Laying Track Bed and Laying Points at Chadwick Model Railway | 91. 

Thank you Charlie. I've just started laying my track this evening, so your video was really useful!

Thanks for another interesting and informative video.. I like the idea of numbering your videos I for one have been entertaining myself during this period of lock down by taking the opportunity to go back through your back catalogue of videos.. keep em coming..

Lol where I live in Canada it's still snowing every other day so binge watching your videos is the way to go. Keep up the great work, I look forward to your videos every week

Hi Charlie - after a hard day at the office (aka my front room) your video's are a great way to destress. As always full of great top tips. Hope you and family are continuing to stay safe. Cheers Euan

Charlie. I've only started watching your channel since lock down as I've now got time to really work on my railway. Thank you for such usefull and honest, and funny at times, videos. I can see how much time and effort you put into them and like the mix of subjects. I've subscribed and look forward to working back through the others and for the new ones. Thank you.

Thank you for the sound demonstration comparing the different track underlays and emphasising the different requirement for adhesives. It does explain why you replaced the previous cork base.

Charlie, I've found your channel in the last week and love the fact that you've now numbered them. I started When you were building the viaduct section so I can now go back and start at the very beginning - love your work. PS I'm also a fan of Really Useful Box products.

Another great video Charlie. I love your explanations as they help novices to build their layout properly. Thanks mate.

Yes!!! Copydex. I’ve been a huge believer in the stuff for years. The fact that when you make a totally hash of things it peels up easily is fabulous. Keep up the great work Charlie. 👍

Glad to see your still at it. I may not have a layout, but if I did you have given me many ideals, and things to thing about Thanks so much for sharing, be safe

Thank you for putting your ties/sleepers back under your track, I can't begin to tell you how many people don't do it and how empty it looks! Everything looks like its coming along nicely and being built proper!

Again Charlie what another fantastic video cant wait to see a running session on your layout. cheers Nic

Hi Charlie, I just wanted to thank you for putting all your videos together. They have played a large part in inspiring me to get stuck back in to completing my model railway and your comparison of the track beds has proven to be spot on as always. After watching this video some time back I decided to re-lay my track with the woodland scenic foam track bed (and glued instead of pinned). I finally got the track powered up and was able to have a few locos run over it in the weekend and the sound deadening is amazing compared to the cork I had previously. Thanks you again, and keep up the great work! Cheers, Steve

Evening Charlie. Thanks for putting so much effort into your channel. Fridays are worth waiting for now 👍🏻 I'm making great progress on my layout since your last video. Station platform completed now working on unfinished buildings lol 😂 As I've been furloughed again from work so I've to control my spending for the time being 😩 Have a safe weekend looking forward to seeing the next video. Cheers Stevie. PS your involvement with McKinley project is absolutely fantastic Charlie.

Thank You Charlie, for such a great video. I've now got to the stage of putting my trackbed down and installing track and I was getting really nervous about doing it. I was not sure track pins or glue, But after watching the video it's given me so much more confidence. I've now put the first pieces of trackbed down using copydex and it's really good. hopefully tomorrow first points will be test fitted.

This is great!!! I just picked up a bunch of WS Foam Roadbed and was wondering how well it worked. Hope to start in a few days putting mine down! Will be watching from across the Atlantic pond!! Cheers!! Ray

Thank you for another video. I wish everyone would number their videos like you just did, great suggestion.

Hi Charlie, Another informative video. I've always said to fellow club members good track laying is the key to a layout that runs well and you certainly take your time and make sure it's done well. I'm going to try the foam track bed and just glue the track on my next layout. I will have to watch your video on block detection again. Cheers, David.

Excellent presentation and very helpful at my stage of track laying. The introduction of your latest investment had me in knots... no noise reduction there 🤣 Thank you.

Great vid Charlie. Thanks for the demonstration of the different track beds used. I have been a staunch advocate of cork but am going to check out the woodland scenics foam for my next layout. For my droppers I use 7/02 as you do. For my my bus I use 16/02 as my runs are quite short. Keep up the great content it's very helpful seeing how others skin Thier cats!

