Can this significantly lower Fastrack's noise level?

Try it and let us know.

ogaugeguy posted:

Anyone use Performix Plasti-Dip to deaden Fastrack? It's a multi-purpose rubber coating that's sprayed on like spray paint, stays flexible, and can be easily removed at any time. Some of the manufacturer's suggested uses for it are "insulates and deadens sound and vibration". A $5.58 can in gunmetal gray is said to cover 5-10 square feet  with a suggested 3-4 coats. Seems like a simple solution if it works. Simply spray the underside of Fastrack with it. Has anyone used it on their Fastrack and can vouch for the manufacturer's claims?

I use indoor/outdoor carpet. Works good. But I LIKE your idea. Maybe you can test it on three or four sections of track in a loop and gives us a report?

You might want to tape off some of the metal connectors in case you want to connect track jumpers to in the future etc... You could leave the tape on till you needed to access these so that it would not reduce the noise dampening properties of the complete layer you apply.

I saw another post where someone filled the track with spray construction foam which also seemed to work (they overfilled then cut away the excess to make the bottom flat with the track edges).

I would test this against simply putting some acoustic material in the track (e.g., cork, carpet underlayment, etc...). If the spray-on stuff does not make a big difference over filling the space with something easier and less messy then you may prefer the simpler options.

Has anyone done this and then realized the material was conductive?

I have been thinking of doing this with blobs of RTV, AKA silicone seal. That should add enough mass to either keep the roadbed from vibrating, or at least lower its frequency significantly.

How about a self-adhesive foam weatherstrip material on the underside of the track? I'd like to hear of a definitive fix for this, although I've never personally used FasTrack.

okay

who is a sound engineer

is the amplified noise primarily being caused by the track vibrations

The hollow base seems to be the reason Fastrack is so loud, apparently the plastic base vibrates and acts as a megaphone.  Lee Willis posted a fairly extensive set of experiments he did at one point trying to quiet Fastrack, you might try a forum Search.  Here it is...

https://ogrforum.com/t...381#5934960441159381

Ace posted:

How about a self-adhesive foam weatherstrip material on the underside of the track? I'd like to hear of a definitive fix for this, although I've never personally used FasTrack.

Too bad they still don't make that felt weatherstrip which resembled carpet padding. Would be easier to apply than cutting to shape and gluing regular carpet padding to the bottom of fastrack sections.

I reduced the noise significantly with carpet padding. I didn't cut and fit it under each section though. My train table is wood frame with a 1" extruded styrofoam top. Running a single short train on it was deafening. I bought a small piece of carpet padding to experiment as seen in this picture.

When the train was completely on the section with carpet padding under it the noise was reduced dramatically. I then covered the whole benchwork with carpet padding secured with double sided carpet tape and cover that with Woodland Scenics Ready Grass also secured with carpet tape. The layers can be seen in this picture.

I didn't fill the hollow roadbed of the FasTrack, just used the layers shown. I can run two trains and carry on a conversation with visitors at a normal speaking volume. I am pleased with this method and will use it on my next (bigger) layout after we move this fall.

One note, I tend to run my trains slow since I have a small layout. The faster the trains run the greater the noise generated. I run my passenger train between 30 and 40 smph and the freight between 15 and 25 smph. These are the speeds indicated on my DCS remote. When I run my LC+ locomotives they are the same approximate speeds.

Just another idea if you decide to use the carpet padding or what have you first. if your screws are going to be long enough to reach the board I did this with Gargraves I had carpet down but I bought what is known as liquid electrical tape it comes in a bottle with a brush attached to the lid. I did all my screws and it helped a lot in the noise factor. the vibration from the track was softened by the rubber on the screws. I also pre-drilled holes just slightly smaller than the screws so it didn't tear the rubber off as I screwed them in. 

I have used Country Joe's approach with carpet padding with two variations. 

I used cable ties to secure the track to the table top which seemed to eliminate sound transmission. 

You can also make the carpet padding any color you like with enough coats of latex paint, however the padding will tend to shrink as the paint dries.  This also leaves an interesting surface which can be landscaped to your favorite techniques.

The total sound reduction was dramatic.  Conversations with trains running were very easy.

A lot of the above...et alia...suggestions re FasTrack noise seem to be expensive, complicated, not so conducive to scenery/groundcover, etc., etc.

There's always this 'solution'....

I mean, talk about relatively inexpensive (a.k.a., cheap)!!  AND it's a transportable sound deadener....useful for other situations.....lawn mowing, blathering relatives at family reunions, fighting/arguing kids, dogs who ride in the car with you and bark incessantly at orange barrels, squirrels and rabbits, weird people, and, of course, other dogs, etc., etc., blah, blah.

After all, to a certain degree, we've all bought into a hobby part of which is the noise 'shtick'....the cacophony of sounds...steel wheels on steel rails confined to a room, solenoids/magnets being buzzed with AC voltage, eleventy-seven different engine sounds with the push of a button on your hand-held pacifier, plastic coal dumped all over the place, logs rattling down a chute dropping into a car, milk cans being ratcheted out of a car at mach 2.5, bridge motors grinding away as the span slowly ascends/descends, stations announcing arrivals/departures,...........and much, much more.  All observed by barking dogs, squealing/laughing kids, jibber-jabbering neighbors/relatives trying themselves to be heard above all of the layout sounds! 

Why, it's enough to drive Mr. Flibberty-jib crazy!! (And, if you never read Little Golden Books as a kid, you have no idea who that poor soul was and what noises did to his mental stability!   Besides that, you were deprived of a wonderful bit of childhood!)

So, you want quiet model railroading?  

right.

'As for me and my trains, serve up the noise!'

KD

Can you use wooden screws or wooden dowels as a fastening process

I imagine that any solid fastener would transmit the noise.  I also don't see many wooden screws for sale, any wooden screw small enough to fasten track down would be mighty fragile.

My advice would be to use construction adhesive to stick the track to the rubber base and not try to screw it to the wooden table.