quiet g scale

Kjones:

Is that Icelandic or K. Jones? Anyway, I presume you have built shelves. Did you lay the track right on them? Try putting some sound-deadening material like cork or Homasote or Celotex in between the track and shelves. That should cut the noise.

Cordially yours, Gerard P.

Yeah--

I've tried about everything you can think of-- The noise never gets to the level of the large trains you see in the theme restaurants- its justr too loud to leave on.

"kjones" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Thanks for the memory jog! That sentence brought back a very old and pleasant one.

In 1954, when I was about 8, we lived in Glen Ellyn, IL, just outside of Chicago. One Saturday afternoon my dad took to to a diner in nearby Wheaton, IL that had a wonderful (at least in my opinion) way of delivering food. The counter was U-shaped, with the ends against the wall to the kitchen. There was a O-guage track along the back edge of the counter that emerged from/exited to the kitchen through the wall. When an order was ready, it came out via train, the plate riding on a flat-car. The train would stop right in front of your seat.

Yes, but make sure it has insulated wheels, so the wheel sets don't bridge the track electrically (causing a short.)

You've discovered why this style of layout isn't as popular as its "practicality" would make you think.

Changing scale won't make much difference, since the shelving acts as drumhead, amplifying the sound. To reduce the effect, you need both sound dampening materials and additional mass in the substructure itself.

For sound dampening, isolate the track from the substructure as much as possible. Do _not_ use nails, screws, or other track fastenings - these transmit the sound to the shelving.

To increase mass, use 3/4" plywood, and a frame work of dimensional lumber (1x2, 1x3, 04 1x4, depending on span between supports). It may help to fasten the shelving rigidly to the wall, which will in effect add the wall's mass. It may also have the effect of creating a structure with several mutually interfering resonant frequencies, which also dampens sound. Use latex glue such as Liquid Nails (tm), not nails and screws (except as temporary fastenings until the glue dries.)

It also helps to use an open framework instead of a solid shelf, and to fasten (use screws) the track to a track board cut to width and curvature, and mounted on risers which in turn are screwed to the cross members. This eliminates large flat areas of plywood (the drum head), and creates a structure with that doesn't resonate. However, you still need the sandwich described below. And you need some sort of "scenery" to make it look OK.

Best method (sofar) is a sandwich of plywood + Celotex or other sound deadening material such as insulating styrofoam board + cork ballast strip + track. Use water based latex adhesive to glue the layers together, and use the same stuff to glue the track to the cork. You may use pins or nails until the glue dries, but pull them out afterwards. If the three-layer sandwich doesn't work, try a layer a of foam rubber as a fourth layer underneath it all. For the track itself, use plastic-tie flex track. All metal track is itself rather noisy.

You should also, of course, service the loco and cars so that they run as quietly as possible. If your train is an older one with metal wheels, it may help to replace the metal wheel with plastic ones.

HTH&GL

In message , kjones writes

Yes - look at Playmobil, rather than the usual LGB or whatever. Playmobil are sold as children's toys, but are lovely models, powered by rechargeable batteries, and full remote control. Quiet, too.