Is Unitrack Inherently Noisy?

[RS18U]

So I got to see my first layout with Unitrack in a non-show setting (in a garage) and was shocked with how noisy it was.  Even the owner commented on how noisy his layout is.  The track seemed to be mounted to plywood; I am used to flex track on cork for my HO layout and its very quiet compared to this.

 

Do others perceive this as in issue, and if so are there solutions?  Fill in the void underneath the track pieces with foam insulation (not turnouts)?  Mount to foam board rather than straight to plywood?  Anything else?  I hope to be involved in a T Track group and want to get the track laying right so any ideas would be appreciated.

[katoftw]

Without seeing the layout, it's difficult to answer. But any type of track that isn't totally secured moves and the noisey vibrations are amplified.

Edited April 29 by katoftw

[cteno4]

A lot of the noise I perceive running trains is mostly wheel noise on the track not any track vibration. It’s never struck me as noisier than layout i did long ago with traditional cork roadbed, flex and sectional track, and ballast. Also another noise difference between the two is flex track has few rail joints compared to Unitrak so more clickety clacks!
 

I guess you could try a test on a few chunks of straight track with maybe some silicon sealer applied the underside of the Unitrak roadbed and the  screw it down to the plywood. Then have on either side of a loop and see if one side sounds different than the other.

 

i wish I could find the article or post done like a decade back with a chap that had compared various track, sub roadbed, roadbed and ballasting and took decibel readings. One of the main conclusions was that using harder ballast (white glue, harder vs acrylic medium, softer) attachment was the biggest thing in increasing noise. I’m not sure on my memory on what the conclusion on sub roadbed or track type was unfortunately.

 

jeff

[Grant_T]

I've personally never been sure why noise is perceived as an issue at all. (But then I do play the drums.) One of the reasons that I still love OO/HO is that it is noisier.

[Wolf]

Without seeing the Layout, I would assume the Plywood is made in a boxed fashion, with the track mounted on top. The "Box" or case will act as an amplification, and make it noisy.

You should see my bigger T-Track modules with track glued to it XD DANG these are loud.

I never tried, but filling the box underneath or add some insulation like your cork beetween track and plywood might help yes.

[cteno4]

Yes it would depend on the amount of structural support under the layout plywood. On our previous club layout we had 3 cross supports on the 100cm x 60cm modules and screwed down track noise there was the same as track on a hard table. That was 5mm luan ply on the top which is a bit heavier and stiffer than fur ply so I expect a bit more resistant to vibrating.
 

I wish I could find that article by the chap that actually tested a lot of this stuff, was really a nice study! He was frustrated by everyone saying conflicting things on what was causing noise. But it may have been in HO scale (sorry it was like 10-15 years back) so not as relevant to N scale. 
 

jeff

[N-Osoi]

I like a bit of noise, like real trains

[RS18U]

Thanks all for the info.  I guess I will wait till I get my own and see what its like.  I too like a bit of noise, like the clickty clackty over the joints, but I was not hearing any of that.

[cteno4]

I mostly hear wheels rolling on the rail noise on longer trains like shinkansens, it drowns out motors and any vibrational noise to my ear.. smaller trains I usually notice the motor as equal to the wheel noise. Unless a lot of issues with rail joints I tend to hear clickety clack the last.

 

B train shorties make a very intense wheel/rail sound as full 16 cars of wheels packed into like 3’! It was alarming the first time we ran one.

 

But so much going on with listening to noise, the room you are in, floor, ambient sounds, what your ear is use to, etc. I have one friend that for any subtle sounds has to consciously turn on his hearing and then he hears it, without doing that he tunes out most all noise unless really loud or directed at him. He said he was always this way. Other friends are the opposite and can’t tune anything out and hear every little sound as a cacophony of sound!

 

At shows I find myself turning off hearing layout noise mostly and only thing registers then to me are engine growls/squeals and the rat tat tat of a derailed wheel. But when we usually shutdown you all of a sudden register how much noise there was from the ambient (most folks gone whe we shut down) and the layout sounds.

 

jeff