I'm in the planning stages for my bigger and better model railroad after moving to a new house and I'm trying to decide what to use for roadbed. On my last model railroad I used cork over plywood and I always thought it was too noisy. Would homasote over plywood be quieter? What are some other pro's and cons?
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Homasote or cork
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I Have a complete 1/2" layer of homasote over my table, and then regular cork roadbed under the tracks. I dont think it does much for the noise but its good for nailing stuff into.
Moderator: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Brightline Trains
Avatar:3679A (since wrecked)/3623B (now in service as 3636B).
Avatar:3679A (since wrecked)/3623B (now in service as 3636B).
I can't answer your question directly, since I've only used cork. I will say that cork does have appreciable noise reduction compared to a bare table surface. But I've also found that nickel-silver rail (I use Atlas) that's slightly oxidized and that has received a lot of use is much quieter than new track.
--Michael Eby
--http://trainiax.net
--http://trainiax.net
Cork, on top of Homasote, on top of plywood roadbet. Doesnt get much more solid than that.
-otto-
-otto-
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Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
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Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
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I find it works good by gluing the track town to foam instulation. in you dont glue u can use long nails but i found glue to work after i was satisfied with the final track plan.
1x4 frame- 1/4" plywood top, then 3 inches of foam instulation with the track clued stright to it. i dont here a thing othere then the rail clack.
1x4 frame- 1/4" plywood top, then 3 inches of foam instulation with the track clued stright to it. i dont here a thing othere then the rail clack.
An important step, if you decide to use homosote, make sure you seal it before it has a chance to absorb any moisture. The homosote is a paper product, and if it gets wet, or is in a damp enviornment, it will warp. You can lay the best track, but if the homosote is not sealed, it will take the fun out of it. You want to seal it with a latex paint. I use a dark can of Home Depot paint off the clearance rack. You can get a gallon for around $5 and save you the fustrations.
Thanks for the help! I had'nt thought of warping problems with homasote. I never heard anything about it before but a can of paint does'nt cost much and it would be good insurance.
Should you decide on stacking cork on top of homasote, or homasote on top of plywood, you should avoid using metal fasteners (nails or screws) between layers. The fastener will conduct the sound straight through the layer that's supposed to deaden the sound. Use glue instead.
I would venture that if you make a large table top with homasote on top of plywood, that it wouldn't hurt things to put a few well-placed screws on the perimeter, as long as you avoid putting the screws near the track. But don't put screws or nails in the roadbed itself!
snowplough
I would venture that if you make a large table top with homasote on top of plywood, that it wouldn't hurt things to put a few well-placed screws on the perimeter, as long as you avoid putting the screws near the track. But don't put screws or nails in the roadbed itself!
snowplough
Otto Vondrak wrote:Cork, on top of Homasote, on top of plywood roadbet. Doesnt get much more solid than that.Thats a good thing right? Its obviously not quite literally SOLID, which is where you threw me off.
-otto-
Moderator: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Brightline Trains
Avatar:3679A (since wrecked)/3623B (now in service as 3636B).
Avatar:3679A (since wrecked)/3623B (now in service as 3636B).
Yes it does... I'm fairly certain it is available at either Lowe's or Chase-Pitkin, because were purchased all our materials for the R&IT locally. Try calling the lumber department and see if they have it in stock.
To be more specific about construction... if you are building a simple 4x8 (or small layout like that), using 4x8 plywood with cork roadbed should be sufficient. I built a 4x8 layout in college where I framed out a piece of 4x8 2" insulation, and then used cork on top of that (inspired by the Cripple Creek Central in MR). that was a lightweight layout, and the framed up foam was stronger than you think.
On the R&IT, we used 3/4" plywood for subroadbed, then cork on top of that. The only place we have homasote is Goodman Street Yard... unfortunatley, large parts of this sheet have warped and it has created some slight dips and bumps here and there.
-otto-
To be more specific about construction... if you are building a simple 4x8 (or small layout like that), using 4x8 plywood with cork roadbed should be sufficient. I built a 4x8 layout in college where I framed out a piece of 4x8 2" insulation, and then used cork on top of that (inspired by the Cripple Creek Central in MR). that was a lightweight layout, and the framed up foam was stronger than you think.
On the R&IT, we used 3/4" plywood for subroadbed, then cork on top of that. The only place we have homasote is Goodman Street Yard... unfortunatley, large parts of this sheet have warped and it has created some slight dips and bumps here and there.
-otto-
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Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
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NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Micore is a product that works like Homasote. It comes in 4x10 sheets and since it is not a paper product, it is not affected by moisture.
See Model Railroader, Sept. 1994, pg 78 for more info.
See Model Railroader, Sept. 1994, pg 78 for more info.
Homosote is not available at Home Depot or Lowes, but it IS available at Chase Pitkens. At least in the Rochester area. Hope this helps.
I took a look at a few home stores last night to see who had homasote. Lowes didn't. I asked someone there and they weren't even sure what it was. He had to ask someone. So I went to Chase Pitkin and found it. $20 a sheet! Wow!
My question is, what is homasote purpose? Can another product, such as foam replace it? A sheet of foam is much cheaper than a sheet of homasote. Can the work as well?
My question is, what is homasote purpose? Can another product, such as foam replace it? A sheet of foam is much cheaper than a sheet of homasote. Can the work as well?
Homasote has several nice qualities... it is easy to cut, is fairly strong, is quiet, and takes spikes very well.
The downside is it requires support as Otto mentioned (it is strong, but not rigid) and cutting with a power saw can make a good amount of dust.
Seems a good way to use it (at $20 a sheet) is to use it as roadbed on a plywood subroadbed. You can get quite a few feed of roadbed from a 4x8 sheeet.
The downside is it requires support as Otto mentioned (it is strong, but not rigid) and cutting with a power saw can make a good amount of dust.
Seems a good way to use it (at $20 a sheet) is to use it as roadbed on a plywood subroadbed. You can get quite a few feed of roadbed from a 4x8 sheeet.