N Scale Track

I'm a former HO Model Railroader just getting back into Model Railroading as an N Scale DCC Model Railroader who is at the layout planning stage. I have been researching to determine which N Scale track is more reliable, or user friendly. I noticed that there seems to be no "real" best track, and it is a matter of personal option. I am leaning toward Atlas Code 55, Atlas True-track or Kato track. I'm not really interested in spending a lot of time laying ballast and track if not needed to. However, I am open minded to many options. I would like to get some of your thougths as to which track may be preferable for a small N Scale shelf layout that would be easy to setup for DCC. Thanks, EP

 

You might look at what these guys have done with Kato Unitrack. TrainBoard.com - N Scale Kato Unitrack Users Group

 

I guess the best way to approach it is to ask what you want out of the track?

Do you want it to be good looking over good performing or visa versa?

Do you want more selection in turnouts etc, or the ability to use sectional track?

These kinds of questions will help focus your decision.

Peco is all good and more durable, but does not look right to many people

Atlas code 55 is better looking, but has problems with some wheels sets, it is also in short supply unless you are content to use sectional track

Kato is bulletproof and easy to work with but has the same issue as Peco when it comes to looks

There is no mention of Micro Engineering track which is good looking like Atlas and strong like Peco with nary an issue with any wheel set. It can also mate up to Atlas turnouts or Peco turnouts with a little bit of tinkering.

Then there is the hard core approach to track and that is to hand lay it along with the turnouts. This is getting easier to do with products from Fast Tracks.

So you need to decide what you want out of the layout and that will help the most with your decision.

 

Hi B&O/ACL, Welcome to TrainBoard!

Any and all N Scale track is only as reliable as the amount of time you put into making it so.

My current layout is Unitrack, and though the initial setup took minutes, tuning the track to run flawlessly actually evened out to about the same time it takes me to lay flex. Factor in the tuning required for some of the Unitrack Turnouts, and it almost takes longer.
I also ballasted my Unitrack which takes longer to do than with flex because the molded ballast on Unitrack/TrueTrack takes up half the space available if you were using flex. This means you have a thinner layer of ballast which is easier to disrupt while applying glue/dilute.

My next layout will be built with Micro Engineering Code 55. It looks a million times better than Unitrack and comes pre-weathered. I've never had a hard time layout flex, so the deciding factor for me was looks.

If you want great looks with that quick initial set up, I'd recommend Atlas True-Track. It also looks a thousand times better than Unitrack, but like Unitrack is sectional and has a molded ballast.

 

I just started another layout. I stayed with Atlas C-80 flex and Peco Electrofrog switches. It has over 300 feet of track, was started 1/4/10 and had trains running by 1/21/10. I am happy with the Atlas flex, when painted does not look bad. I did not use cork, I like the look with out. I really like the look of the Atlas C55 but like the durability and ease of installation of the C80. I was able to salvage almost all of the track from the old layout, built in 1997. Bob.

 

I'm building my RR with Micro Engineering C70 because I have a lot of really old stuff,and ME C55 is hard to find switches for.I'll say this,though..If you don't like trackwork,don't buy ME!! It's really tough to get a good job with it,there's simply no easy way to bend it.I did my lower two track main with it so far,2 tracks,about 65 feet each.I'm really picky about my trackwork.I could have done a perfect job on the both mains with Atlas flex in maybe 5-6 nights,the ME took 3-4 WEEKS.But,I'm thrilled with the end result..

 

My club is in the building stage right now and we are using ME code 70 for the mains and ME code 55 for the branch lines. All switches will be hand laid fast track switches.

Mark: DON'T!!!!!! get the weathered rail, to hard to get reliable. It is hard to solder. Start with the unweathered track and use neo lube.

 

Aw, but they look so pretty!...

Well, if it wont accept solder, that's definitely a red flag.

I actually have 4 pieces of ME55 flex to play with, 2 are weathered, the other two aren't, but now I can be sure to check that aspect of working with them. Thanks for the heads up.

 

I am curious when you say "tuning the track to run flawlessly." After a 10 year gap from my HO layout, i got back into it. due to a smaller space, i decided to do N scale for the first time. i started with atlas code 55 flex track but ripped it all up after too many track issues. i then did more research and decided on Kato N Scale Unitrack due to the comments about its ease of use. i am waiting for my track to come in the mail so i havent started playing with it yet.

 

weathered rails are not hard to solder, you just need to polish the area where the railjoiner fits with a dremel tool to remove the weathering.

There hasn't been any mention of wood vs concrete ties, so I thought I would throw that out there as well.

Here is Atlas code 55 wood ties and painted rail next to ME code 55 with concrete ties and weathered rail.

I have considered using kato or atlas tru track, but there is no substitute for well ballasted track in my opinion.

 

I haven't used ME weathered track but If I did, I would just take a dremel and clean up a spot to solder to. And then I would weather the solder joint.
Anyone else do this?

Craig

 

When I first set up my layout, everything worked good. But I run steam which always has the tendency to find those trouble spots. Mostly it was vertical kinks which affected traction and minor misalignments in the rail heads. Once I fixed all the vertical kinks, I was able to secure the track to the layout. Then I was able to file the rail heads flat.

Instead of just running good, I can now just turn my trains on and let them run for hours with out ever having to worry about a derailment. That's what I mean by flawless.

