Carpeting can work wonders. A loco dropped from my suspended layout 7' to the carpeting, and there was NO damage!!! It must have hit just right.
I have a 3' x 3' piece of carpeting that I slide around in my layout room, to keep my feet off the cold tile floor. Just so happened that last night I wasn't planning on doing anything more than putting the loco on the track and OOPS.
Yes, carpet is even better. The only downside is that it likes to eat tiny screws and other parts.