Crazy.

I hope you're happy. I called you Crazy.

....

In all seriousness, thank you for your confirmation of the noise issue. Even atop your super sturdy benchwork.

Let us know if we need to send you a supply of ear plugs for Christmas

Euh...

Real trains ...

... are noisy too; so perhaps not so crazy.  

I'm with you

I've finished my track (caulked-onto-cork), then white-glued onto ply, which is then foam-safe caulked onto 2" foam.  Backwards, you might say, but it gives a nice way to screw in my Blue Points.  Have run trains a little too.  Yes it is a different sound, and yes it is noisy, but yes like you I also like it.

BTW, I've got some nice rolling dips and hills in the foam base, and have progressed to background stacked-foam hills and bluffs, acrylic paint mixed-in with sculptamold-ed over the seams and smoothed some finer details, and am about to do a coat of latex for the earth color on any bare foam.  Ground cover coming real soon!  Did I 'beat you to the punch' on any of that, lol?

I agree with Rick

I too like that noise of the trains rolling along and when you have a few extra gaps cut at the right places it really does sound like a train rolling by.  Trust me on this one when I worked as an operator at Matheson in Northern Ont. I used to love to hear the trains rolling by.   Clickety-clak and along with brake squeal and the smell of diesel smoke it doesn't get any better for a railfan.

Well, there you are then...

Thanks to your inquiries, I've learned a lot about the acoustics of extruded foam and road bed, but at the end of the day, it's your subjective judgment that matters.

pqe

[For those that did not follow my tests made on Rick's behalf in Foam Drum and Foam Drum II, here is a synopsis of what I found:

• Foam well glued to a layer of 1/4" ply or mdf is noticeably quieter than foam supported only at the edge.
• Multi-layer roadbed can reduce noise somewhat if the layers are different density or only lightly pinned together. Building this sort of roadbed is probably more trouble than the improvement is worth.
• When laying track on roadbed, the stingier you are with the caulk, the quieter the result.
• Ballast applied with hard glue (like diluted Elmer's) will negate the above, ballast applied with diluted caulk is not as bad. (Not tested, but reported by various contributors to the threads.)

I may return to this stuff one day, but for now, I'm going back to building a railroad.]

Running HO Trains on Foam

Thanks Bill for the offer of

Yes, Jappe I can still hear

Dave O. - I just told my wife

Short Trains A Benefit?

Hi Rick,

There's definitely a noise when running on foam, but I think you hit on your "saving grace". Sounds like the short trains will keep the vibration down?

James

Short trains will be a

" When I yearn for something bigger "

 Larger layouts are like trophy wives, just stop and think about how much more work and money  it would take and the yearning will soon pass :> )

You can't hear the wheels

You can't hear the wheels roll on the foam, if you have sound in your locomotives. I have 1.5" foam on my layout, but since every single loco I own has DCC and Sound, I never here the wheels on the rails.

I just don't like running any of my trains without sound. Real trains are noisy, so a silent running loco just kills the feeling for me.

Sometimes I just don't understand why some modelers who build these incredible looking layouts, trying to emulate a real railroad, yet have silent running locos.

Noise?

I always wondered why in reading many article's about "noisy" locomotives and others about what is the best roadbed material to use to keep the wheel noise down, when in reality, trains are VERY NOISY!  Has anyone ever heard a "quiet" train go by?  Well Rick, you're not crazy and if you are, I'm right there with you.  I too like the natural sound my models make.  Real wheel clack is hard to emulate with a sound decoder as some do.  Never use the feature.  My combination of plastic and metal wheels, less than perfect trackwork, (Ok, when was the last time you saw a real railroad with "perfect" track work? At least here in the Northeast) and sections of older brass sectional track with gaps Oh My!  My railroad has its share of natural noise and I am quite happy with it!  

Noise from running my trains

Realistic Noise?

For me the big problem with noisy model trains is simply that they don't sound like real trains.  However, I suppose that is subjective because even the best sound decoders and speakers only  -at best- give somewhat of a caricature of the actual sounds.  I still use 'em though.

Sub bed