Fastrak is loud

My Legacy Santa Fe Northern with fat boy speakers, engine sounds, whistle and bell is loud.  Can't hear my track though.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

It's FasTrack, and yes, it's loud.  Just don't put it on a tile floor!  I made that mistake for Christmas.  Even at a crawl my locomotive and 2 passenger cars was too loud to hear the locomotive sounds.  But I still like FasTrack for carpet layouts.  Great stuff.  It holds together well and can take the abuse of staying on the floor as many kids play on top of it.

RK,
   FasTrack is fantastic track, there are many ways to deaden the sound, I recommend old block sound obsobing ceiling tile, with indoor/outdoor carpet over it, for Christmas layouts, especially if you have the layout in the formal living room.  I have both FasTrack & RealTrax ovals under the Christmas tree and run the trains as we entertain guests, even with multi Tin Plate Trains running, we sit and converse without any trouble.  When set up properly the sound is not really all that much of a problem.
On the office and game room layout we wanted the noise so we knew when the kids were using the train layout, the FasTrack was put right on the 3/4 ply, with multi levels.
PCRR/Dave

FasTrack & RealTrax Christmas layout


Some of the old office/gameroom FasTrack layout.

Just say "no" to FasTrack.  A noisy overpriced abomination.  It's even useless as a boat anchor.  Ugh.

 

Pete

However, the Lionel CW-80transformer makes a fantastic boat anchor!

Yes, it is loud.  But I disagree with Texas Pete - it's good track for certain purposes.  It has its roadbed installed and is robust and easy to put together and take apart.  And the switches - particularly the remote control ones - are simply the most robust, dependable, bulletproof ones made.

 

But back to the loud: everything you can do - and believe me I researched and did it all - will only mitigate the noise.  It will always be a bit nosier than any other track, no matter how hard you try, and it very well may be nosier than you can tolerate in spite of how hard you try to reduce/absorb/divert the noise.  I converted a while back to Atlas track: the solid rails conduct power better and are much much quieter.  Not as easy to set up, and you have to ballast the roadbed yourself (a pain, actually) but much better track, in many senses.  

The CW-80 is an excellent toy train transformer when used as intended.

 

I run conventional, have three of them, they all work just fine and have been doing so for several years.  They'll even run my WBB dual motor EP-5 heading a string of lighted passenger cars without breaking a sweat.  I'm particularly fond of the programmable accessory voltage, which is extremely useful.

 

Chacun a son gout, eh, mon ami.

 

Pierre

....and I use fastrack with pink foam underneath and find the noise level perfectly acceptable. Fastrack is excellent track as long as your put something between it and bare plywood.

 

"Chacun a son gout, eh, mon ami." .... right back at ya, whatever that means.

 

The CW-80 is a good unit. Affordable power which can serve poer requirements beyond running engines; i.e. lighting structures, etc,

 

Has anyone attached sections of cork roadbed to the bottomside of Fastrak with silicon cement? Silicon will not serve as a hard noise medium and cork roadbed has sound deadening qualities.

 

Chacun a son gout, eh, mon ami.

 

 

Each has its gout, eh, my friend

With my NEW Fastrack layout I have the following

1.  Portable 30" X 8 ft table on a carpeted floor

2.  1/2" plywood on a 1 X 4 frame sitting loose on the table

3.  2" of Blue Styrofoam

4   Topped off with Indoor outdoor carpet glues to the Styrofoam.

Will I have a fairly quiet train table?

Pete,

     Other than the noise, please tell us why you have a problem with FasTrack, I can definitely tell you why the CW-80 is an entry level transformer with lots of historical problems.

Your engineering opinion on FasTrack would be interesting to hear.

Now IMO with the new Command Control low voltage switches FasTrack is very hard to beat.  My Wye CC FasTrack Switch came today from Charlie N, plan on testing it with our Tin Plate trains this next coming week.

PCRR/Dave

Hi Pete,

 

Well you know me and my Texas layout by now.  Yes I have FasTrack, but it is handy when the trains approach my "Alamo" and the noise scares Santa Ana's troops into a complete retreat.  We need all the help we can get.  We are still fighting.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Larry3rail,

   Depending on the carpet you picked you should be in good shape, with your sound supression.  Screw your FasTrack down every other track at each end, long track sections add one screw in the middle.  The Blue Styrofoam does not work quite as well as the sound suppressing block tyle, however it should make for a decent muffled sounding layout.

Good luck with your layout.

PCRR/Dave

 

PCRR/Dave     Dave to start with my 2 oval layout, I'm not going to screw the track down. I have talked to other people with this carpet and they say there is no need to secure the track.  If I have to, I plan on a little hot glue where needed.

Thanks for your info though. I WILL keep it in mind.

Larry in Calgary

Larry,

   The hot glue is the other way to go, just do not get carried away with it!

