I have sucessfully joined ME Code 55 rail with Peco Code 55 by taking a Dremel Tool with a Cut-off disc and carefully cutting away the bottom web of the Peco rail. The bottom web is really Code 80 imbedded into the plastic ties, and if you cut it away to the bottom of the Code 55 web, smooth with a file if necessary, and then use a regular ME Code 55 rail joiner, you can join the two rails together and the rail head will be the same height. You only need to cut away enough of the bottom web to slip the rail joiner on, half the width of the rail joiner, as the other half will be on the ME Code 55 rail. Try it and see if it works for you. Buzz Lenander
buzz thanks for your reply ! this really helped me a lot. the reason for me to use peco is simple : this is the only reliable track available over here. waiting months to receive some me track is just not acceptable. using any kind of silly german n scale track (arnold, minitrix, similar) is a definite no go. i KNOW tie spacing is wrong. but once the track is ballasted you won't see it from 3ft away. having a strong and reliable flextrack was of greater importance than the look of the track.
Well, they get easy points on every switch made by fastrac users. One has to buy the jigs for every size switch they want to build then still buy the materials then assemble them. What do you get from the deal? a switch soldered to PC ties in a few spots that still has to be attached to ties and roadbed. Why not attach the ties to the roadbed first then solder the rails in place using an NMRA gauge and eliminate the jig? That way one can build any number or radius of switch for any place with no cost except the materials? Somehow these guys found a way to make something easy sound hard so they can sell a product that is not really needed. A sweet racket or not? I've always built my own but If someone wants to spend more money for switches why not just spend it on atlas switches and eliminate the work and gain some spike details?....dave
So, those who bought the Fasttrack system didn't need to, because you find it easy to build your own? I guess no-one even thought of that, neither the manufacturer or end user... ... or the manufacturer really saw a niche need to make such a simple task easier for those who don't feel a hand-built turnout is as easy to build as you feel. I have downloaded the video files and they make building turnouts look easier with the jigs. Otherwise the majority of less-able modellers would not consider building their own and struggle, or should I say compromise their ambitions, with the current limited range of code 55 turnout product.
Sorry but I fail see how laying ties on the roadbed and soldering rail to them in situ is easier then using an assembly jig at your workbench. For some (incl me), Fast Tracks is the way to go, for others maybe not. Atlas only offers #5, #7 and #10 straight turnouts, anything else and your on your own, therefore Fastracks filled the hole in my layout. Btw Dave, I noticed in another thread that your new to N scale? So question is, have you actually attempted to handlay an n-scale curved turnout or any n scale turnout?? If you have, could I see some pics of your work?
It's pretty easy, but a little tedious. You have to carefully file the base of Peco code 55 rail with a small file, turning the false Peco code 55 in an actual code 55. Then you can use a rail joiner as usual. Hope you got it.
One of things I really like about the Fast Tracks is that they look so good without the hinge in the point rails and as mentioned above they run so smooth thru the frog without any dips or wobbles. Time consuming to make but to me they are a model within the model layout.
Anybody who says that you can't tell the difference between Peco tie spacing the atlas code 55 tie spacing (three feet away) really should be in HO scale. Is your vision that bad?? track is a model too, we are not running N scale automobiles, we run trains of which the track is the integrial part of. Its almost an abomination to run (what has become) scale models on non scale track that looks more like tinplate (when your a foot and half away) then it looks like the prototype. (yes code 55 is oversize, but marginally so code 80 is way over size, and compromised tie spacing is a detriment to the looks of the models we run. Rob
I have handlaid with fast tracks jigs and hand laid with just templates, (and sold turnouts too boot) The jigs are excellent for those not familiar with handlaying and want to get acceptable results in a short time. For me with my track laying business I can crank out turnouts quicker and have a more consistent product. Its less tedious, easier to do, and builds quicker at the bench. Machine work is expensive, considering the normal price of custom machine work the fast track jigs are a bargen. Rob Prototrack
This is quite easy. To join ME code 55 or Atlas Code 55 to Peco, just do this.... Turn the peco upside down. Use a flat file to file the underside of the rail until the bottom flange is gone, leaving only the top flange. Use a standard rail joiner between the code 55 rail and the peco, check to make sure the top is flush. If not, file a little bit more and retry. When it's flush, stop. You may need to shim under the ties with cardboard on the Code 55 side for a short distance. Both because of the removed rail and because peco ties are thick.
