Now I am having fun laying cork strip on a tight 30 inch rad curve, Well partly 30 inch as I like to lead into the curve with a shallower radius.
With curves this tight.
I cut a very narrow V slot about 3/4 across the strip width and form the curve. The slots close together as the curve is completed.
It takes a little trial an error and if you made a slot to big just fill it with left over cork you have cut for the slots before the glue sets.
I am using that copydex which smells like cat's pee?
Think I would prefer to get high on evostick?

I suppose Peter regarding your track bed.Could you cut out strips of your cork sheet either side of the track to give the illusion of a track bed?

regards,

Derek

Hi Derek

The way I lay underlay on a curve is to cut it in half, lengthways, draw the centre line of the track, then lay the underlay to the centre line. If the underlay wont bend the curve is probaly too tight ;-)

Paul

Thanks Paul,
I shall try your method.
It seems a better solution.

regards,

Derek

Hi There     My uncertainty about cork? do you cover the whole baseboard in cork?? or just under the track. And then do I add the ballast on top??  Passed Driver

Personally I cover the whole board with 3mm cork and then lay 2mm Plastazote closed-cell foam on top of that but just under the track. That way, when you ballast the track, even if some of the ballast & glue spreads onto the cork in doesn't form an acoustic bridge to the underlying plywood top.

I fix both the cork and the Pastazote down with Copydex.

Hi,

I covered the whole baseboard on my first attempt of my layout and will do the same again this time as well. It is all down to your own preference though. After you lay it down, then yes, you lay your track straight on top and can also ballast, paint or whatever on top of it as well. I will use neat PVA to stick the cork down onto my plywood baseboards.some people dilute it and I tried that but found neat PVA works best.

Also, shop around for the cork itself if you have not already bought it. I don't know what size your layout will be but you can get 10 m x 1 mcolls on the internet ( from Poland ) and even with the shipping it works out a good bit cheaper than buying the smaller rolls from UK hobby shops.

Good luck

Toto

If you're using cork for sound insulation as well as the road bed, you must cover the whole board first, then lay your strips or whatever for the road bed.  These extra "strips" create the typical ballast shoulder.

If the ballast - or track pins etc. - come into direct contact with your board top, you've lost your sound insulation ………………hence covering the whole board first - oh, and don't forget to remove the track pins once the track is "fixed" in place (either by the ballast or with glue) :roll::roll:

I also use the cork covering all the baseboard. I also cut track width strips to stick on top of the base coating. This makes sorting out platform heights etc. easier and it also gives something to cut channels into for wiring etc., especially as I can't get to the underside of my baseboards and everything like point motors etc. have to be on the top. I use neat PVA to glue it down painted on the boards then weighted down until the glue has dried.

Just as an aside comment, while PVA is the general adhesive of choice for railway modellers, the reason I use Copydex is that it's a Latex based adhesive so it helps to form the acoustic barrier between the cork and the board whereas PVA dries hard and actually helps to transmit sound between the cork and the board. Therefore, using PVA to stick the cork down rather defeats the object of the cork in the first place.

Exactly right, Trevor.

I used to use Copydex,However it can give problems with drills snatching.Now I use evostick contact adhesive and cork strips for the track beds.As I live alone the noise level is not a problem regarding track rumble.
Regards,
Derek.

I don't see any point at all, (Bittern's comments above excepted) in covering the whole baseboard in cork. It doesn't reduce noise so what is the reasoning behind it? I suspect that some beginners in the hobby are falling into the trap of following the herd without questioning why it is necessary.  Cork under the track will assist in giving the appearance of a track bed, but nothing else. In any event, locomotives are noisy machines so why try to stop it? If your layout is for exhibition purposes you won't hear the noise anyway in an exhibition hall with all the background noise.  Instead of wasting your money for rolls of cork with which to cover the whole baseboard, please send it to me. I will put it to better use!

Terry

I'm afraid I must beg to differ Terry.

I agree that when Cork is stuck down with PVA it does not have much sound deadening effect for the reasons given earlier.

However, when stuck down with a latex adhesive such as Copydex and the track bed and shoulders formed with Plastazote, it most definitely does reduce the 'drumming' effect caused by sound being transmitted to the board top which then acts like a drum skin and amplifies the noise. I don't want a totally silent layout, that would be impossible. There is sufficient realistic 'atmospheric noise' generated by the wheels running on the rails and the 'clickety-clack' as they pass over joints without having it amplified so that it sounds like a load of marbles being rolled around in a tray.

I think to a degree you're both right and I must agree with Terry about "the trap of following the herd" and automatically using cork.

My track was originally laid straight on the board (which I am led to believe is what quite a lot of people do), using Copydex.

It's only because I wanted 'rod in tube' point control and needed to raise the track by a couple of millimetres that I had to use some sort of underlay.

Cork was far too expensive for me, so I used EVA foam (Funky Foam), stuck to the board with PVA and the track then stuck to the foam with Copydex.

(Comes in rather bright colours, but I just paint it).



Ed

Owen (Silver Fox) has used the green board used under "click-clack" flooring to great effect.  He posted a short clip which conmfirmed there was almost no sound transferred to the boards underneath.  I think, as with all types of insulation, you must achieve a complete barrier with no "bridges" through which sound/heat can pass - almost like waterproofing - if there's a gap, it will "leak" !!!  That's one reason you have to be very careful to ensure some kind of ventilation between the inner and outer skin on wooden sub structures like sheds ……………

What's more, compared with cork, that green "underlay" is dirt cheap !!!

I feel that I must sound a warning here about using closed cell foam as an underlay.  This method was much lauded back in the 1970/80s as the perfect way to achieve a silent trackbed and grey foam was widely available.  Some years on, what is being discovered is that, over time, the foam breaks down into dust.  So if your layout is a long-term project, you might consider avoiding this material. 

What's wrong with corrugated cardboard as a trackbed?  One would have thought that, given its cellular type construction there might be some sound deadening qualities. It's cheaper than cork, in fact free, being thrown away by a supermarket near you.  The sloping sides of the ballast can be made-up with something, possibly just a slither of card or even papier-mache?

One volunteer needed to give it a try and report back.  I retain the right to receive any royalties when it goes viral!

Terry

That's an interesting twist Terry, corrogated cardboard might me worth a try?!

But what happens if it gets wet, ballasting scenery etc ?

Ed

Good question Ed.  Hadn't thought of that!  However, the answer is easy, just paint it with some shellac varnish, available in a store near you in a bottle named 'french polish'. That should do the trick.

Terry

Umm, good question Ed?!!:sad: