foam board or cork/vinyl roadbed

I have just put down a bunch of cork roadbed over plywood.  I have some foam roadbed as well (from woodland scenics) that I plan to put in as well and see what the difference in sound would be.  I am using tubular gargraves and ross switches.  Will try to come back in a month or so once trains are running to tell you if there is a noticeable difference.

I'm partial to cork roadbed because I like the look of it.

I'm not interested in reducing the sounds. For me, the louder the trains are in my basement, the better, though I can appreciate the need for those in apartments or who have less privacy, to deaden the sounds their trains make.

Aren't real trains very loud?

I find it thrilling to hear the thundering roar of real trains approaching. Arnold

3/8” fanfold polystyrene under Gargraves. Plus a sharp utility knife for lots of trimming curves and straight track sections.

Cork roadbed and scale rails is not too loud to me. One can hear the cars or loco on the track well enough.

I've used cork and foam, my current layout uses 1/4" foam roadbed on a platform with 1/2" Baltic Birch and 1/2" Homasote.  If noise is  concern, I strongly recommend the Homasote layer, it really cuts down the noise.

@pphegena posted:

Hi everyone

I am looking for Opinions on the best material to user over plywood train table to reduce sound

cork road bed on top of plywood

vinyl road bed on top of plywood

1 inch foam board on top of plywood

i am using mostly solid rail atlas track

what works best

Regards

Prentice

You are already doing the best thing for noise reduction.  You aren't using Fastrack.

John

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I'm partial to cork roadbed because I like the look of it.

I'm not interested in reducing the sounds. For me, the louder the trains are in my basement, the better, though I can appreciate the need for those in apartments or who have less privacy, to deaden the sounds their trains make.

Aren't real trains very loud?

I find it thrilling to hear the thundering roar of real trains approaching. Arnold

Armold

I think a lot of people's concern is that some of the track noise often drowns out the onboard sounds especially when running more than one train at a time.  Of course it is often speed dependent as well.

John

@Craftech posted:

You are already doing the best thing for noise reduction.  You aren't using Fastrack.

An excellent point!   That's the reason I ditched Fastrack!

If you are serious about noise reduction, use cork roadbed.  Then, and most importantly, scenic your layout.  The combination of foam, plaster, spackle and whatever else you use will be dramatic.  

I use polymeric sand for ballast which REAlLY deadens unnecessary, distracting noise.  It's the product used by landscape contractors in block paver patios.  Hardware and big box stores carry it, at costs of about $25 +/- in 40-60lb bags.   I use it to eliminate "straight lines" in scenery seams as well, which further dampens sound.  

This product sets up quickly with no mess.  Spread it, countour it, then wet it and you're done.  Great stuff.   And no, I don't work for any of the manufacturers or distributors...

If you can find O Gauge cork roadbed it would be my first choice. Easy to install and looks great whether you choose to ballast or not. I secured mine with small brads which anchored it into the underlying 1/2 inch plywood. No glue! Easy to take up and re-position if needed. Looks great with Gargraves track and Ross switches. The noise from the cork roadbed is very acceptable unlike the plastic roadbed tracks. The track is attached to the cork and plywood with #4 3/4 inch wood screws. Pre-drill the ties first with a hand drill.

I put 1" foam on top of plywood.  Then I have used both foam track bed and cork track bed.  IMHO the cork, looks, installs and performs better than the foam.

Inside track foam, outside track cork.

I loved the old Vinylbed recipe. They reformulated it and call it "flexxbed" now but I don't like it because it is too squishy (like foam).

I’ve always used cork over plywood. But my old train room had a seven foot plaster ceiling and linoleum covering a concrete floor. All of this really magnifies the noise. My new train room has an 8 foot ceiling with tile carpeting on the floor. So I should be starting out ahead of the game (I hope). I was going to use one inch foam over the wooden L girder attached revisers and then use cork, as I always have. But as I think about it, the foam is a lot of extra work, so I may try to to do without it.
Good luck.

I conducted a number of tests for sound when I did my layout using all Atlas track.  I tested cork, foam, sill gasket (foam), and nothing.  I used nothing in my yards as sound wasn't an issue there and I wanted to have a lower profile than the mainline.  I have always loved using cork, but foam did a much better job of muting the noise.  And it still has the profile that I wanted for the ballast layer that went over it.  I also sprayed all the sides of the rails with Rustoleum Camo Brown before installing on the layout.

Art

I’m just getting started on my new layout, which has both 2-rail and three rail track. I’m hand laying some of the track, so I will probably use thin foamboard over plywood. The foamboard glues to the plywood well and the pc board and wooden ties bond well to the foamboard.

Jeff C

My layout on Mianne benchwork with Atlas track and switches:

Plywood 3/4" as base, then + rolled cork 1/4" then + ceiling tile over cork, then + Woodland Scenics roadbed under the track.

It's pretty quiet. 

I have noticed that every one  still uses a flat  plywood table  as a base .  why?

Where do you buy your rolled cork and what is the cost of the rolled cork ?

@Dave Koehler posted:

I have noticed that every one  still uses a flat  plywood table  as a base .  why?

Are you advocating for cookie cutter style or something different?

Brendan

@pphegena posted:

Where do you buy your rolled cork and what is the cost of the rolled cork ?

Here's one source:

     Widgetco | 6mm Cork Underlayment

Mike

Dave, I do not use a flat board. I mostly use boards cut to match the track direction and then mount the boards on riser attached to joists mounted on L girders, a la Lynn Wescott. I do use 3/4 inch plywood cutouts for yards or large glad industrial area and the. Cookie cutter can save lumber waste as well.
Hope this helps,

Rubin

Look up Manton Cork in New York State. Various thickness’ and widths. I have been a customer, and they were easy to deal with.

I tried L girder benchwork with risers and plywood and homasote subroadbed once. It worked ok but it was extremely fussy and time consuming to build (of course it should be factored in that I was new to it). Now I use 1x2 frames (on 12” centers) and 1/4” floor underlayment plywood for a track base.

I’m used to building it and with the plywood supported on 12” centers it’s never warped or sagged. If I cut out an area for a pond or some other depression it’s an easy job to brace the area around the cut out with some spare 1 x 2 lumber.

This system has worked well for several previous layouts and I find it easy and pretty inexpensive to cobble some benchwork together.

One thing I do that really makes a difference for my piece of mind is that I’ve pretty much given up using power tools for building benchwork, other than my trusty cordless drill. I used to cut the 1x2 lumber with a power mitre saw, and I would use a saber saw for the plywood.

Now I’ve purchased several of those Japanese saws and I do everything with those. The good ones cut through both the 1x2 and the plywood with very little fuss and muss, and it’s a much quieter building experience—and I think it’s safer, as I play piano for a living.

I can’t believe how easy it is to cut thin plywood with one of those saws, and it’s much better for my piece of mind and overall sanity, when compared to the chattering racket of cutting plywood with a saber saw, even if it’s a little slower.

Jeff C

Rubin, I was just curious . I remember when Lynn and those that followed brought the hobby out of the dark ages of the flat plywood table top built on a 2x4 frames,  ( The  Snare drum effect )   With the L-Girder or open grid table top , you have a light weight, strong layout that doesn't transfer sound.  with the addition of the with the addition of cork, robber,  Vinal or what ever you use to go over the sub road bed use ah adhesive to hold it in place, same with the track, nails screws all transfer sound. hollow track transfers sound.  If you have done it right With the sound off , you shouldn't hear, much more than the clickity clack of the wheels on the rails, same with scenery, plaster transfers sound, using  pink or blue high density foam deadens sound.