Hello Charlie, another interesting and informative video. In regards the weather, I live in Southern California. And it’s being dreary and raining for the better part of two weeks. So binge watching my favorite You Tube model railway channels is a good thing. Thanks. See ya next time.

Closed cell foam rocks. It has so many wonderful applications. I've used it in my van. Boom!!! wonderful acoustics. I did have to apply small butylene rubber sheets to the single skin panels first though in order to reduce resonance but now my van sounds quite civilised. Win win👍👍

without doubt you are simply the best..easy to follow and straightforward talking...laying th rubber down on th track...sure you're not a F1 driver Charlie lol

Thank you so much for this video, cleared up a few of my queries and some really good pointers along the way as well. Cheers AB

Thanks for another interesting video Charlie (helps keep one sane in these times). Glad to see your housekeeping improving 😉 and that the hair is getting as unruly as my own since I didn’t have the foresight to get it cut before lockdown 😀

Bravo, Charlie! You've become a celebrity! Great job explaining your conditions for sound reduction. I certainly don't believe it's an obsession; with sound locomotives, and all the different sounds available from the current models of sound decoders, trying to remain faithful to the illusion by avoiding the 'rumble' is a worthy objective. Looks - and sounds - like you've accomplished that. Keep it up, Charlie! You're fans out here need you! Thanks!

I absolutely love your videos, Charlie. It’s become a religion of mine when I get in from work at 5am and crawl to bed. I settle in and am completely absorbed by the brilliant way you explain what you’re doing and the care taken in your videos and how the advice you give is offered to your viewers. It’s really great. No doubt you’ve seen the tv program, “‘model railway challenge”. I honestly think that if you and a couple of your mates entered, you’d be favourite to win. I bet using your clean and relatable method of working, you’d produce something excellent and would almost definitely win the competition. I can’t wait to see your layout running and I hope once it’s more complete and to your satisfaction, you’ll continue to make videos with trains running round your craftsmanship. Thanks a million. This is brilliant viewing. You’ll be pleased to learn that as a direct consequence of your and “sam’s trains” videos, I’ve got as far as buying a base board and a lot of the materials I need to begin to make my layout. All I need now is a space to begin building!! 😂

Another ‘happy’ video from which we can all benefit. Keep up the good work. From your previous videos I’ve changed to the glueing method of track laying using the ‘copydex’ method.you trialed. Had much success with this fixing arrangement. Thank You. A couple of ideas to add to the mix - I have created a jig to locate brass panel pins for soldering to the underside the rails at baseboard joints. Speeded up this task. To weigh down the track whilst the glue dries I use ‘dead’ laptop batteries; oblong shape and nice and heavy! Keep well and SAFE. Happy modelling, 🚂 Tony

I have not yet been holding a sharp object while trying to find a particular video on your channel ("Careful With that Axe, Eugene") but I have wished for ALL model RR video makers to number the episodes. Thank you for fixing yours.

Loved it set back with a beer Watch this channel interesting and very helpful looking forward for the next one

Very nice demonsatration Charlie. Even though I do DC I have no end of problems with slips....I have a 3 slip 4 point complex on my layout....headache!!!!. Thanks for another great video. Cheers, Bob

Thank you for the video charlie. You put so much effort into getting your track work right, which pays off. I'm happy you've found a sound deadening you like, very interested in the type of adhesive you will be using for the ballasting which will not negate the sound transmission like a standard pva would. Hope you stay safe, until next week. Alex

It's all coming together! I already binged watched your channel when I first found it so I'm all up to date...though it is cold and wet here in New Jersey so I have no choice but to stay in...shall I have another go round? Keep on Keepin' on and stay safe, Charlie. -The Peej

Another top video Charlie. Some of the most enthusiastic drilling I have ever seen and the phrase 'local vibration' must become part of the English language. Hope you are all keeping well mate. Take care

Superb vid and info 😆...The next time I build a layout I think I will use thin sheets of flat fome cut to shape to dampen sound a bit more as the track I use is rebalasted fleischmann profi track....but some heavy locos with the old motors can make grinding sound ampified through the loft flooring I use for the base boards.. Jim.