Keep an eye on your track join area if you do not screw the track down, especially if you run big engines or Tin Plate.  If you add switches hot glue about 3 different small spots per switch.  Have fun with your building process!

PCRR/Dave

Fastrack is GREAT!

Noise is subjective.

 

I have no "engineering" opinion.  I am but a "slob" modeler, but I am an electrified musician, and as such can testify that FasTrack is loud as all get out.  It also doesn't stay as stuck together as has been alleged.  And apparently, according to another thread, it can "buzz" due to electrical connectivity problems (which could easily be solved by judicious application of Caig DeoxIT D-5.)

 

You said it yourself, CW-80 problems are "historical."  When used as intended the revised versions are peachy keen.  Have three of 'em working perfectly with "conventional" trains for several years.

 

I hope you won't mind if The Lord is with me, I am strong, and I don't worry about what you think.

 

Pete

My layout is Fastrack on homosote.  It works great and is not loud which is relative to what you are used to.  It is not quieter than Atlas, or Gargraves, but it is not annoying.

I too use FasTrack and don't find it 'loud' at all. As has been mentioned before, it all depends upon the surface that you lay it. If you screw it directly to a large 'hard' surface (Plywood or similar.), and this surface can act as a resonator, then the sound will be amplified. But if you mount it to a 'soft' material (Homosote, fibreboard etc.), and your screws do not go through to the 'hard' resonating surface beneath, then it can be very quiet. 

Pete,

   Not to worry sir I am very glad you never worry about what others believe and are strong and walk in the way of the Lord.  My respects sir, I doubt seriously you are a slob of any kind.  If I still had a CW-80 transformer I would send it to ya.  However I will definitely keep all my FasTrack, correctly engineered for all my O guage trains.

PCRR/Dave

 

 

  

 

Swafford,

   Not a bad idea but way to much work for as much track as I used for my Gameroom/Office layout.  However for a smaller layout it would be quite feasible.

PCRR/Dave

We good, bro.  Each and every one of us is blessed to be able to choose whatever track and power system we prefer and to absolutely have fun no matter what it takes.

 

Pete

Well, over the years I have tried 4 kinds of track, 4 surfaces and none of them have been TOO noisy, to me. Buy I am in an apartment (Wood Const)  and I don't want to annoy any of the other people.

I have committed to Fastrack from Nassau Hobby and hope to stick with it.  I will be running no more than 2 smaller engines on 2 loops on a 4 x 8 table.

Someone a few weeks ago talked about FasTrack and his method of laying it down for sound deadening. That's the way I am building my layout.

He used 1/2 plywood base, 1/2 homosote glued to the plywood and then laid out 2 inch black self stick rubber Hi-Vac seal tape under the tracks. I purchased the tape at Lowes in the AC department for $6.00 per bag of 50 feet. I purchased 11 bags and that should do it for me. I will keep you all posted with my results. I am building a Lazy L layout 5 wide by 9 long and then 11 long and 4 wide connected to the side piece. I am then adding a 3 foot angle to connect both sections. I am also putting the whole layout on wheels so I can get in the back if I need to service anything and still keep it tight in the corner. I also painted the homosote a flat tan before I started laying tracks to get our final design. NOT done yet.

 

I use Fastrack, and unless you are running engines with the sound turned off, I hear no issues worth worrying about.

 

I have plywood covered with felt (green or white) and Fastrack, mostly not attached at all (except for my modular layout - that would get tricky!)

 

Not one visitor to my layout or any of our guests at Christmas parties have ever commented on the noise level of the layout.  They usually DO comment about the engine sounds and sound effects of the MTH engines that are running, so I guess they hear them.

 

Ed

Translation

 

Jerry

Last year our christmas carpet central was just that, on carpet and it was LOUD. The layout was a simple reversing bone with one loop under the tree, the other end going into a "mountain village" under the TV table.

This year I set up the same layout, on HARDWOOD (hand scraped wide plank 3/4in) with the following between the fastrack and the floor:

1) Cotton batting from Michael's/Jo Anne's

2) white hardwood underlayment foam.

You can see/hear the layout on the Polar Express highball post.

Significantly quieter this year due to the batting (on hardwood) than it was last year on carpet. It was so much quieter, that I'm considering doing a permanent winter layout.

I think something that is not often discussed is room geometry. Last year our family room had a vaulted ceiling, so we got the noise from two directions (via reflection from the ceiling) whereas in our new house, the family room was a conventional box shape, we only heard the noise from one direction (direct source). In both cases I'm negating the reflection off the walls.

All this talk about Fastrack has me interested, but can I run my 700e Hudson on it 

when I get it up and running??

 

Tin 

Honestly all the "it's not that loud" or "it's too loud" opinions are pretty useless since "loud" to one person might quiet to another. It also depends on the table you have your layout mounted to, the amount of track, how fast you're running your trains, how many cars you have, etc., etc., etc. Unless you start accounting for all the variables it's pretty useless info. 

