Is Atlas-O the "quietest" 3-rail track?

Atlas, Ross and Gargraves are quieter then Fastrack, but no track system is quiet.  You need to mount the track on some type of sound dreading material for the best result. 

Use Homasote or isolating foam, glue this material to your table top and glue the track on top said material for the best sound suppression.

I will use green indoor/outdoor carpet on the platform top, to help with sound deadening, but no roadbed.  I know not to secure the track too tightly (whether using nails or screws), but just lightly snug, so there is minimal sound vibration transmission from the track to the table.  I will most likely buy Atlas-O track.    

I use Fastrack on a base of 1/2" foam over 1/2" plywood. I fasten the track with plastic zip-ties instead of screws for acoustic isolation. It' quiet,even with a dozen trains running. I've used tubular,gargraves,Realtrax and Atlas O in the past and the Fastrack only slightly 2-3 db noisier than Atlas O using this method.  To my ears, It's the d$#* sound systems that are annoying! 

I used Atlas back in the 90's.It is a nice looking and well engineered track system but has it's drawbacks,the switches are the main weakness -half of my locos had derailing issues and it look a lot of work and modification to get them useable.

The absolute best track system IMHO for realism,variety,robustness,reliability AND quietness would be to go all Ross FYI. 

I set this up for my visiting 9-year old youngsters. It was so loud they would not stay in the room and play with it.

I went to the train shop and bought the same package in O gauge tubular track and they played with it the rest of their visit. FasTrack is extremely loud. I like it, but it is loud.

@Drummer3 posted:

Am looking to replace my fastrack with the quietest I can find.  Cost is not an issue.  Any advice?

Yes. Don't tell the seller that cost is not an issue.

Id look close at the tracks, turnouts/motors and availability of all before committing. It's more than just a name, type and expectations have bearing too. (flange compatibilities for instance)

@Drummer3 posted:

I will use green indoor/outdoor carpet on the platform top, to help with sound deadening, but no roadbed.  I know not to secure the track too tightly (whether using nails or screws), but just lightly snug, so there is minimal sound vibration transmission from the track to the table.  I will most likely buy Atlas-O track.    

Well, in my opinion, and experience, the "quietest" track system you will find is indeed Atlas solid nickel silver track, mounted on vinyl road-bed (by Hobby Innovations). Our whole layout was done that way, i.e. glued the vinyl road-bed down on the bare plywood, and then glued the Atlas track down on the vinyl road-bed (3/8" thick).

@NYC 428 posted:

Atlas, Ross and Gargraves are quieter then Fastrack, but no track system is quiet.  You need to mount the track on some type of sound dreading material for the best result. 

Use Homasote or isolating foam, glue this material to your table top and glue the track on top said material for the best sound suppression.

This is the correct answer, IMO.  It's not really the track system that makes noise.  It's the vibration of the track against the bench work.  That's why insulating the track from the bench work is important.

From all I've read, Homasote is hard to find and even more difficult to work with.  It is heavy.  Cutting it creates dust that is dangerously unhealthy.

A friend of mine has used 1/4" cork as roadbed.  I don't think cork does all that good of a job.  I use 3/8" Vinylbed (now called Flexxbed) like it very much.

Gluing an insulating material to the bench work is preferable to nailing or screwing it down, just as NYC_428 said.

George

Answer to your title question.......yes.... 2nd place might be mth scale track....I have no experience with it....

Haven't used Atlas but my MTH Scaletrax is very quiet.  Another noise culprit though is the center rollers.  2 Rail layouts with scale wheels and no center rollers are so much quieter.  I use Woodland's Scenic foam roadbed, but the stuff Hot Water suggested is nice too.  I don't think cork is good at noise abatement at all.

YES!  

Don

Don is correct.  When I finally concluded my Fastrak would be too noisy no matter how hard I worked at reducing its noise, I tested everything.  Any solid rail track was pretty quiet, (and much quieter than Fastrak and any of the other track I tested), but Atlas was quietest: however the difference (I was using a handheld dB meter to measure noise level) was tiny, hardely anything  between Atlas, Ross and Gargraves,  perhaps within the range of measurement error for my experiments (how I held the dB meter, if I had it exactly the same distance from the track, etc.  Still, I settled on it as the "quietest" and I have been very happy with it.