Excellent video Charlie. I will have to give woodland scenics foam another chance. We had used it on a module for a modular club and the stuff was a nightmare. It dried out and could not handle three set ups without major issues. Track started to bounce weird while it gave a realistic roll to the trains a few of my top heavy cars really got rocking at speed. It looked like the Napoleon Defiance and Western railroad. So we ripped it up and went with the cork. It may have just been the use we where using it for was ill suited to the task. Thank you for the information and the confidence boost in the foam track bed. It was much nicer to work with at times than the cork. I may not have a lot of sound DCC locomotives (I have a lot of older Athearn blue box locomotives that have had a lot of custom work done such as making a CNW buffalo so getting a speaker in on top of modifying it to get a board in them is near impossible) I do enjoy some board rumble (some is realistic) I don't want that to be the main sound in the room. I enjoy hearing the clickety clack of wheels. Especially running a long ore train with 24' Michigan ore cars. Wheels all over. What a sound going through a switch yard.

Hi Charlie. Thanks for the comparison of track beds. One thing you missed for me was a cost comparison (per length) of the Woodland Scenics foam and the 3mm cork.

I agree with your method to a point (excuse the pun). I put down a bed of the anti carpet slip stuff from Ikea for about £3 you get a big bagful. then the woodland foam on top of that. this reduces sound through boards big time. thanks Charlie for the vids

Another great video Charlie thank you for taking the time to do these videos and I am one that loves binge watching these videos aswell if you ever need to ask a question about timber I'm a cabinetmaker in Australia and I am more than happy to give free advise I've been in the industry for almost 25 years

Hi Charlie great video on track laying I have trains runing on the main line again after last weekend disaster on the down mainline I got the track relayed on Tuesday 😆 the 4 aspects colourlight signal gantry is now ready to go into place on the mainline at the nouth end of lancaster station goodbye for now Charlie stay safe and well mate Clive

Nice one Charlie, you always make it look so easy 👍

Mr Bishop. You're already a legend and I'd definitely say you're top shelf along with @everardjunction and the likes of @newjunction and @daveclass47. Please just run your channel how you want, respond as and when you can and do what you do best. Thanks from a very happy subscriber and patron.

I for one am really glad you started numbering your videos - not because I wish to obsessively watch them all in order, but because knowing the number gives me a general 'idea' of the progress and techniques you have developed over time. For instance, if I watch video 20 and you recommend glue A, but then in video 150 you're using a different glue, I can say to myself "Ah! Well Charlie here has found a better way of doing things than he did before," and vice versa I know I can disregard a tip in video 35 when I've already seen you do it differently in video 162.

Great update Charlie!!! Cheers Onno.

Richard’s videos - you say they they are top shelf - do you mean top drawer? 😃👍 great video as always!

Very neat and tidy Charlie. Even with O gauge and woodlands underlay I tend to use a lot less Copydex than you, probably because I'm a tight fisted old sod. ! Right now in Somerset it's cold damp and miserable as you know. (just the way I like it) ! Now back to DIY and that list the seems to be growing. Stay safe.

Look forward to the industrial area .The sun is shining and the beers are cold .Keep safe .

Good Evening Charlie. I hope this note finds you well. Another great video. Just like a comment from another "Canuck" Anthony Graham, binge watching your videos is not that bad. I have done it myself and I find that watching them in sequence can be quite informative and entertaining. At least it is not like watching the same movies over and over. And I am always waiting for the next installment. Please keep up the great work. Stay well. Wash your hands until they are almost raw and keep "2" meters from everybody else. Your wife and children excluded. Regards Thomas

Hi Charlie, I have used as my balast very fine ground up cork, prepainted of course and it has reduced track noise almost totally, it's a product that added to paint for antislip on boats, just a thought for you, excellent videos, thankyou

The demo with your sound system very good. I 've laid down tracks many times, this the first time I observed after you white glued the roadbed but to my surprise with the plastic ties! I would think that white or clear glue would not be compatible with that to the plastic ties. I know Atlas has nail holes on all their trackage in HO SCALE. Peco HO/ OO doesn't have mounting holes which makes it harder to install when I'm laying down trackage. This is my third viewing on your channel... Off subject I was very moved when this Covid 19 started its destructive path on our many nations You took time out with your Model railroad club to help us make your own home version of hand sanitizer! I live in New York City, New York U.S.A. from pharmacies , supermarkets & Hardware giants there is no hand sanitizer & disinfectant sprays or wipes to clean and protect ourselves from this pandemic. I want to thank you from my heart across the pond for that segment. A lot went into those ingredients you put in to protect ourselves from those nasty germs in this pandemic. Stay well and Happy Railroading. 💓🏭🏨🏦🏥🏣🏢🏫🌈🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚄

