Sound deadening

The secret to sound deadening is to prevent the transmission of sound to the tabletop and not the benchwork frame.  Materials like cork, vinyl, soft foam, etc. have been used to as roadbed on top of rigid foam and Homasote.  The latter can be mounted on top of 1/2" plywood.  This inhibits the transmission of the track noise to the table top.

When you mount your track directly to a plywood tabletop the plywood acts like a drum.  Your scenery has the responsibility of controlling the airborne sound.

Jan

Sound deadening is a two step process in my opinion.  Keep in mind that sound transmission is essentially vibration.  I favor increasing mass in the sub-platform by installing drywall and then overlay it with plywood or foam.  That should eliminate the drumhead effect, particularly if your benchwork is not supported with sufficient cross members.  On the top of mine, I use cork over the entire platform (not just roadbed) which helps deaden surface vibration and can still hold screws for track without going into the plywood.  If you elect to use foam, you can drill into it and insert plastic expansion sleeves, placing some compatible glue in the hole.  Screw the track into the sleeve which will expand and grab the foam for a secure fit.  This way your screws holding the track will not pull out from the foam, especially on curves where the force of the train tangent to the curve is greatest.  I also apply some clear flexible caulk below the screw head.  Although I really do not see a demonstrable difference myself, I have stuffed my boxcars and coal covered hoppers with light weight pillow fluff to absorb any vibration from the track that might be amplified in the closed cars--probably the difference is more theoretical than actual, unless you use a decibel meter.  I do like rubber roadbed as well.

I use homasote glued to 1/2 birch plywood, and the plywood is glued to my 3/4" frame which are 24" on center.  The road bed I use is Woodland Scenics, and it is also glued on top of the homasote.  My atlas track is screwed down about every other track.  My noise level is very low.

Has anyone used rubber as a sound deadener?

Yes:

I got a roll of anti-fatigue rubber matting from Lowes, about 3/8" thick and 30" or so wide.  It cut easily with a box cutter.  I cut strips off the roll, then beveled the edges using my bandsaw.

It did cut the sound down, but when I applied ballast the sound level picked back up.  I think next time I'll ballast only the outer edges and leave the ballast out of the middle between the ties, or maybe spray paint some of that speckled paint to make it look like rock.

Not sure if Lowes still carries it, you can Goggle "anti-fatigue mat" and see what you get.

I also plan on adding skirting around my layout, looks good and cuts down on the noise.

RR noise is sourced in movement and vibration.  Reduce the deck movement, the sound is reduced.  Sound can be increased with the drum effect of flat  lightly supported layout decks and hollow tubular rails.

The thinner the plywood or other material the more transfer of sound. 3/4" quality plywood is quieter than light weight cheap 3/4" plywood or thinner plywood.

That being said, rigidly supported 6.0mm Northern Birch  Multi-ply can be as quiet as normally supported 3/4" Birch.

It is a lot easier to not produce the sound/noise than it is to attenuate it. 

Next time you install a flat deck consider running a 1/4" bead of silicone over all bench work frame top edges.  Obviously have the sheet pre cut, finished edges with pre drilled 1/4" dowels for a neat clean install.

Thanks,

I am using 1/2 inch MDF I have rough fit it over one section with screws but that will eb easy to lift up to glue down when I am ready.  

I will go back and add some additional cross supports under my deck.  I figure they are meant for rigidity as opposed to support, therefore if they do little weight bearing it won't matter.  (Debating rabbiting supports in to existing 2x4 vs nonweight bearign but joint with screws.)

I think I will then go back and route out my track pattern into the table top to inlay some rubber.  I liked seeing you cut it with a band saw.  (It will save me a load on buying more roadbed!)

My bench work is L girder covered with 3/4 plywood, covered with 1 inch foam board and thicker up to six inches.  The six inch part is the elevated section.  I covered all of the foam with a skim coat of Stuccolite and paint.  I don't have a noise problem with my Fastrack.  Maybe the rough surface from the Stuccolite was enough to keep the sound transmission down.  All my track is screwed down.  The screws just hold the track in alignment as the screws don't grip well in the foam.

lckiii,

   For my FasTrack layouts I use the old block acoustical ceiling tile, to cover my 3/4 Ply base, then I lay inside/outside carpet over the sound deadening ceiling tile.  It eliminates 80% of all the noise, I even let my 2nd and 3rd levels run directly on the 3/4 ply to have some decent sound when running my trains.  I have engineered several different versions of this, even doubled the acoustical tile one time to see what would happen.  I no longer use cork, it has little effect deadening sound with FasTrack or RealTrax, most of the time.  As jmiller indicated, I also screw all my FasTrack & RealTrax down, it helps deaden the sound, and stabilizes the track permanently.

PCRR/Dave

Right on the wood on the 2nd & 3rd levels so I can at least hear my trains run a little.

Finding the acoustical ceiling tile can be a challenge, it is expensive to purchase new, but works, even a little to well at times.  The double carpet shown in the 2nd picture works as a sound suppressor, but is a pain to work with, as you screw your track down.

I had to go to WalMart this morning and while there I picked up some "Window Panels".

The package says Mainstays 84-inch Black Soot Panel Pair (2/pk).  Each panel is 40" wide x 84" long (they come in different widths and heights) and were approx $18 per package.

My layout is 36" high so I used some Dritz Stitch Witchery Super Weight Fusible Bonding Tape and hemmed them from 40" to 35" using an iron and ironing board.  I have them hung right now with thumbtacks.

Before:

After (looks like I got some spots on my camera lens!):

Don't know yet if the sound has been cut down but it looks cleaner.

Good luck using a belt sander on ceiling tiles. They will tend to disintegrate faster than Homasote would.  I would make a sanding block the width of your roadbed ansd about 12 inches long. Round up the leading and trailing edge so it doesnt snag, and experiment with the grit of the paper.

Yes.........I used the rubber underlay stuff they use for hardwood floors. I covered my whole bench work top with it, and it works great. The material itself is fairly dense, so it seems pretty much like just a solid surface.

Being that I use "Fastrack" and with it's reputation for noise, I also decided to try to make my overall benchwork as solid as I could. I used 2x4's for the support structure, and 3/4" plywood for the surface. I even used "Sill Gasket" material between any contacting surfaces, again to try to minimize the "drum" effect and any noise transfer.

Works very well for me. I'm happy I put in the extra effort at the start of the project. Every little bit helps.

REV