Best way to cut the sound on the Fastrack

PR51713;

I have a way to cut Christmas Layout noise.

It works on RealTrax which is similar in noise level to Fastrack. Both have plastic roadbed and hollow rails, tho the RealTrax rail is pinched shut at the bottom.

I simply buy 1/8" Felt at a craft store to lay down. It comes in a yeard width and they cut to any length you want. Trim to fit and the scraps are usable as snowbanks. (I tuck some under the sheet once I determine where to place buildings, ect. Also, poke holes and run the wires under it.

Some planning is needed but it can be done in under a day for a small loop.

White felt becomes snow and it muffles the track reasonably well for the few weeks it is in use.

It acts both as a soft surface to place under the track removing the floor as a sounding board and as a sound absorbing area in general.

And to top it off, Snow white is appropriate as a scenery surface for the season.

Bottom Line:  Have FUN !!!

My table top is compressed cardboard with blue green indoor outdoor carpeting on it.

I run on two types of track, Fast Track and Super O. The trains that run on Fast Track

do run noisier compared to the Super O Track but the combination of the compressed cardboard and the carpeting do reduce the sounds of the trains running compared to the trains running at the train store where I purchase my trains. At the store there layout has compressed cardboard on top of plywood. They sell foam road bed and that also helps reduce the sound running on Fast Track.

Ed G.

After reading about this for 5 years on this forum, I agree. Real trains make noise on track, and FasTrak noise is about the same as other hollow rails. Let's bash the CW80 again, and any other Lionel product we can think of.

For FasTrack on hardwood floors...Get the rubber-looking shelf liner that looks like tiny pillows (it may be a RubberMaid product). Cut it in 2"x2" squares and place them where the 2 sections meet, as well as one in the middle of the track section. This will keep the track from moving, protect the floor, and keep sound to a minimum. This should be done after the track is postitioned on the floor to keep things simple (even though some of you HATE to keep things simple).

I said earlier in this thread that atlas is so much quieter than Fastrak.  I often turn my loco sound systems down with the atlas track system. The white noise from Fastrak at speed is bothersome to many.  Having said this I still use Fastrak for my Standard gauge Christmas Tree setup, it is perfect for that, set up on the carpet. As many have said this noise is subjective and I agree. I have hearing loss after forty years in the trades so the "silence of the rails "is very important to me as what I want to hear is not white noise, but the sound systems and the clickety clack of the wheels. You can put any type of foam, felt, cork, or whatever under Fastrak, but the hollow rails will still drown out the sounds of the trains many want to hear. Fred

Absolutely - all that cuts down on the amount of unwanted sound, of a type not produced at all by Atlas, Gargraves, etc. Still, I use Fastrack around the Christmas tree, too. Somehow, with my grandkids squealing and arguing over Thomas's remote, any track sounds get drown out!

A little foam goes a long way. I don't run my trains at postwar warp speeds but this same consist without the foam would have sounded like a bunch of marbles rolling on a tabletop, I know because I ran trains before I added the foam. The noise was so bad I almost considered not even building a layout.

The loco enters the tunnel and heads for the opposite side of the layout, all the while its engine sounds can be heard and only the faint "clikety clak" of the rail joint directly in front of the camera is heard.