? Any noticeable noise reduction?

The only way to fix fastrack noise is to switch track systems. You would need to fill the void as well as isolate the track from the table very hard to do consistently.

@GregK posted:

Hmmm… anyone used the Sparks roadbed under FasTrack? Any noticeable noise reduction?

Gotta go with Shawn here, Fastrack is just noisy, no easy way to change that.

Having trouble finding Sparks00033.  Is he still out there?  Any hints?

@ogaugenut posted:

Having trouble finding Sparks00033.  Is he still out there?  Any hints?

He's still out there.  OGR doesn't allow ebay links.  Go to ebay and search for this item#: 204203115326

@ogaugenut posted:

Having trouble finding Sparks00033.  Is he still out there?  Any hints?

I sent you an email with the link to it for the reason above

@ogaugenut posted:

Having trouble finding Sparks00033.  Is he still out there?  Any hints?

I just did an eBay search on seller Sparks00033, and he came right up.

hello GRJ and all, can you screw the track to the sparks stuff or did you go through to the plywood? Thank you

@scottyhubcaps posted:

hello GRJ and all, can you screw the track to the sparks stuff or did you go through to the plywood? Thank you

I used zip ties to secure the track down to the plywood. I have homasote on top of plywood also. I used multiple methods for sound reduction and there’s a very noticeable improvement.

thanks Rich I have heard some have used zip ties thatsanother thought

@scottyhubcaps posted:

hello GRJ and all, can you screw the track to the sparks stuff or did you go through to the plywood? Thank you

You can't screw to foam rubber roadbed.   I have 1/2" Homasote under the roadbed, the screws go into that.  That still keeps things very quiet on my main level.

ah its foam lol ok thank you

Quick update and question - I emailed the Sparks guy and he immediately got back to me and sent samples / info at no charge - the roadbed looks nice / my only question does it lay flat when installing on curved areas ??? - I do like the fact that it comes in 6' lengths

Again I'm using Super O - the outer mainlines will be 072/054 however I will be using 036 on some areas - the Vinylbed / Flexxbed I used previously had no problem bending under 036

Also on my previous layout I glued the roadbed on top of plywood and there were no problems

Thanks again

Joe S

@dorfj2 posted:

Quick update and question - I emailed the Sparks guy and he immediately got back to me and sent samples / info at no charge - the roadbed looks nice / my only question does it lay flat when installing on curved areas ??? - I do like the fact that it comes in 6' lengths

Again I'm using Super O - the outer mainlines will be 072/054 however I will be using 036 on some areas - the Vinylbed / Flexxbed I used previously had no problem bending under 036

Also on my previous layout I glued the roadbed on top of plywood and there were no problems

Thanks again

Joe S

Yes I got mine to lay flat. You’ll have to do some slices in it though.

I have a much tighter turn radius using O31 so I needed many more slices than you’ll need Joe.

I used it under O72 and larger curves, I did no slicing at all, I just slapped it down and put track on it.  Ignore the little chop on the one piece, a mistake cutting that piece to length.

I am just ordering the materials for my new ceiling 17 x 15' train room.  I am installing two tracks around the room with two sidings, the upper track is 084 and elevated 4'' above the 072 track.  All materials will be 3/4" 11ply Baltic fur plywood and after reading all the recommendation we are using the Sparks00033 road bed.  There is a new 3/8"version in grey that should do a really good job.  I just placed an order for 180' today. We will keep you posted on our efforts.  The goal is to finish the installation by Halloween.

Duncan - I recently received my order of 3/8” roadbed from Bill ( Sparks00033 ) and could not be happier - he cut the roadbed to match 3/8” Vinylbed/Flexbed - I still have a considerable amount of that unused left over from my previous layout - it’s a perfect match - I’ll post a few pics when I get home

Sparks00033 was an absolute pleasure to work with - all went well

Thx

Joe S

I'm very happy with what I got from him, and the price was way better than the two other choices I looked at.  After getting samples of all three, and seeing the huge price difference, the choice was very easy!

Also - the Sparks00033 bed comes in 4ft lengths - I think that’s a plus 👍🏼

@dorfj2 posted:

Also - the Sparks00033 bed comes in 4ft lengths - I think that’s a plus 👍🏼

Six foot lengths, at least that's what I got from him, I used around 400 feet of it.  I didn't put it in my yards, but it's everywhere else.

Hi John - I did get the 3/8" thick - not sure if there is a length difference compared to 1/4" ??? - also Bill said he's going to make the 3/8" available in a sheet - let him know what you need

I ordered 200' and he sent me more than I ordered - we did have some conversation about the 3/8" and how it compared to the unavailable Vinylbed/Flexbed and his is an exact match both in overall size and profile - can't wait to get started using this stuff

Thank You

Joe S

The 3/8" is probably a little less prototypical and a bit oversized but I like it

PS - I did just check on his Ebay store and it does look like most 1/4" roadbed in whatever scale is comes in 6' lengths - 3/8" comes in 4'

I guess it makes sense the thicker stuff would be a different length.

Just reading this and ready to order from Sparks00033, John which depth is your layou 1/4 or 3/8?

@Tarheel115 posted:

Just reading this and ready to order from Sparks00033, John which depth is your layou 1/4 or 3/8?

I used 1/4" foam, it's the same thickness as the cork I'm used to.

Thanks