jazzer Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 I am just about to scrap and rebuilt a layout to cure some inbuilt problems and one thing I need to get right is noise levels. The present one, laid on 9mm plywood ( as is the intention for the replacement) and everything thing ran sweetly until I ballasted it with Woodland Scenics ballast an it then became, to my ear, unacceptably noisy. It’s not even a “train noise “, which would be more acceptable but seems to resonate the noise of the motor as it runs slower towards the stop. My Oxfordrail N7, a lovely sweet runner on unballasted track makes a terrible grinding sort of sound on ballasted track. Others are more or less the same. It’s a pity because now the track has been weathered it really looks the part be the noise really grates on me. The track is laid directly onto the baseboard, without cork. I am thinking about cork on the next version but the general consensus is that it will make little or more difference. Will some other type of ballast make a difference or do I Just have to put up with the noise? The layout is DCp Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philsandy Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 12 minutes ago, jazzer said: I am just about to scrap and rebuilt a layout to cure some inbuilt problems and one thing I need to get right is noise levels. The present one, laid on 9mm plywood ( as is the intention for the replacement) and everything thing ran sweetly until I ballasted it with Woodland Scenics ballast an it then became, to my ear, unacceptably noisy. It’s not even a “train noise “, which would be more acceptable but seems to resonate the noise of the motor as it runs slower towards the stop. My Oxfordrail N7, a lovely sweet runner on unballasted track makes a terrible grinding sort of sound on ballasted track. Others are more or less the same. It’s a pity because now the track has been weathered it really looks the part be the noise really grates on me. The track is laid directly onto the baseboard, without cork. I am thinking about cork on the next version but the general consensus is that it will make little or more difference. Will some other type of ballast make a difference or do I Just have to put up with the noise? The layout is DCp What glue did you use to fix the ballast? I have read that PVA, because it sets like concrete, increases running noise. I used Copydex 50/50 with water to fix the ballast, with the track laid on 3mm cork, and the cork fixed to the 9mm plywood baseboard with 100% Copydex. Trains runs quietly, well to my ears anyway. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Thinking inside the box. Has anyone tried gluing sound absorbing material to the inside of the baseboard? This way you retain the solid track foundation but hopefully kill unwanted noise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted August 4, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 4, 2023 I'm with Copydex and cork underlay. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Tracklay for me - it gives almost silent running and ballasting is a doddle as well. Used it for years on several layouts and it takes all the pain out of tracklaying and ballasting. https://www.tracklay.co.uk/browse/cat37pG1_961968.aspx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now