Floor Underlayment

@TrainHead posted:

Has anyone used floor sound deadening material on their layout such as Floor Muffler? Do think this a good option to help with sound? Thanks.

Just my opinion but, I researched and found the absolute best material for 3-rail track roadbed, was/is, Vinyl road bed from Hobby Innovations (previously named 'Vinylbed').

I got samples of FlexxBed (what Hobby Innovations) calls their roadbed, Woodland Scenics Roadbed/Track-Bed, and Bill Marks Trains foam roadbed.  There is very little difference in these, and I rate the Bill Marks and FlexxBed to be virtually identical, and my least favorite was the Woodland Scenics product.  All of them will do the job just fine, and the Bill Marks roadbed is considerably cheaper, probably because he's less well known.

Just my opinion, of course.

I heard a recommendation from the San Diego O Gauge Museum guys many years ago on floor underlayment stuff.  They glued it to the bottom of the layout surface before screwing the ply to the frames.  I tried it on some modules and they are a little quieter than modules without the underlayment.  I recently used it as one of the materials to quiet a cargo van.  It provides a bit of noise reduction - every bit of noise reducing material on a resonating surface (wood or metal)  helps, but don't expect miracles.  Installation of sound deadening material on both sides of the layout surface is a good approach.

I guess I should have been clearer. I want to take the Floor Muffler glue it down onto plywood and use cork roadbed under the track. I was originally thinking of using sound deadening board glued to the plywood but thought this underlayment would be just as good and cheaper.

My temporary layout is on two pieces of 4' x 4' plywood over a folding table with 24" x 24" interlocking foam floor tiles.  It is really quiet so I will probably use it when I make a permanent setup.

John