 

I decided to do some testing this weekend. I used the same loop of track, ran the same cars, and set the throttle to the same position (and I set so the trains were running at speeds faster than I'd normally run them to amplify any sound differences). Basically the only variable is the track itself. Laid on a 5'x10' plywood top table it generated ~95dB which was loud enough to start drowning out the sound effects of the engine. To put this into some context a kitchen blender also averages ~95dB. If you don't think a blender is loud you probably need hearing aids.

 

When I put my oval down on a carpeted concrete floor it averaged 80dB. Not exactly quiet but also pretty acceptable. Keep in mind this is likely your best case scenario since you have an irregular surface that absorbs rather than reflects sound and a solid surface that won't resonate and magnify any noise. 

 

Laying the track down on a 2" layer of pink foam on reduced the noise to ~90dB, a pretty small improvement. Pink foam isn't the cure people make it out to be. Hardly a surprise since it's smooth (reflects sound) and fairly rigid (amplifies). Adding 1/4" cork between the track and pinkfoam only gained another 2-5 dB. 

 

Filling the cavities under the track is also a good course of action since the hollow underside is basically like a guitar body. Problem here is it's either very time consuming or messy. I have some FusionFiber (a cellulose landscaping product) left over from my layout so I've decided to fill the cavities on my test loop and see how well that works. The FusionFiber is still drying (takes 2 days) but hoping to give it a test run tomorrow. Nice thing about this material is that unlike the spray foam used by others it's not permanent and also not as messy. We'll see if this does anything. 

 

If noise really is a factor I'd consider Atlas, Ross, Gargraves or Scaletrax. All of them will be considerably quieter. I'm probably going to ditch my FasTrack and switch to Atlas with the exception of my FasTrack switches. The FasTrack switches are very reliable and replacing 6 switches would cost ~$500. Challenge now is figuring the easiest/cheapest way to connect FasTrack to Atlas. 

 

Honestly my carpets are pretty thick, and even the older Pullmor engines don't make much noise racing over these tracks...

I fill the cavity under fastrack with a layer of the sticky sided foam tape they sell at home depot for sealing camper shells on to pickups.  Then I cover this up with a few layers of cheap duct tape to keep it all in place.  I find this is relatively cheap and fast to do.  It also will not be messy if kids play with the track and It does make the track quieter.  I also run each of the 4 lines on my permanent layout and several lights/accessories with a team of 4 CW80s.  One will even run 2 dual motored WBB locos at the same time if you wish. 

I have had a FasTrack layout for years and the track has NEVER EVER came apart unless I took it apart and it has NEVER EVER moved and the track is NOT secured to the layout with screws, hot glue, or anything else.

 

Earl

Earl,

   In most cases you are absolutley correct, FasTrack stays together pretty darn well.

However with a multi level layout I do advise some stabilization of the FasTrack, especially when running larger engines and Tin Plate. No use in tempting fate.

PCRR/Dave

 

It's called FasTrack not QuieTrack. For the money it's probably the most versatile track there is but IMO Lionel never designed it to be quiet. It's durable, easy to put together and looks great for tubular track. But it is louder than solid rail on cork whether you measure it in opinion or dBs. If it weren't we wouldn't have all these great ideas on how to tone it down.

That's what this forum is about, right?

 

Well, I'm looking forward to my track arriving tomorrow friom Charlie Nassau.  I'm sure I wont keep the neighbors up at night.

If you run the Lionel Chief trains with sounds on the Fastrak at a bit of speed hard to hear the sounds over the roar of the track.

 

I wish that there would be enough people that would let Lionel know that they do not like the noise and Lionel change the production process with a few small changes that would reduce the overall noise of the track and make it acceptable.

 

If they were to fill the rails before they are attached to the plastic base then there would be less noise. ?? Fill with a foam, plastic, any filler or something like a cloth or anything this would cut the noise.

There is some noise reduction that comes from filling under the plastic road bed but most of the noise comes from having a hollow space between the rail and plastic roadbed that it sits on, There are little tabs that stick up to hold the rail in place so you cannot just pump in some filler.

You have to bend the tabs down to remove the rail it really does not work well to try to fill the hollow space.

it is like a speaker encloser that amplifies the sound.

 

There are a lot of other track systems on the market for a lot less money and work better over all.

My fastrak is used only for yards or stays in the set boxes never opened.

 

 

Have tried used Fastrak over time; it is too loud even on carpet and some tabs have come loose or broken so they do not hold the track tight together.

 

Gargraves and the old k-Line now RMT supersnap track works great

I use the Super snap track for several public displays I set up each year it gets used a lot set up and taken down lots and is very reliable stays tight together no problems with this and even with big long fast trains works great not a lot of noise.

 

I recall visiting some train shows where people had Fastrak layouts direct to Plywood the sound could be heard all over the hall and you could not hear the train sounds from the trains running on them.