Hello Fellow Markliners,

Having recently read some posts about fixing C track down (here), a number of replies have raised my attention about noise, and how to decrease it.
I have no expertise into that domain, and I'm thinking it can be a complex topic, which may not have a simple answer.

Furthermore, it may depends on many factors, like:
-room size and acoustics
-track type (M,K,C)
-single or multi-level layouts
-sensitivity of people to noise and/or expectation of people to listen to rolling trains
-...and probably much more

I've read until so far some advice, and sometimes they are contradictory.

What I can remember (to be confirmed):
-Avoid screwing the tracks on plywood, because screws transmit the noise to the board (and amplify it)
-Ballast (example: for K track) may add noise too
-Use some noise absorbing material below the tracks (and/or below the plywood ?), possibly multiple coats of different material

Questions I have in mind at the moment:
-If you use K flex track to design (large) curves without screwing them, how can it be possible to keep them firmly sealed on the board ?


I'm well aware that this is an extremely vast subject, and that it's likely to be a bit messy, at least at first.

The idea here is to collect various experiences, both positive and negative, and then try to sort them out, so that as many people as possible interested in this subject can benefit from them.

All contributions are welcome.

Cheers
Fabrice

Woodland scenic underlay gives no noise running. Expensive but it works and lasts. I use copydex to fix it to the base and same to fix track to underlay. Just fix track every yard with a drop of copydex and you can still lift the track you wish.

Hi
Like Michelvr, I believe screwing C track on plywood (my case 10 mm thick) causes no problem at all provided:
- you don't use a large piece of plywood (you want to avoid the drum effect
- you rather use rail support (the shape of rails plus 2 cm ) supported by the frame (transportable modules) and wooden traversers
- noise is significantly reduced as soon as you add landscape (grass, houses, walls, tree, etc) which in effect are noise dampened

Because I use Rocrail, all my locos (sound MFX) are powered (no insulated stop sections) meaning that there is a small residual sound when having many locos (28 my case on the layout). This residual sound is noticeable but rather discreet and eliminates rolling sound.

Exception: what I say is contradicted when you have sheet metal wagons and old locos (CCS800, DL800, G800 in my case) which I keep in boxes and showcases.

Cheers
Jean

How shall we achieve the sounds of silence?

I have been thinking a great deal about this topic lately. I live in a 1950s Montreal duplex above another family that can hear us if we walk heavy, jump or dance. My girls have learned to tip toe at night instead of walking on the balls of their feet.

So as we were dismantling our old show layout, I was reminded of the not-so-successful dampening methods I used when securing and ballasting M-track. I used a thin layer of 3/32 foam under the track glued to the drum-like plywood sheet along with the so-called rubber sound absorbers. All of this was rendered almost inert since the track was still screwed down through the rubber sound absorbers and then fixed firmly to the ground by ballasting the edges of the track which was firmly in place with watered-down white glue. I say "almost inert", since if I compare that to my boyhood layout on a straight up 1/2" 4x8 plywood sheet over solid benchwork, I remember that it was so loud that family would never let me run my trains when the television was on (it interrupted) or when rest was needed.

So I can affirm that some thin foam helped somewhat and especially with landscaping of hills with styrofoam around it, but you could certainly hear when the trains were in the tunnels, which told you when they were coming.

My plans with our new layout include screwing shelf style modules to the walls, HOWEVER, I will be using pieces of rubberized foam mats, the kind that is used for children's play areas, in between the wall and the wood, then the screws will not go into the wood but rather a drilled hole, then I will used a foam "washer" on the side of the screw head; what I mean here is that the benchwork is not screwed in; it will be sandwiched by a sturdy foam clamp that will reduce transmission of sound through a hard wood to dry wall connection. So you might ask: why not have your modules on legs with hard rubber wheels? Well in my shelf layout, we'll have a wood cover over when that part is not in use as part of it will be going into a higher traffic area of the hallway. If it is bumped by hips then boom, over go the trains and we would have train wrecks.

I will be reading any other suggestions here with keen interest. We are using C-track in the shadowlands and K-track in visible areas. I may use cheap white caulking at points on the C-track and lay it over some kind of foam, but not decided what would be best for us. Hoping to get a better grasp on Rocrail to keep my wiring underneath to a minimum, but if I eventually use under the layout tortoises and for my K switches and screwed down metal Sommerfeldt posts, then that's another layer of rigidity. I may try using my foam washer idea for posts.

How to avoid hard ballasting is something I can't seem to figure out.
I certainly would not want loose ballast. Not a huge fan of the Merkur foam ballast, because I would still end up using some gravel ballast and weathering the Merkur, however I may try it and see if I can get the effect I am looking for. That said the Merkur cost is prohibitive.

Another thing I learned from extremely noisy shows with multiple layouts:
Turn down or off your sound loco settings!
The racket for 7 hours can drive one mad.
I have noticed that subtle loco sounds are really nice.
People visiting say, "hey wait! I heard something" and then stoop down closer to the loco as it passes and are delighted with what they discover.

Onward to layout perfection,
Mark

I find this video from MarklinofSweden very helpful.

Reduce track noice Low cost

Hello Friends,

Well, as expected, there are different replies, some depending on each person sensitivity and expectations.
Thanks to all of you having shared their experience.

From your answers, I like the use of the Woodland Scenics track-bed the most. https://woodlandscenics....ry/HOScaleTrackBedSystem
I think I'm going to order a pack of strips and do some tests...

As my layout is already built, the intensive use of such track-bed, if successful, will be for the next layout .

In the past, I've also tested the solution provided by "Martin T", I mean the rug underlay from Ikea, named STOPP FILT.
I wasn't convinced by this material, but it is a matter of taste as usual. However, it is cheaper than WS track-bed...

Feel free to post other experiences, so that as many people as possible can benefit from them.

Cheers
Fabrice