Ask MR: Can roadbed material reduce track noise?

A shiny black material is attached to model railroad benchwork under future track locations

Q: Would a subroadbed made of foam board be quieter than plywood? My previous HO scale layout used ½” plywood, and the noise coming from the wheels was so high it interfered with my enjoyment of the sound decoders. Would foam board make that wheel noise less intrusive or is there something else I should […]

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Ask MR: Building and powering a garden railroad

Large-scale track is seen resting in a bed of gravel in front of a small wood depot

Q: I am building a garden railroad in Colorado. Any suggestions as to how I should build and lay my track? – Dennis Dvorak, Colorado Springs, Colo. A: Our sister magazine, Garden Railways, published a whole lot of information about how to build a garden railroad. Model Railroader’s Rene Schweitzer, who comes from GR-land, says that many […]

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How are a crane’s hooks secured for transit?

A brown-and-silver wreck crane is seen in transit, its boom secured to the deck

Q: I have a couple of 25-ton cranes on my layout. While running them in a work train, the hooks swing, giving them an unrealistic look. Are the hooks normally tethered to the boom when the cranes are being transported? I couldn’t find any photos of actual cranes during transport. – Steve Favale, Buffalo, N.Y. […]

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