Need ballasted Roadbed?

Al

Yes to both questions. Still in rebuilding mode.

I ripped out the pink foam board and replaced it with quite brace. The ballast is my attempt to make fastrack look a little better.

I did listen to members about not putting screws down into the plywood that's under the quite brace.

The sound doesn't bother me. But it's a very debated question when it comes to how much noise a individual can stand.

Larry

Larry

Thanks for the reply.  I guess I need to revise my question to consider only Gargraves, Atlas and tubular track that does not have a built in roadbed

Al,

I've got Gargraves/Ross track and have laid it on top of 3/8" anti-fatigue mat:

http://www.uline.com/BL_1751/A...ARg&gclsrc=aw.ds

I got a roll of it at Lowes but I don't think they carry it now.

I cut the roll into strips, wide enough for the track and so I could bevel the sides (using a bandsaw).  It cuts easily.

I laid it on top of a plywood base.  I've used glue, long staples, and currently zip-ties to hold the rubber strips and track in place (after drilling holes thru the plywood).

I ran trains for a long time before I put ballast down and things were quieter without the ballast.  Some folks may disagree but now that I've got ballast down I can tell the noise level has increase.  I may end up pulling it all up and spray painting the rubber with some gray texture paint (if I can find some that will adhere to the rubber) to make it appear it is ballasted.

At the time, it was actually cheaper per foot than cork roadbed, not sure what the cost would be now.  A 36" wide piece/roll will yield a lot of roadbed!

Here's an old photo of my garage layout showing sections with and without ballast:

Al, I first glued down Woodland Scenics O Scale foam roadbed, and glued a layer of medium ballast to that.  After the ballast dried I used small black nails to secure the track on top of the ballasted roadbed.  I did not want to completely ballast (Glue) the track so that I could recover the track or make design changes later on if I need to.

When I moved from my last home I had to trash hundreds of feet of HO scale track, as once it is completely down between the ties, it is there to stay. I did not want that to happen with  O Scale ME track.  I don't notice any real noise from the track when operating, just the clicks of metal wheels on the joiners and turnouts.