But strictly speaking it is probably more accurate to say "No O-Gauge track is quieter than Atlas." 

I put it down with a 1/8 inch layer of sheet rubber under it . . . and screwed it down thru the rubber into the benchwork below with the Atlas screws, in every tie where there was a hole in the ties for that.

ScaleTrax is the quietest due to less material, but is the hardest to find. Atlas it second due to solid rail. FasTrack and MTH RealTrax are about the noisiest.

Atlas on Homasote is very quiet....I can attest to that from real world testing....my layout is being built as we speak, and just did the first test runs, ....darn near silent....very happy with the results.....

Pat

If you do a search you will literally find hundreds of posts on the subject of sound and fastrack. Lee Willis did an exhaustive study using decibel meters and multiple types of track applications.  He also noted that placing sound absorbing material inside the boxcars lowered overall decibel levels.  As a 40 year cabinet maker and layout builder I can tell you there is nothing better than homasote for sound reduction. Menards carries it as do most real lumber yards. Price varies but is usually around 30 dollars. It is lightweight and cuts very easily with a utility knife using a high quality blade and changing the blade after every cut. A proper straight edge to use as a knife guide will also help. Glue the homasote to the plywood and glue your indoor outdoor carpet to the homasote. Make sure that your track screws do not penetrate the homasote as this will transfer sound to the plywood and defeat the purpose of the homasote.   I think you will be very pleased with the outcome.

Getting away from the original question.  But one bad thing about Homasote is that it absorbs moisture.  Ours had a "belly" in it even when we first put it down.  The only way to level it, was to screw it to the plywood.  We tried putting heavy books on it, etc., no dice.  Fast forward a few years, we had water in the basement and it swelled again.

If you can keep the room bone dry it might be ok but I think my next layout will use foam.  Agree that Atlas track is very quiet and I would personally NEVER build a permanent layout from Fasttrack or RealTrax.

@Ted S posted:

Getting away from the original question.  But one bad thing about Homasote is that it absorbs moisture.  Ours had a "belly" in it even when we first put it down.  The only way to level it, was to screw it to the plywood.  We tried putting heavy books on it, etc., no dice.  Fast forward a few years, we had water in the basement and it swelled again.

If you can keep the room bone dry it might be ok but I think my next layout will use foam.  Agree that Atlas track is very quiet and I would personally NEVER build a permanent layout from Fasttrack or RealTrax.

My layout Ted, is on a plywood framed base, the homasote is indeed screwed down to the plywood, and the room never gets above 45% relative humidity, so no worries unless the Pasquatank River comes up to get me, but I’d imagine I’d have more problems than swollen homasote if that happened....☺️

Pat

Many swear by Gargraves. The thick ties do absorb sound.  However, I swear by Atlas.  If you mount it correctly with foam then cork. You'll find it very quiet. I have Atlas O on my outer line. I have fast track mounted without foam, only cork.  The noise is terrific.  On the outer line with sounds off.  It is whisper quiet'...

I have Gargraves in my yards.  Not as quiet as the Atlas'........

If I ever build another layout I would continue to use gargraves on a suitable base.  Some time ago on this forum someone used 12 inch by 12 inch ceiling tiles cut to size as a base, then added roadbed.  For ease of handling I plan on giving that a try.  A portion of my layout is GG on homasote, very quite.  A portion is on 2 inch pink foam, not as quiet but OK.  A portion is cork on 1/2 particle board.  Least quiet of the three but far better than plain old plywood.  

Atlas all the way for me.  Very quite.

Atlas solid rail or any solid rail is my favorite. I have a permanent layout 90% Atlas 10% Ross (Turnouts & Ross 0112 & 0104 outer loop) with a mix of Indoor/outdoor carpet & Woodland Scenics roadbed, see attached. If you plan on using green indoor/outdoor carpet over the plywood on the complete layout, you may want to try carpet padding underneath that, see attached image, for additional sound proofing.

I set up a temporary Xmas layout every year, I use the carpet padding I suggested & I lay a snow white tight pile carpet over that with Atlas solid rail. Usually just one loop, nothing fancy but very quite. I added a second inner loop one year on the same surface using Lionel FastTrack. Even running slow, the FastTrack was easily twice as noisy,or even more as the Atlas track. If you're looking for quiet, FastTrack is NOT the answer.

