I'll second what Brett says. No question, Unitrack is better. Unitrack has a much wider selection of curved radius's, turnouts, crossings, short and long pieces, feeder tracks, integrated remote turnout motor, turnout controllers, etc. Have a check at the free Kato Unitrack brochure on their web site: www.katousa.com And also check out the Yahoo Kato Unitrack group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KatoUnitrack/ Hope this helps!
I would only use the Bachmann stuff for static shelf displays. Ok, no I wouldn't. Kato is the only way to go.
I prefer Unitrack for this type of track. Unitrack has greater variety of components, so you can do more without having to cut the pieces up. There are curve radii from 8" to 28" that I know of. (I don't know if the 8" is sold in the states or not.) Unitrack has bridges and elevated trackage. Unitrack has a rail alloy formula that seems to work like magic in my environment. I only clean track once or twice a year. The Unitrack switches are route selective, so on a small layout, you can use the track switches for block control, and run your layout with just two power wires if you want to. The Unitrack connectors/rail joiners are replacable. Unitrack is not as realistic as flex on roadbed with separate ballast, but it looks more realistic to me than EZ-track. I do wish Unitrack came in longer straight sections, though. So, I agree it is worth the extra money. You may not agree, and that's OK, but at least now you know why I think so. In any case, it is your railroad. You should use what works best for you.
I don't use it myself, but every report I have heard agree on one thing. Unconditionally reliable. If I had a considerable amount of trackage in tunnels, I would use the unitrack for that application. Len
I have used code 80, EZ track and Unitrack. I used EZ track for some time as a "snap track" because it was what the most convenient LHS carried. There is no comparison of UniTrack to EZtrack. The joints are 100 times better. The switches are 1000 times better. When I finally stopped screwing around and made the plunge to Unitrack, I thought "Why did I even stick to N scale if my trains didn't run like this?" It is amazingly smooth and sure. EZ track is not. Although if you want some EZ track, I have about 500 feet of it and 25 switches in my attic in a box.
Stormorvic: The JJJ&E is an all Unitrack layout. Unitrack is the only way to go. Stay cool and run steam....
Stormovic, Another vote for Unitrack here, so you'll save yourself from grief and aggravation and do what you want to do, run trains. Check out the sets if you want a nice starter package. Alan
