:P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P  :P

I thought that would get every ones attention :lol:

Last night i nearly thought that i was gonna make a mistake about cork from reading a post and not understanding that every one mustn't mention it :shock:
But i soon realised what it was about :P  and so today my delivery of cork arrived by courier :lol:
It cost me $161.00 for 1000mmx15mtrs 3 mm thick and SOFT :D easily cut by a sharp knife :P

I have never used it before as i have always used ballasted track…(i hate ballasting) :twisted:
On my previous layouts :roll: i had noticed a druminess to the layout, so this time i decided to go for cork hoping it would be quietier :D
Well tonite me and my brother Pete ( both locksmiths) have laid some of it with PVA glue and i noticed straight away the noise was a whole lot better :D

I am laying it over the entire baseboard and as i build up i intend to cut pieces out to fit under track and also the buildings etc :wink:
Hopefully this will all reduce the noise to an acceptable level so i can easily hear the sound from my new loco's :P (on their way)

Tomorrow night we will lay the rest of it as so far i think it is one of my better decisions :lol:

Darryl
Loving Cork so far :P

I'd say it's a very good decision!
 I used cork tiles over the entire surface of my previous layout, then cork strips under all the track. It was, not surprisingly, very quiet.   The small amount of ballasting I did on that layout made things just a tad noisier, but noise was never a problem.
 Mike

lockboys said

I thought that would get every ones attention :lol:

Now what made you think that :?:  :roll:
Sounds as if you got yourself a good deal on that amount of cork, Darryl.  It's definitely the best sound/vibration absorber.  I've tried balsa road bed, and the commercially made foam underlay, but for quietness and ease of cutting I find cork to be the best.  (So long as it's the right kind of cork, that is :wink: )

I too am using cork, the right kind.  I am not covering the whole layout but only under the track and remembering that any buildings, particularly station platforms must be laid on the cork to maintainthe correct height

Perth Buddy said

remembering that any buildings, particularly station platforms must be laid on the cork to maintainthe correct height

Good advice - easily overlooked. :)

Definitely cork. The sound deadening qualities are so good I can easily hear the clickety clack of rolling stock going over rail joints. Love that sound.

I pleased with my cork - the Mk II stuff!  :oops:

It's flexibility helps to iron out those annoying little undulations that tend to creep into my tracklaying as well as providing good sound deadening qualities.

By the way, Jeff advised me to keep all my cork offcuts as he reckoned they would come in handy. Believe me, they do. It's amazing where you find a use for them, either in whole pieces or chopped up into granules.

Perry

Am I right in thinking you are laying your track on double thickness cork ?

Tim, you said you'd tried balsa and carpet underlay.  Here in France, they don't seem to go in for cork tiles  (maybe they use it all in bottles) so I was thinking of trying either balsa or the lino type modern cushion flooring.  Any comments ?

Petermac

I wrote off balsa a year or so ago when I tried it out on my test track.  It did reduce noise a little, but was only half as effective as cork.  Balsa is also notoriously difficult to cut around curves!

Lino floor cushion stuff?  If you can find the right thickness 3 or 4 mm in a tile or roll that is "spongy" enough then it should be very easy to cut to size.  I'd buy a small amount and give it a go.

Thanks Tim

I'll give it a whirl and let you know how I get on.

Petermac

A word of caution; the cork tiles I used are 3.2mm thick. I model in OO scale and I don't think track would look right laid on anything much thicker than that. It would simply be too high.

Perry

OK it is wed 7pm and we have just finished laying the rest of the cork :D  Looks great too :P Even the cat thought it felt comfortable to sit on :roll:
Still got some left over and i think i might need a tad more as i go upwards.
Now i plan on painting this as well with acrylic water paint, i assume that will be ok with the cork :?:  :?: after all i don't want it to swell up like a mattress :shock:
Cutting it with a sharp knife was not too bad, but the knife certainly had some resistance to it :o i can't imagine tho if i had to have cut it with a hacksaw :P
Some Roco Bridges rocked up today, the girder type coloured in that train green i so much love :P
The Austrian owner of the model shop told me stuff from Roco and Fleischmann left by plane today :lol: I told him in the beginning….don't even think about sending my stuff by ship OR ELSE :P

Darryl

Hi Darryl

Great to see you are making progress and that the supplies are starting to arrive.  It's great opening up a parcel full of goodies that you have ordered.  Have you got a track plan to show us?  I'd love to see what you have got in mind for your layout.

Novice

Acrylics will be fine. I've painted lots of cork that way.

 Mike

Hi ya Novice mate :D Yeah when i get a parcel i am like daffy Duck :D in the diamond mines :roll: ….get back…. get back from me :twisted: …it's all mine….Mine do ya hear me :D
And my track plans are largely in my head so i can't let you look there as there is other stuff there you might be shocked by :P  :P  :P  :P

I don't like plans :twisted: I like to sit down after a few drinks :lol: and think about it and what i will do. But as Pete my brother is helping me this time he is also giving me some good idea's……Like ie …Darryl go and get another bourbon whilst i think this thru :roll:

Each time i have done a layout i get stuff i know i need such as a big station and a Turntable and start from there :P
It always comes together in a great layout tho :wink:

I could start posting some pics but i don't really like the cumbersome way i have to do them. I would rather we could just upload them direct into our post :twisted:
It can be done too as this forum is the same format as my locksmith site, so it just needs activating in the software here and then we can upload in 1 2 3 :D

Darryl

MikeC said

Acrylics will be fine. I've painted lots of cork that way.

 Mike

Great to hear :D , so tomorrow night out with the base paint then…paint …paint…paint then the next night… Frid start getting the plan in my head going :P with the little track i have so far :roll:


Darryl

Made a great find today -  cork tiles so obviously the French don't use them all in bottles afterall !!

You may recall I said I couldn't find any in my area and was asking about balsa or cushion flooring.  I had to go to a town about an hour from me and there, in the DIY superstore, were cork tiles AND cork rolls.  They both came in 2 thicknesses - 2mm and 4mm.  I bought a couple of packs of the 2mm tiles to try out.  They seem good and soft but I wonder if 2mm will be thick enough or do I need double thickness ?

The baseboards are 10mm chipboard and I plan to mount the point motors below the boards.  Tracklaying won't start until I return from UK next month carrying my weight allowance in model railway stuff !!

Petermac

I think you might find 4mm too thick. I'm using 3.2mm thickness and am happy with that, but I think some folk may even think that is too thick. It comes down to what looks right for you.  :wink:

Perry

Thanks Perry.

The only choice I have is 2mm or 4mm so I'll just stick with the 2mm. :wink:

Petermac

I'm using 3.2mm as well, but I am sure that 2mm will be your best bet Petermac. Good luck with the trip, buy lots and let us know what you've got.