Great video, thank you for uploading. I've noticed the sound differences in my layout as there is mixture of cork and foam roadbed. a good product I found to significantly reduce the noise was the 9" x 12" thick foam sheets sold by Michael's here in the states. its 99 cents a sheet and does a fantastic job reducing the noise. Though I only recommend it for yards or station areas as other wise you would have to cut each segment individually and then bevel the edges for ballast, either through trimming or vinyl wall filler. Perhaps something to give go? A good perspective on track laying. I've found your videos very helpful as my model railroad evolves. I now do my wiring on sections instead of crawling under the layout. Still haven't gotten me sold on soldering though. Apparently not my cup of tea, so I only do it when I have to.

BZ on numbering the vlogs, I follow a lot on others on different subjects and quite a few of them have numbered theirs its so much easier.

Hey, I am one of those sad people :-) But, your videos always seem to give me a reason to smile. Mind, I'm typically watching them late on a Friday night, so they do not interfere with being outside on a sunny day. (We are to get some storms to go with our colder-than normal April weather tomorrow.) You did answer a question that had been in the back of my mind, on whether you added in sleepers to fill the gaps. Bravo Zulu.!

Many thanks for yet another interesting and informative video. Stay safe.

Charlie, I find the longest time spent tracklaying is the points. When you lay a series of them it feels like your getting nowhere. but once you start laying plain track you can start moving quiet quickly. Nice to see you inside in your "Bubble" If this goes on much longer I can feel cabin fever setting in. Cheers, Chris Perry.

Another great video Charlie, love your work, Cheers

You could use the woodland scenics trackbed in conjunction with a cut to size foam sheet underneath that the ballast will lay on and then you glue the foam down so it is secure

Great video charlie very informative as usual and the woodland scenics underlay seems v.good at noise reduction 👍stay safe

I love how you put a lot of effort into reducing the sound transmission through the track. I often see (or hear) other layouts where they sound of the running train is really amplified by the base board. And i often see others trying to overcome the issue by simply turning the sound chips up to a high volume. Which for me puts the sound from the loco totally out of proportion with the railway layout itself. I like it when the sound is not too loud, so that when a loco moves from one part of the layout to the next, the sound moves with it. Nothing better than getting your head down to track level and hearing the sound of the loco approaching you and then going away from you. Not a fan of having it so loud that it sounds the same all over the layout no matter where you are. Not using the loco sound to try and drown out the sound from the baseboard means you can have your sound output more in scale with the layout - if you know what i mean.

I enjoy and learn from all your videos so it is with some trepidation that I make a suggestion. The Woodland Scenics track bed that you are using has a score through it on the centreline. You would appear to have track centrelines marked on your board. So why not split the track bed in two and lay first one half against your pre-marked centreline and stick it down and then bring the second half to it. I have found this to be both easy and accurate especially on the curves or where the geometry is subtle.

You are truly a hoot. Again it was an interesting video. Entertaining and somewhat educational. (Good British humor as well).

Hi Charley. I liked this video (and many of your others). I wondered if anyone has ever tried laying carpet underlay foam before putting on the cork. The foam would act as the sound insulating layer (like it does on the carpet) and the cork would act as the track bed and it wouldn't matter if it soaked up the PVA from the ballast as you are no longer relying on it to insulate the sound.

Charlie, your videos are a lifeline during this lockdown. Your comment about being badgered for not having a handheld vacuum cleaner has made me feel guilty! But I am happy to see you with one. Talk about ambivalence!

