Alternatives to Cork underlay

[Dan Griffin]

Hello.

 

does anyone use anything other than cork for their track bed?

 

are there any good alternatives to use on a permanent layout?

 

I have just started a large (17ft by 17ft) layout and cork will prove very expensive.

 

I was looking at something like this, but have not seen it in the flesh yet.

https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-thermal-insulation-roll-l-10m-w-0-5m-t-2mm/1906878_BQ.prd

 

thanks in advance.

[31A]

I recently did some alterations to my layout and did use cork as an underlay, but bought in the form of cork tiles from Amazon.  

 

I don't know whether this would be cheaper than buying the usual rolls sold as 'underlay"?  I think the tiles are more manageable than rolls!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FPKV2WK/ref=pe_3187911_185740111_TE_item

[Nearholmer]

Buy from Charles Cantrill (google to find). They are a specialist supplier of cork, mostly for gaskets, and what they provide is miles superior to most ‘model railway’ stuff, as well as being cheaper, and their service is really excellent.

 

You will find many RMWebbers using them.

 

The thing about ‘industrial’ cork is that it is known to last ‘forever’, which is more than is known about a lot of plastic-based products.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Nearholmer

[mike morley]

I've tried various alternatives to cork in the past but have always ended up going back to cork.  One major reason being that most of the alternatives give off extremely noxious fumes when you go anywhere near them with a soldering iron.

[hayfield]

I use 3mm thick Closed Cell foam as sold by C&L, other alternatives are available and  possibly cheaper. thin Camping mats apparently are similar, Closed cell foam has better sound damping qualities than cork

 

With both closed cell foam and cork fix both to the base boards using Copydex as a contact adhesive. PVA locks everything solid. to lay ballast either use Copydex neat or dilute with water 50%/50% and use a dropper. PVA locks everything up solid 

[tractionman]

2 minutes ago, hayfield said:

. thin Camping mats apparently are similar, Closed cell foam has better sound damping qualities than cork

 

 

that's interesting, I have been pondering using camping mats for my new layout instead of cork, something like this

 

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15901651/freedomtrail-6mm-foam-camping-mat-15901651

 

carved into shape.

 

I'll probably try a small area first to test it out.

 

cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

DCC Concepts now have a closed cell foam product in their range.

 

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product-category/track-and-track-making-parts/top-quality-track-bed/

 

I used Charles Cantrill  cork for my layout. First class service.

 

http://www.charlescantrill.com/shop/model-railway/

[tomparryharry]

I have a lot laminate flooring  underlay tiles 'in stock'. Does anyone have any experience of these in a non-flooring application? 

 

Cheers,

Ian.

[Mark Forrest]

Having used cork (tiles) and the C&L closed cell foam on previous layouts, I've decided against using either for my next one and will lay the track directly onto a plywood trackbed. 

I'm not convinced there are any real benefits of introducing a material which varies in thickness when weight is applied to it into a scenario where I want a level trackbed.  If I did want to raise the track to form ballast shoulders I'd be tempted to look at using thin MDF.

[Clagsniffer]

https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/item/ST1461
 

Ive used this before, thought it was pretty good. You can get big sheets of it for the curves and pointwork.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, hayfield said:

I use 3mm thick Closed Cell foam as sold by C&L, other alternatives are available and  possibly cheaper. thin Camping mats apparently are similar, Closed cell foam has better sound damping qualities than cork

 

With both closed cell foam and cork fix both to the base boards using Copydex as a contact adhesive. PVA locks everything solid. to lay ballast either use Copydex neat or dilute with water 50%/50% and use a dropper. PVA locks everything up solid 

 

I'd be interested in the life expectancy of closed cell foam.

If you plan to build a "lifetime project" the last thing you want is for the underlay to start degrading ten years down the line

[Rowsley17D]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I'd be interested in the life expectancy of closed cell foam.

If you plan to build a "lifetime project" the last thing you want is for the underlay to start degrading ten years down the line

 

DCC Concepts will only give a 10 year guarantee on their product.

[Dan Griffin]

What about thick (3mm) mounting card? The thick stuff i can get from the range, cut and used under the track. Once ballasted you wont see it?

[Andy1963]

I'm using 5mm thick flooring underlay tiles that are made of wood fibre, from Screwfix. I've used cork before and have never seen the benefit over going straight onto the plywood base boards.  The stuff I'm using now is supposed to supress sound by 19dB. I'm laying this on top of 9mm ply boards and using the Peco 14mm pins to hold the track down.  I am hoping the fibre board will take the pins well and they will be well supported when driven into the ply and less likely to bend.  

[Rowsley17D]

12 minutes ago, Andy1963 said:

I'm using 5mm thick flooring underlay tiles that are made of wood fibre, from Screwfix. I've used cork before and have never seen the benefit over going straight onto the plywood base boards.  The stuff I'm using now is supposed to supress sound by 19dB. I'm laying this on top of 9mm ply boards and using the Peco 14mm pins to hold the track down.  I am hoping the fibre board will take the pins well and they will be well supported when driven into the ply and less likely to bend.  

 

This will method not deaden any sound. The pins will carry sound from the track into the ply which will act as a sounding board. It will be much better if the track were glued to the wood fibre and the fibre to the ply with vinyl glue (carpet glue).

[Il Grifone]

I've tried other things and have come to the conclusion that cork is the way to go, using a flexible glue (e.g. fabric adhesive*) not pins to hold the track. A little flexibility in the trackbed aids both trackholding and electrical contact.

 

* Usually expensive try 'Works' or 'Hobbycraft'. (Usual disclaimer for both!)

Edited February 19, 2020 by Il Grifone

[ikcdab]

On 18/02/2020 at 10:10, tomparryharry said:

I have a lot laminate flooring  underlay tiles 'in stock'. Does anyone have any experience of these in a non-flooring application? 

 

Cheers,

Ian.

I have used the 5mm laminate flooring underlay often. It's the stuff that comes in sheets approx 1.2m x 500mm of something similar, a light green colour.

Works a treat and easy to glue down and fix track too. Highly recommended.

[hayfield]

12 hours ago, Il Grifone said:

I've tried other things and have come to the conclusion that cork is the way to go, using a flexible glue (e.g. fabric adhesive*) not pins to hold the track. A little flexibility in the trackbed aids both trackholding and electrical contact.

 

* Usually expensive try 'Works' or 'Hobbycraft'. (Usual disclaimer for both!)

 

Anything that does not lock up solid. For a lot of situations I use a product called "Extreme" (its one of those new polymer glues) by Schtux, I guess no more nails is the same. Ideal for fixing High density foam or cork to baseboards. I have also heard trame sealant works, but never used it myself

[Il Grifone]

I forgot to mention - use as little glue as possible as you may want to rip it all up again in the future!