06-26-2010, 02:12 PM
Justin, you've already gone too far with the newspaper solution for the knotholes, so don't cause yourself even greater grief by trying to level the wrinkled paper using spackle or anything else. As was mentioned earlier, the knots will cause little trouble unless under the track, and even then, most track will pass over such irregularities without problem.
Get yourself some coarse sandpaper - #36 or #40, and if you have a sander, use it. Otherwise, wrap the sandpaper around a block of wood and sand all of the raised wrinkled areas until they've been completely removed. With no variations in elevation of the track, and most of the layout "urban", your scenery, wherever you decide to situate your layout, should be flat.
In the photo below, almost all of the area is directly atop plywood, with no roadbed under the track and no foam, plaster, or other material between the finished scenery and the plywood, most of which is 3/8" sheathing grade spruce (lots of knots and a rough surface).
![[Image: 100_5650.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Layout%20room%20tour/100_5650.jpg)
The illusion of raised track work was done with various colours of ballast and ground cover, and was simple and economical to accomplish.
![[Image: Foe-toesfromfirstcd344.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/locos%20with%20trains/Foe-toesfromfirstcd344.jpg)
As for the issue of noise - it isn't.
On a switching layout, train speeds are low, and you won't be generating enough noise to justify the expense of noise-mitigating measures. Besides that, any such consideration should then be applied to the entire layout, as most industrial areas don't have visibly raised trackwork.
One other thing: get that ceiling fixed before you go any farther with the layout. The small particles which can fall from fibreglass insulation are the same size and shape as those which occur in asbestos, and they have a similar effect on your lungs. As for the cats, well.....
Wayne
Get yourself some coarse sandpaper - #36 or #40, and if you have a sander, use it. Otherwise, wrap the sandpaper around a block of wood and sand all of the raised wrinkled areas until they've been completely removed. With no variations in elevation of the track, and most of the layout "urban", your scenery, wherever you decide to situate your layout, should be flat.
In the photo below, almost all of the area is directly atop plywood, with no roadbed under the track and no foam, plaster, or other material between the finished scenery and the plywood, most of which is 3/8" sheathing grade spruce (lots of knots and a rough surface).
The illusion of raised track work was done with various colours of ballast and ground cover, and was simple and economical to accomplish.
As for the issue of noise - it isn't.
On a switching layout, train speeds are low, and you won't be generating enough noise to justify the expense of noise-mitigating measures. Besides that, any such consideration should then be applied to the entire layout, as most industrial areas don't have visibly raised trackwork.One other thing: get that ceiling fixed before you go any farther with the layout. The small particles which can fall from fibreglass insulation are the same size and shape as those which occur in asbestos, and they have a similar effect on your lungs. As for the cats, well.....
Wayne