Good luck,

Joe

I've been lucky to have seen trains run on a variety of track on a large number of layouts.  In my estimation, Atlas track is the quietest, all things being equal.

My layout uses Atlas exclusively (but I DO like Ross switches) that is mounted on Woodland Scenic track bed, ceiling tile, then 1/4" cork, on top of 3/4" plywood.  The benchwork is 10'x12' Mianne and the layout does not touch any walls.

It's as quiet a layout as any I've seen/heard.

I have a pal that runs the plastic tie K-line tube on AstroTurf; it is possibly the quietest option Ive heard. It suits his PW basement style

 I've used the zip strip method with large and tiny strips both, it doesn't transmit sound to the bench like screws do. The track can be left to float some for slight expansion too. (head under smaller hole, up, over tie, down the hole agian, zip )  I still use a few screws in curves where it can't budge for clearances.

3 letters... Y-E-S.

I've used several different track makes and types, but as my train space has always had to be shared with the family living space, I've always went back to Atlas O.  My preferred track has always been MTH RealTrax - Solid Rail only - but reduced decibel levels are a requirement that I have to adhere to.  I love the look of Atlas O also, so that helped.

Let’s not forget Lionel super O. I recently changed over from Fastrack and was impressed by how quiet super O is. The big problem is your limited to 036 and turnouts can be finicky.

S-O can be bent if you clip the ties apart on one side.

I think I recall a thread with a db and/or frequency graph of tracks some years back, and a solid rail did win out, but it seemed plastic ties were quietest vs wood too. Super O did very well too.  

It's safe to say the consensus is that Atlas O is the preferred choice for most of us here- and that most of us run it on some type of sound insulating road bed. I remember Atlas O track came out in 1997-1998- Angel's Gate Hi-Railers started using it on new track work soon after, and we were all impressed with it's look and quality. It's shortcomings were also noted too. Over the last 20 years, AGHR has been replacing worn Gargraves with Atlas O- the layout has been gradually making the change over to Atlas too. I haven't run with the club for years, but have been very impressed with the new progress on the second level- no doubt alot of that is thanks to AGHR Matt.

I've collected different types of O gauge track over the years- 027 tinplate, Gargraves, Fastrack, Atlas code 148 2-rail, and now Atlas O 3 rail. Back in the late 90's I remember buying some Atlas 054 switches and attempting to make a yard ladder with them. Funny how I still have those switches, and my layout is now Atlas 3 rail.

Geno

I think it's important to remember that a good deal of the noise generated by any brand of track with "molded" on roadbed is all that space within the roadbed itself. Using the otherwise wonderful Kato Unitrack (in both N and HO scales) proved that to be the case.

I hadn't considered wood ties as being a sound reducer, but it sounds reasonable...

Mark in Oregon

For those having a problem here is a link that will help you http://homasote.com/wheretobuy...amp;State=&City= it is their home page and tells you where to find it or order it. I have found the price varies from place to place.

I like Atlas track, not so much their switches.  That being said, I went with Gargraves track and Ross switches.  I do have a bunch of Ross dimensional track on the layout as well, but the Gargraves flex made it so easy to customize that it was my choice for non-dimensional track.

Gargraves track and Ross switches on 1/4" foam roadbed laid on Homasote over Baltic Birch is a very quiet combination.  The Homasote really does kill a lot of sound, I'm quite impressed with the whole setup.

I went with Atlas track and Ross switches when I built my shop layout a few years back. I'm very happy with the results and currently planning to move to a more permanent layout in the other side of my basement. I really want to stay with this combination but the wait for Atlas 0 track is frustrating. To me that is the only downside of Atlas 0.

@G3750 posted:

This is the correct answer, IMO.  It's not really the track system that makes noise.  It's the vibration of the track against the bench work.  That's why insulating the track from the bench work is important.

George

Vibration of track against benchwork is a definite factor ( works like a drum), but a huge factor with FastTrack is also the hollow rail and the hollow plastic roadbed that are both noise generators.

