Tubular track on hard wood

Mmm, I'd hesitate before placing tubular track directly on hardwood or tile. First, unless you use some sort of glue or adhesive, the track will inevitably try to 'walk' with every use, especially with slick surfaces, and the sections will tend to disconnect and the ties will scratch the floor. If you *do* use some sort of adhesive or other "grippy" material to hold it in place, you'll have to deal with unsticking and removing that adhesive from the track and/or the floor later.

I think a better alternative might be to unroll a layer of some sort of sound-absorbing material before assembling the track. Inexpensive indoor-outdoor carpet might do, especially in green (or white, for winter scenes). Carpet underlayment might be another good option, if you can get something that will match, color-wise. Try to find something that does not have a lot of loose fiber, unless you want to spend some time picking it out of your rolling stock later.

Another option might be a layer of foam board insulation. It comes in 4 by 8 foot sheets and in thicknesses from a half inch to an inch or more, and you can paint or cover it with fabric as desired, or even go ahead and fully landscape and/or semi-permanently add track and accessories -- it should be light enough to easily lift and carry, and you can store it vertically and/or in sections for use in subsequent years.

One way to keep the track sections together is to use track clips - search for "Lionel tubular track clips" - one part number is 6-12743.  Another way is to use small zip ties.  Although these will help to hold the sections together, the track will still tend to "walk" on a smooth surface and it can scratch a wood floor.

Years ago I built a floor layout every Christmas for a decade.  I laid tubular track right on an old oak floor without any scratches.  This may depend on the nature of the wood but also on the finish.  In my case it was an old house and the unknown finish may have been from the 1930's, bur was perhaps redone.  I used a few track clips in selected spots and put the track together tightly.  I found that once everything is in place the track moves very little.  I think I waxed (or at least cleaned) the floor before starting.  Lot of noise.  I've built in a few houses with wood without a problem.

I'm in a new house and plan a floor layout on wood soon, not concerned.

YMMV

Bill

Steve got it right.

How big is the layout?  You can get an area carpet pretty cheap at the big box stores.  For example, HD has 5X7 for as low as $30 delivered.

Depending on you track diameter (042)etc use the rubber roadbed designed for o gauge tubular track.

If you are looking for easy, the area rug is the way to go.  It will keep things from moving around and it will deaden the sound.  Rubber ties could work but they need to be affixed to the bottom of the track ties or they will move around.  You could do more "decorating" with a foam base but to get started the area rug is easy peasy.

Over the last couple of years, I've been working on a seasonal layout that I could use for Halloween, changing to Christmas, changing to winter.  I purchased one of the cheap indoor/outdoor rugs Bob calls out above.  I chose a brown one for fall color and it's perfect.  I have it on a 5x9 layout table and it looks great and is super quiet.   

It's so good (with respect to sound) I went looking for a white one as a base for Christmas and winter.  I found one that they call pure white but it's ~$130.  To keep the wife happy with the sound, I am considering it.

Tony

I've gotten white felt at a fabric store, cut it to fit, and laid that under the track on a hardwood floor for Christmas layouts, and it's worked well. If you run your trains fast on curves, maybe the track may move a bit on the felt, but I don't run them fast in this setting.