Good Sources for Materials/Track Codes

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S

StrasburgNut

Pennsy Area rail fan
:confused: What company would you all recommend for materials? Is Bachamnn still the standard for rolling stock? Atlas for Track? How about buildings, bridges, etc? I guess they are personal preference. :rolleyes:

What about track codes and crossing manufacturers? If I buy a code 85 atlas turnout, can I use anothe rmanufacturer's flex track without much problems? I think code 85 is what you would use for the most realistic look, correct? I am still unsure about this.

I know I definitley want a turntable and a roundhouse on my layout. Any recommendations?
 
Quality manufacturers vary by scale, era of model and personal preference. I model modern diesel in HO, so my recomendations are for this type of equipment.

I avoid Tyco, Life Like and Bachmann. Quality engines are available from Atlas, Atlas Trainman, Athearn, Athearn Genesis, Kato, Proto 2000, Intermountain and Stewart. Quality rolling stock is available from the same manufacturers as well as bowser, accurail.

I recommend Code 83 track. Track from different manufactures will work together. Micro Engineering has the best flex track, but it is harder to work with then the stuff from Atlas. Walthers has a nice line of DCC ready switches, but availability is not very good. Atlas makes some code 83 switches, but the selection is not as good.

I don't use products like e-zee track with plastic ballast attached to the rail as there is less freedom in what you can do.

There are many manufacturers for buildings and bridges. Walthers has a great line of buildings and bridges. They also make the nicest turntable I've seen. 130'! They also make and smaller 90' one. Central Valley and Micro Engineering also make nice bridge kits.

These are, of course, just my prefferences. Choose what looks and works best for you.
 
Bachmann HO scale steamers may not be the best, but some of their steam engines like the 3 truck Shay and the Climax can't be beat. Also their extensive line of On30 equipment is great and decently priced too.
 


I myself prefer Micro Engineering code 83 flex track, because it is far stiffer then Atlas, or Peco. I've used all 3 and all 3 are good though. Switches from Peco, Walthers, ME, & Atlas so far.

Walthers has some awesome roundhouses & turntables now. I'd avoid Atlas's turntable, it just looks fake to me. Even if there were full deck tables at some time.
 
Boy, those are hard questions to answer. Are looking for the best details on freight cars, best running locomotives, easiest to lay track or the best looking...etc? I can tell you there are some things you want to avoid, like Tyco locomotives and freight cars, early AHM products, and the Walther's 90 foot turntable. Other than that, there are really no absolutes. Life-Like and Bachmann have made both excellent and terrible engines. Early Athearn engines are not very good but the later engines are. Atlas generally makes fine engines but they've produced some dogs too. Bowser's modern freight cars are really nice but some of their older models were both difficult to construct and didn't look very good. Tyco and AHM have both made everything from great to terrible building kits. The Woodland Scenics built-up line of structures are some of the best models I've ever seen.

I could go on for pages but you get the idea. I think the best thing to do is look at some products you think you want to get and then come back and post here. We can then give you more specific (and probably conflicting :) ) advice to help you decide.
 
My favorite locos would have to be any kind of Athearn or Kato. Intermountain is my favorite frieght car manufacture. I am a die hard Design Preservation Models fan when it comes to building kits. My favorite track is Peco. When it comes to DCC, MRC and NCE all the way baby! And if a model railroader does not like Woodland Scenics scenery products, I do not know what to think.

-quakers1
 
How much difference does code 83 versus code 55 make? With the N layout I intend to do, I want to have a dual mainline (actually goes around on itself) and some switching going on. What do most RTR cars and locos tolerate the most? I know I can convert the trucks and couplers and I will do that eventually, money pending, but just for right off the bat my best bet.
 
Code refers to the height of the rail, code 83 in HO is "the best representation of 132lbs (you know, I've seen 132, 135, 136 & 139!?) rail", where as code 55 , I think is the same for N.
 
for reference, I ran a Bachmann spectrum dash 8-40cw and Plymouth MDT over code 55 switches with no issues

(and man, that bachman spectrum dash has excellent low speed response, even with a CRAPPY transformer!)

I plan on code 55 as they say it's much closer to 'scale', plus it's not the most expensive stuff out there.
 
This ought to raise a few hackles, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with code 100 track. Choosing to go to code 83 caused me a great deal of problems due to incompatibilities between manufacturers of track and turnouts. If you stay with code 100, you'll have a more reliable easier to maintain railroad with fewer maintenance problems.
IF you decide to use code 83, then you better learn what kinds of track and turnouts are compatible with each other. The safest and easist best with code 83 is to stay with the same manufacturer for everything. Failure to follow this advise cost me well over $700 in the past two years.

Joe Daddy
 


Railphotog said:
Bachmann HO scale steamers may not be the best, but some of their steam engines like the 3 truck Shay and the Climax can't be beat. Also their extensive line of On30 equipment is great and decently priced too.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the "Standard" line or the "Spectrum". I don't have much use for the Standard line, but the best running for the price I have found is the Bachmann HO Spectrum Steamers. I have never had any issues with the ones I have. I know there have been some bad batches of a few types, but all told they stand behind the product, offer good detailing, and run very, very well.

That includes the new DCC equipped 4-4-0 (of course I changed out the crap decoder for a NCE), two USRA 2-6-6-2s, a 4-8-2 Mountain, a 4-6-0, and a Decapod. I bought 2 Athearn Genesis Mikes, the first ran for about 3 inches and quit. Bought another and it actually does run. With some serious added weight it can almost pull 6 cars up a 2% grade (as opposed to 15 for the Spectrum Mountain). They also come half built as ready to run. I've had the Mike for 3 years and still haven't gotten around to add the details..... Proto 2000 makes some absolutely awesome looking steamers wonderfully detailed, for a price. And they are not great pullers. I haven't afforded any of the BLI or such. I mostly like to run the Bachmann Spectrum though.
 
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Right now, I am thinking N scale. I do not expect to start construction on the benchwork until January, so when I think and look, I may change my mind. 95% certain it is N.
 
Darn, StrasburgNut, I thought I just read on another one of your threads you were going HO. I know it can be a tough decision to make and if I hadn't ended up with an empty 24x40 garage, I probably would have gone N.
 
Muskie, you won't have any problems with mixing code 100 and code 83 track as long as you use transition joiners between the two different sizes. Atlas makes them in both nickle silver and plastic if you need to isolate a block between the two sizes. I'm curious, though, about why you want code 100 track and code 83 switches? Mixing the two track sizes together right at a turnout is almost sure to lead to problems so you need to transition at least one track section away from the turnout on all sides. Depending on the number of turnouts, you may end up with 25% of your track as code 83 anyway so why not just use code 83 for all your track?
 
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I'd never mix code 83 and code 100. I don't like problems and issues. Transition joiner have not worked well for me.

Code 100 Atlas and Code 100 Peco turnouts are bulletproof, and the way I would go if I were to start over. I'd use tortoise switch machines too, Peco switch machines are terrible, see my review on them.

My 2 cents.

Joe
 
Rex,

I was sure I was going to do N vs HO 95% to 5%. After this weekend, I set it. N scale is the winner. It was a tough decision, but you can do some much more (track, scenery, etc...) in N scale. Bought an 0-6-0 Bachmann Switcher (Pennsy) and a few 40' box cars. That'll tide me over until I get the benchwork buit. :cool:
 


That sounds like a good choice to me. I'm not use to handling N scale and always have a problem when I operate on an N layout. However, I can easily see that it would be ideal for a person to make a design with a lot of track work in a smaller area. Good going! Can't wait to watch your progress.
 
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