[db ice 3]

hey guys! ... sorry - more questions from me about starting my german layout - this time about underlay!.
i dont have the knowledge or patience to "ballast" my track with grains and glue ... and as its all going to be covered with "snow" and wont be visible anyways, all i really want is smooth and quiet running of my trains. i bought 15 rolls of "gaugemaster ballasted underlay" its distributed by gaugemaster but actually made by NOCH ... iv been reading elsewhere in here that foam disintegrates over time ... so using this pre-ballasted underlay - is this just a ticking time bomb or is this stuff acutally ok to use?. if it lasts 10 years ill be very happy as ill have moved onto something else by then!

 

[Brian Considine]

The cheepo foam does indeed dry out & break up. The GM/Noch one should be better though.

If the underlay is not exposed to light by covering with "snow" then it should last longer.

You could always use FLM Profi track, more expensive but you'll never have any problems with it !