Roadbed

"Everyone" uses different stuff.  I cut strips of cheap, grey indoor/outdoor carpet the width of my Gargraves track.   Screwed track (on carpet strips) to plywood.  Raises track 1/8" an inch. Cost effective, looks and works good.

Woodland Scenics "vinyl bed" roadbed is very easy to use and looks good. The dark color hides the center rail pretty well without ballast.

I use Homasote that I cut to the shape of the track plan and beveled the edges at the same time using a band saw.  No muss and no fuss.  And, that's all the Homasote that's on the layout other than the small yard area.

We used VinylBed, by Hobby Innovations, for our whole layout. It was easy to wok with, and once the Atlas 21st Century track was glued down on it, the layout is pretty quiet.

Now, concerning "everyone", I'll start researching, and get back to you in 3 or 4 years.

Midwest Cork - easy to work with and comes already beveled.

Bill

WftTrains posted:

Midwest Cork - easy to work with and comes already beveled.

Bill

 

Yep. 

I use the same "cookie-cutter" homasote strip technique as MWB. It is great.

The price of homasote is getting crazy. I was in Home Depot the other day and it was 29.00 a sheet. Then you pay tax on top of that. Then you have the challenge of getting it home without damaging it. Then a lot of it get's thrown away after cutting, especially curved roadbeds. If it was capable of totally stopping sound vibrations from traveling through it, it may be worth it. I've used it and I am not impressed with it for it's sound deadening qualities, per dollar and labor spent.  I just can't wrap my head around how it could cost so much more then 1/2" plywood or OSB. It looks like it's just made from a mixture of sawdust and ground news paper. I'm going with cork or dense foam rubber next time.

I'm moving, will do a new layout.  Existing one was 2" foam; Homasote embedded in it, and cork on top. Layers glued together.  Thought it would be very quiet - WRONG! Still noisy topside, but VERY quiet underneath the layout. A friend said try this for a quiet layout: base (plywood, etc.); 1/2" carpet padding (the cheesy foam rubber stuff); then extra thin indoor/outdoor carpet over all; then raised roadbed - cork or more carpet.  Track screws as far apart as you can make them.  I'll try this in the new layout.  If anyone else has a variation on this that's QUIET, please reply.

The trick to cheap Homasote is to look for damaged pieces. The big box stores will usually sell sheets with minor damage at a steep discount. You have to ask, though. This works for all sheet material, but Homasote is somewhat fragile, so it is relatively easy to find damaged sheets. 

The secret to sound deadening is "dense but not rigid". Homasote scores fairly well on this, which is why most people find it a pretty good sound deadening material. One of the very best is lead. I have often wondered how well those lead-composite sheets (e.g., Dynamat) that are used for automotive soundproofing would work. I've never tried it, but I am guessing it would work far better than any of the standard choices.