I've used foam board as a track underlay, as indeed I use it for scenery support and as a core for buildings. Very useful and cheap. But I'm not enamoured of the sound effects when it comes to steam locos - diesels are another matter - so the rumbling and click-clack over rail joints are fine by me. Also, I don't know how I managed without a vacuum cleaner in the past, reclaiming ballast, scenic grasses as well as picking up the debris after rail cleaning with an abrasive block. Fascinating video again, Charlie, thanks. I watch while waiting for glue to dry!

Like you i hate connecting the fish plates and the insulated ones are even harder. Don't help that I'm modelling in n gauge. Great video yet again Charlie

You should get some Trackrite track underlay system for HO/OO, N, On30, HOn and HOm Gauge Track from Australia. It can even be used out doors

Thank you Charlie for another great video

Charley, since the roadbed has a factory split down the center, and you normally seem to draw a line where the center of your track is to run, wouldn't it be easier to draw the centerline of the track and measure to that instead of one or the other rail? This is the way I have done it for years and it has worked very well. The distances between tracks remains the same, just the measuring point changes.

Hi Charlie, I've just been watcing your piece on gthe cYOU TUBE channel, I am not a modeller at your scale but am intrigued by what you go through for your hobby, My fomer scale was 1;5" to the foot or 7.25 " gauge so a bit different! For example wghen we exhibitrd a loco at a show it took eight men to carry it up th short flight of steps to the entrance....just the loco!. At that time there was no you tube or even computeres to watch it all on, if someone had a film camera there was achance to see it alll again, PLEASE KLEEP UP THE GOOD WORK Model rail for ever !!!

Hi Charlie, About time you bought a vacuum cleaner! 😝 I laughed when I saw that. You drilled a hole then didn’t blow the mess all over the floor. Jim

Coming a close second to my interest in another extremely well executed video, is my fascination with the single [at time of writing] thumbs down. My, it's a competitive hobby, ha ha.

Hi Charlie, my model railway has been down for many years [approx. 30 years] with some minor additions to track work here and there. When I first began I laid my flexi-track on 3 mm cork and I have continued to do so. What has happened over the years is the cork bed originally laid has gone, should I say as hard as a rock which has occurred gradually over a period of time, needless to say there are variations governed by when the track was laid, consequently the noise levels vary which is a tad annoying. I seem to be rambling on a bit so to get to the point, if I was starting a layout today I think I would use the Woodlands Scenic track bed. I really enjoyed your video and the lengths you go to making sure everything is spot on. Cheers Greg Stay safe Charlie.

Great video enjoyed it very much looking forward to the next,all the best mate.

Nice weather outside? We just got 3 inches of snow last night! It's April 17th, for goodness sake! From Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. 70 miles from the geographic center of the country. Very nice video, Charlie! Hopefully, I'll be going back to work Monday, if nothing changes.

Charlie, Voice recognition leaves room for improvement. I too am laying track. Love that roadbed! Bob

Enjoyed the video Charlie..

Great work as usual Charlie!

Great video as always Charlie.

Intresting video i went to cork and pin route so far happy with the noise i get. Loke how you did black to the back i did the oposite and did Red to the rear.

I must be a saddo then, I get all excited when you issue a new video whether its sunny or not lol

Charlie I have watched and enjoyed all of your videos and I only watch them in the evening, daytime is for gardening etc. Really enjoy your videos but this one I found especially informative, I thinks its because of the way you show how to do things, you make it look so easy. I am building a N gauge layout, if you think track joiners are difficult on HO you want to come round my place and try my track work, talk about pulling what little hair I have left out, but it does in the end give me a truly large layout. Im in the early stages of building my layout and I am still pondering whether to put my track straight down on the plywood or use woodland scenics track bed, jury's still out and I realise its a personal choice. One thing I did notice is that when you put in a metal track joiner it did not appear that you leave a slight gap for expansion. Only reason I ask is I have put a large test track up in my loft and since we have had this wonderful warm weather down on the south coast my test track has warped in a number of places because the expansion gaps I left were not large enough. I am also putting in roof insulation and when I can afford it two roof lights which will make a difference when its all done. So do you bother with expansion gaps, guessing you do not need to as your layout is inside your home. Regards Chris

Excellent as always Charlie.