 

If I read your post right, you might start with the Kato to get a feel for what you want to do. You'll be able to reuse it. It's great for taking it apart and rearranging.
I have 2 concerns about Kato (I use it, but I have no permanent layout)
1) You are talking about a shelf layout. When I think "shelf layout", I think point to point and limited depth. As such, you might be better with a flex tack, so you can lay your track at whatever gradually changing curves you need. Kato can do alot of radii mixing curves and straights, there are even ways to make your own custom lengths, but as you get into DCC, there are many who say you need to drop leads to every section for long term reliability. This again would point to flex track, but you'll need to lay bedding and ballast and such.
That said, I'd take a look at what's available in turnouts and crossovers to make the layout you want and I'd use that to help you pick your track.
Welcome and enjoy.

 

kmcsjr

Kato Unitrak does not need a set of feeders for every piece. It is a much higher quality of metal than the Atlas track has. The rail joiners are also much better.

You can easily go 4 feet of UniTrak with one set of feeders. It is important to have feeders on every side of the turnouts.

Materials make all the difference in the world, and Kato track uses the best alloy in the business.

If Atlas used the same material, boy would it perform so much better.

 

My "two cents"...........I've built about 4 layouts & probably half a dozen modules ( @ least the track-work ), and being a curious pessimist - I have tried every combination & track & turnout known to man. My OPINIONS are as follows.....

"Micro-Engineering" Code 55 Flex & turnouts - Beautiful!!, but delicate & "fussy" to work with.

"Kato" Unitrack - Easy!! to work with, but sectional, so you don't have as much flexibility as you would with flex. With weathering, etc., can be made to look almost as good as ballasted Code 80 Atlas ( The old standby ). Wiring the stuff is a breeze!!

"Atlas" Code 55 - Again, beautiful!!, but delicate & fussy to work with.

"Peco" code 55 - My choice for my latest ( & last ) layout. The track is rock solid, easy to lay due to it's stiffness, and I have loved peco turnouts since I first met them!

 

One point of view from someone who has just been there with Kato Unitrack. It is absolutely fantastic if you want to do what it is designed to do, which is set up and get trains running quickly and with a minimum of fuss. That's what Kato designed it to do in the Japanese market and it is superb for that. But there are trade-offs for this convenience.

Appearance - the ties are space too far apart for US prototypes, the rail is too tall, and the molded roadbed is looks like it is about 10 scale feet tall (it isn't, but it just looks really tall for anything but Class 1 roadbed). You can weather the track with Floquil pens easily enough, but laying ballast is harder than traditional flex and cork. I think I got it to look pretty nice, but it was a lot more work than traditional track.

Switches - the #6' are great. They are very easy to work with and operate flawlessly. The #4's, completely different story. Very unreliable, lots of wheel picking, unless you do a fair amount of surgery on filing the points and contact rails. In addition they are somewhat fragile. I've had to do several surgeries on point rails that came loose from their mountings. They still don't work well, but I can live with them until I am ready to dig the switch up it, which will suck. In addiiton, you have to use low-profile wheels with the #4's, pizza cutters will pick the points virtually every time even if you modify them. Also, each switch's operating mechanism is under the track in the roadbed and there is a manual operating tab sticking out of the roadbed. An appearance issue, but more of a problem when ballasting. It seems to be a Unitrack tradition to spend lots of time and effort ungluing the mechanism after you ballast it as glue always seems to seems to work itself in through the bottom or in the the hole on top to gum up the works. I only had to replace one switch that was gummed up too much get working again, but it is something that needs a lot of care, especially on the #4's. If I were to do it over again, I would lose the #4's and stick to #6's only. Which brings me to the next point...

Track Planography - with set radius and only one really functional switch size, you will be limited in what you can do with track planning. Not terrrible, but limited, especially in yards and sidings with only the #6 switch. Kato offers a ton of different track pieces, lots of radius of curve and lots of sizes of straight tracks, so it is not a serious handicap, but if you want tight yard spacing and transition curves, Kato doesn't do that well.

Operation - Unitrack generally operates very well but it is sectional and there a lot of track joints to deal with. The track joints don't always line up well, and there is some bowing up of track at the ends of the pieces that result in some bumps and dips that have to be filed out. Again, time consuming, but doable and track joint filing is normal for most types of track, its just with flex track you have less track joints to deal with.

All that said, do I regret using Unitrack? No, not at all. I was up and running quickly on a smallish (90" x 42") layout, it works well for DCC, and when I take this layout apart to move it, it should be relatively easy to put back together and get running again. For what I am doing with this layout, which is learning how do do model railroading after a 20 year absence, I am fine with it. Would I use it to build a bigger, permanent, more detailed and more prototypical appearing model railroad? No way. I see on the internet that lot of guys have done that, and I admire them for it, but my next layout will be either Atlas or Peco code 55 with undertable switch machines and cork roadbed.

This is not a Unitrack bashing, but it is important to know these things when picking a track to use. I think you should pick the track that works the best with your situation and with what you want to do with your layout. Just know the pros and cons for each type of track and pick the one that will work best for you. Best of luck.
Todd

 

Excellent breakdown Todd.

Looks like you and I share pretty much the same outlook on Unitrack.

I'm curious, having a 40x90" layout of my own, would you be willing to share a track plan of yours?

 

Mark, would love to, except I don't have one. I based it on one of the Kato published track plans, and then started making changes. One nice thing about Unitrack that I don't think anyone has mentioned here is that you can set up a general track idea, snap things in and out, move switches and track sections around, and come up a with a layout. You really can't do that with flex track.

How about I post up a few pictures in an album so you can get the general idea? Its nothing special, just a double loop with a crossover, an off-to the side staging/fiddle yard, and some switching areas.

By coincidence, I just cleaned it up today so I can start scenicking in earnest in the next few weeks. I have been playing around a little bit with my Gras-Master, and building some structures, but I need to get on the scenery thing. I took a few shots tonight and will post them.

Todd