@72blackbird posted:

It's safe to say the consensus is that Atlas O is the preferred choice for most of us here- and that most of us run it on some type of sound insulating road bed. I remember Atlas O track came out in 1997-1998- Angel's Gate Hi-Railers started using it on new track work soon after, and we were all impressed with it's look and quality. It's shortcomings were also noted too. Over the last 20 years, AGHR has been replacing worn Gargraves with Atlas O- the layout has been gradually making the change over to Atlas too. I haven't run with the club for years, but have been very impressed with the new progress on the second level- no doubt alot of that is thanks to AGHR Matt.

I've collected different types of O gauge track over the years- 027 tinplate, Gargraves, Fastrack, Atlas code 148 2-rail, and now Atlas O 3 rail. Back in the late 90's I remember buying some Atlas 054 switches and attempting to make a yard ladder with them. Funny how I still have those switches, and my layout is now Atlas 3 rail.

Geno

Yep. New alignments/replacements are done with Atlas track. The upper deck is done mostly in Atlas track past the initial approach off the mainline with Ross turnouts for a passing siding and the wye leading into the reverse loop/secondary staging yard in the staging room.

We (actually my partners in crime) replaced the curves behind the farm with Atlas O-99/O-108 curves because some of the Gargraves rails had begun to deteriorate (salt air/moisture). When I had to solder up and file the railhead on a part of one of the mainline curves by the farm, I got the go-ahead to design a replacement for the area and it was completed after I left California. They were able to decipher my cryptic instructions and track plan and it's working well (I have a photo Jeff sent me a couple of weeks ago somewhere).

@Ricky Tanner posted:

I use Fastrack on a base of 1/2" foam over 1/2" plywood. I fasten the track with plastic zip-ties instead of screws for acoustic isolation. It' quiet,even with a dozen trains running. I've used tubular,gargraves,Realtrax and Atlas O in the past and the Fastrack only slightly 2-3 db noisier than Atlas O using this method.  To my ears, It's the d$#* sound systems that are annoying!

The absolute best track system IMHO for realism,variety,robustness,reliability AND quietness would be to go all Ross FYI.

I would if Ross had tie plates and used a rust resistant material for their rails.

I wonder that something's afoot re Atlas and their track  products.

The other day I stopped by the LHS where I worked for 20+ years in my retirement.  The counter-banter (we behind the counter always said we offered the customer 'counter-intelligence') evolved to what had become an annual problem...availability of Atlas' HO track....Snap-Track, Custom Line.  Distributors don't have it.  Atlas is coming out...someday soon?...apparently with a new "Mark 5" line of HO Code 100 track.  That's about all the guys knew.  But there was some hope/optimism that this would also bring about a change in factory sourcing.  Hard to imagine that would include a change of continents, too, but....

Pure speculation, I know, but in spite of the popularity of their iconic track products in O, HO, N, the availability issues have really been rubbing some folks raw for a long, long time now.  And that certainly includes their O track products.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.... 

Of course, if they're at York in October...

Or, maybe y'all tell me this is common knowledge and I'm the last to know...as usual.

Someone also mentioned flange compatability. Seems I recall some discussion about some Lionel engines in the 2007 to maybe 2010/2012 era had large "cookie cutter" flanges that would work fine on FasTrack switches, but would bump and climb up on Ross and other non-FasTrack switches.

Atlas might be marginally quieter, but between production runs it's often sold out and not available.  Unfortunately the SKU numbers for track pieces have never changed.  So if you're buying  it secondhand, you can't be sure if you're buying early-production track and switches with the known issues, or the latest "improved" ones.

The size of my room dictates something a little smaller than O42.  If Ross made their excellent switches in O36, IMO that would be the only track system needed in 3-rail O.  My $.02.

@Hot Water posted:

Well, in my opinion, and experience, the "quietest" track system you will find is indeed Atlas solid nickel silver track, mounted on vinyl road-bed (by Hobby Innovations). Our whole layout was done that way, i.e. glued the vinyl road-bed down on the bare plywood, and then glued the Atlas track down on the vinyl road-bed (3/8" thick).

This is the ONLY way to go!!  My entire 40’  x 50’ Layout was done in this fashion !

I have indoor/outdoor carpeting but with carpet padding under it. Extremely quiet, and I'm using just tubular O gauge.  Years ago the other magazine had an article on this technique and even using zip ties to secure the track to the plywood. Can also use a simple tiny o-ring under the head of a screw to secure the track to the table. Between the carpet and padding there is a lot of give so you don't need many track screws and they don't need to be very tight.