Hi charlie thanks for another brilliant vid. This one could'nt have been better timed as I am just getting ready to start a new layout. Its on a sleeper train theme as it is being built using an old cabin bed base, and due to the box like structue part of the base i am expecting a degree of amplifyed noise so anything to reduce the source of the noise can only be good. Once again many thanks

That was a maze job what you dun there to your layout. 👍 👍

Oddly, I'm the complete opposite of you Charlie. I nail my track directly to the plywood baseboard and love the sound it makes along with the loud clunk of my points.

I quite like the rumble that the base bored makes

I use large sheets of thick foam on the underside of the baseboard, with the track pinned directly to the plywood board. No noise at all.

Hello Charlie, Great video thanks for the first version. HC Treintje Belgium Herman.

Merci pour cette vidéo de partage de connaissance. Bravo et Bonne continuation.

Great video Charlie

Very helpful, thanks Charlie.

Great stuff Charlie once again your skills, patience, & attention to detail shine through, making me very envious of you. just one aside, the things you use to weight down the track while glue sets, have you ever been known to use them for their intended purpose?

Bonjours Je suis français et j apprécie tous vos conseils très intéressant continuer comme cela bonne journée cordialement

Years ago I used the Gaugemaster foam which after about 15 years turned to a thick, tar like substance and the track just sank into it. Bloody crap it was. Yet at the time is was advertised as good for semi permanent, or permanent use. I had to lift the complete layout and start again.

Another useful vid. Thanks Charlie

Thanks Charlie, Try Neoprene i tried lots of different substates & adhesives, Neoprene which has a self adhesive peelable back strip came out the best for noise reduction it was applied all over the entire layout, ballast was fixed using a latex adhesive ( copydex) finally the track pins were then removed, i did not need a trackbed as i have a flat engine shed & yard layout but around the perimeter is a double track branch line so this was doubled up with neoprene to establish a raised trackbed. Very silent slow shunting in the yard, the branch line which is 90% freight is also very quite. Neoprene lasts for 30+ years has very good memory but is a little expensive but you don't have to cover the whole layout as i did just do the track parts but remember not to ballast over the trackbed sides or some of the noise reduction will be lost. Finally i have rubber feet on all the table legs which all helps, i have not the technical ability nor inclination to produce a vid but you may prove the concept if you wish or any other modeler. Off cut samples of neoprene can acquired from the manufactures plenty of them on the net. take care Charlie all the best,,,, Andy

Hi Charlie, Thanks for another great presentation, hope you and your family are well?, Yup, i agree with the vacuum go on Fleabay get a cheap portable rechargeable one,a lifesaver. I also agree, it was a great idea to Renumber your vids i ended up going all over the place to catch up .thanks. everyone stay safe yet another 3 weeks at least. Whilst a year for me and others with health problems :-( .till later. Mac

Hello Charlie, greetings from Australia. I cannot thank you enough for the help you are providing as I embark on modelling after a very, very long layoff. My dcc layout is designed as an around the walls end to end with the focus on slow transit and shunting. For space saving, all of my turnouts bar one are small radius Peco Code 100 electro frogs. I have one curved large radius SL E87. I'm attempting to follow your turnout modifications to improve dcc reliability. On the curved turnout business as usual. On the small radius turnout I think I have a problem and seek your guidance. The supplied frog wire does not connect to the closure rails like it does on the SL E87. If I cut the two jumper wires I'm assuming I will not have power into the ends of the closure rails. I have unsuccessfully tried to solder the frog wire to the brass pads on the closing rails to mimic the SL E87. So before I stuff up any turnouts I'm coming to the conclusion that I cannot follow your improvements in full. I'm thinking all I can do is wire the frog rail up ready for the tortoise, leave the jumper wires in place and rely on the switch blades to provide power to the end of the closure rails rather than solder in the droppers as you show. However this seems contrary to Peco's pack instructions which says to cut the wires if the frog is switched independently. I note though that the schematic differs from what the SL E91 and 92 actually look like. So I'm confused and would appreciate any guidance you may offer on applying your improvements to small radius turnouts. Thank you Regards Steve

Thank you Charlie.

You can always use self adhesive sound deadening stuck to the underside of the board which will help with noise. You can purchase this quite cheaply as it is used for motor vehicles