Noise

  I think if your layout is all accessible without ever having to put any weight on it (keeling on top of it), the foam board under the plywood might help with transferring noise under the table.  Mine is 22x36 and the nose was defining. Putting a cloth skirt around the table and ballasting the track cut the noise in half.

Ever hear of a quite railroad. Noise is the order of my day.  Lol

Thank You, my layout will be accessible from all side tho it will be a stretch. I do plan to use cork under the track and ballast and the cloth around the bottom.  For the life of me I cannot remember where I read/saw or heard about the foam underneath the plywood. 

Any foam or insulation under wood would dampen sound. Sound barrier would be best, softer would be quieter (or dense enough to deaden.)

Wood, even covered, reflects more sound up than foam (you know many skip the wood now, going to foam up to 3" thick). But screwing track on foam is more like pinning it down. Ho folks use caulk a lot to glue track on foam. It depends on your use, and expectations. 

 On traditional layouts, sounds reflect up and telegraph into the wood, traveling to the flat underside, to make lots of noise in that direction too. Foam will help absorb the sounds facing the floor, even if glued there after the fact.

 But any screws solidly attaching top trough to the frame work will transmit sound so caulk/glue is in order to allow the top to "float" just a hair.

Adding a thick skirt won't be as necessary or have as dramitic an effect because you have already damped the sounds going "down". At that point the "up" reflected sounds are all thats left.

Ideal would be layers of soft,.dense, soft, dense, etc. and all things softly anchored.

"Putting a cloth skirt around the table "  With a DB meter as a test instrument a cloth skirt made the biggest noise difference on a few of the layouts I've built.  Also a layout in a garage on a concrete floor is quieter than a layout on a wood floor in a second floor bedroom, I think!    Russ

Thank You All.

Pat 

3 to 4 inches of foam, with cork roadbed, will cut the noise dramatically.   Plus, that thickness of foam will allow you scenic opportunities,  like creeks or rivers, crossed by bridges.  Use chunks of the foam for hills.

Caulk, or white glue will work to hold the track/roadbed in place.

Thanks it's in the works.  Construction has started with one inch foam under the plywood, felt pads on the 2x4 legs and there will be foam, n cork on the top as you suggested.

  Thanks,

  Pat 

In and early set up years ago, I  used 2 X 4 foot ceiling panels, not the fiberglass ones, the compressed paper ones.  You can actually get these for free sometimes from your big box home store if they have piles of broken ones, ones with the corner missing or broken in half.  Put the textured or painted side down, use white glue,  and put the track on what would normally be the hidden side.  You can cut it like roadbed with angled edges using a sabre saw, or a utility knife if you want arms like Popeye when you are done.  Make curve templates out of poster board and lay them out on the panels and cut to fit.  If you put cork on top of that, it will be even quieter. Almost like using Homasote from the old days.