Hi Phil, I didn't say handlaying without the jigs is easier. I said it is not necessary to spend the money for the jigs to build switches. Either way is the same amount of work. When one builds a switch it requires the same steps; roadbed, ties,shape the rails, spike or solder, and install. It doesn't matter what sequence these are performed, they all have to be eventually done. If you shape the parts then let the expensive jig hold them for soldering you still have to install the ties and install the switch onto the layout. If you install the ties onto the roadbed first then shape the parts then solder the rails in place one at a time onto the ties you can just hold them in place with spikes or your finger and eliminate the cost of the jigs. It's sorta like those veggie chopper jigs they advertise on late night TV, they look like a good idea to someone who's never cooked but if one knows how to use a knife they seem like a waste of money. The atlas or other commercial range of switches cover most of the needs for a layout so is it worth buying a special jig to build a couple of curved switches or other odd situations? If you learn to build without the jigs it doesn't matter what size is needed, you can build anything any time. Skill is a lot more flexible than jigs so is worth development. Now, if someone was building a huge layout and needed a lot of a standard size switch a jig might be worth the trouble and cost but it would still be more work than buying commercial switches and they would not have any spike details or point hinges. No, I haven't built any N scale track yet, I'm still playing with the cute little cars. I still haven't decided on N scale or S scale or O scale for my next layout, it depends on where we decide to live after retirement. The only trackwork I've got in progress now is a little Proto 48 for a small oldtimer 1895 era switching layout, the photo shows how I build handlaid track at the workbench by gluing the ties to thin wooden roadbed, no reason it wouldn't work for N scale with glued down PC board ties?....dave
My train purchases are based on the standard time vs. money dilemma. When I have time, I usually don't have money, and vice versa. There's 85 switches on my layout, 75 Atlas No. 7s and 10 Atlas No. 5s. At $8 a piece that's $680. If I were to rebuild, I'd go with 75 No. 10s and 10 No. 7s. That's $867.50. I'd buy only two jigs for $250-300 and they'd be in the range of No.12s and maybe 7-8s. Actually, I'd buy one jig for 10-12s for $150 or so and buy the 7s for $80. If I needed a different switch, I'd handlay it without the templates. It's not that difficult, although I realize that many modelers just are not interested in trying it or doing it. It's a lot simpler than making a 3-inch naval gun in N scale, and a whole lot less fiddly. I may be building a second layout a while from now. I'll probably buy Atlas switches if I have money, and use a jig for the majority if I have time. So there's a tipping point in this discussion. If I need a whole lot of similar switches, I might buy a jig. If I need less than about 30 of a switch, I'd just buy them. If I need only a few of something that's not commercially available, I'll handlay them without a jig. I think these jigs won't wear out for quite a while, even if they are aluminum. My trusty aluminum miter jig is 35 years old and, while I'm getting close, I haven't sawn through it yet. So I could always sell a switch jig when I'm through with it. As for supplies, they are pretty much the same whether you use a jig or handlay. that's why I bumped my tipping point from 20 to 30 switches. When I've needed just rails, I've stripped a piece of flextrack. I just assume it might be cheaper than finding (or ordering) only a few pieces of bare rail.
Dave posted while I was composing. In our own ways, we said pretty much the same thing. I have a moderately large layout. I would not buy a jig if I had only a few switches to build. I have handlaid N scale switches, and also HO and S scale switches for friends. N scale is no more difficult than the other scales--in fact, finding rail tall enough for S scale was a challenge back in the days before the Internet (it might still be a challenge today?) The last dozen or so posts have defined the discussion much more precisely.
Jig or no jig, Peco or Atlas or whatever, I am just happy to see the increasing variety of choices available in N scale. I don't see how we could go wrong.
It does seam a bit ironic that the three curved turnouts in the picture don't have any rail on them. Jason
For our Donner Pass Exhibit, we have built about 70 of the turnouts we will need using the FastTracks jigs. We have jigs for #6, #8, and #10 code 55 ME rail. They have given us excellent results. It has allowed for mass production of turnouts off-site (read "at home") that can then be installed when needed. I had not used my handlaying skills since 1978 and I found the jigs to be easy to use with results that far exceed any N scale manufactured turnout. Cars roll through these turnouts as smoothly as they do straight track. When we amortize the jigs over the 185 turnouts we will eventually need for the exhibit, it comes to about $1.60 per turnout. And then the jigs are available to our members to build turnouts for their home layouts too.
Jason, I think that, if you can handlay a turnout in one scale, you can do it equally as well in another scale. I think the question here is economy of scale, rather than the scale one is modeling. I'll attest that making a good switch in S scale requires a lot more filing than making a switch in N scale. jrwirt stated it well: This whole discussion, with perhaps a few unintended hot buttons about "sweet schemes", has been resolved around the issue of value and quantity. I can't show you a picture of my handlaid N scale turnouts, as they were made many years (and layouts) ago, when I hated photography, especially the model kind. I think Dave has made his point about values and quantities, as I and jrwirt have also.
I would have never tried to handlay a turnout without the jigs. I bought to jigs, between them I'll be making about 75 turnout when all is said and done, probably around 10 so far. I will have one (a doubleslip no less) to do without a jig, I never would have the guts to try it without the experience the jigs gave me. Making that many turnouts, I don't feel bad about the price at all.
Hi Pete , For S scale I just buy atlas code 100 or code 83 HO flextrack at the best price possible then rip the rail off the ties...dave
