Newbie with dumb questions


M

Matthewd5

Member
Hello.

I haven't done model trains since I was a kid, I'm in the planning stage for a 4'x8' N scale with dcc

I'm hung up on what track to use, I'm torn between the kata snap track or atlas flex track

Also, is atlas flex track 80 compatible with the 55 track?

I'm definitely leaning towards the flex track because I'm going to have long straight always and with any of the snap tracks you have to use so many pieces, plus with the right finishing touches it seems like the atlas flex track can be made to look a lot more photo realistic

Looking for feedback and real world experience based suggestions

Thank you.

Matthew
 
I am going with Atlas code 55 track for my layout................when I get to start building it.:mad: The only problem with the Atlas track is there can be a hard time getting some components such as turnouts. That is supposed to be changing some time soon though.

One other thing to be aware of is some older equipment has wheels with deep flanges (pizza cutters) and will bump along the tops of the little molded spikes that hold the rails to the ties on Atlas code 55. There are replacement wheelsets that you can buy to replace them if needed.

Here's a site that is interesting and could be helpful to you. http://gulflines.blogspot.com.au/
 
Burlington Bob said:
I am going with Atlas code 55 track for my layout................when I get to start building it.:mad: The only problem with the Atlas track is there can be a hard time getting some components such as turnouts. That is supposed to be changing some time soon though.

One other thing to be aware of is some older equipment has wheels with deep flanges (pizza cutters) and will bump along the tops of the little molded spikes that hold the rails to the ties on Atlas code 55. There are replacement wheelsets that you can buy to replace them if needed.

Here's a site that is interesting and could be helpful to you. http://gulflines.blogspot.com.au/
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I'm starting from scratch and I'm pretty much getting everything from the locomotive to the caboose from atlas, I'm not going for an exact match but I live in Maine and atlas happened to have all the rolling stock and caboose in Maine railroad markings!

So shouldn't have any problems with older wheels

Matthew
 
There are no dumb questions, just dumb people asking questions.;) (Sorry!) That is a perfect question for a beginner to ask since you need to decide on track at the very beginning. I'm in HO so I can't help you with N. I do recommend you stick with one or the other from what I see.
 
Let me just say this. I chose to go with the Bachmann ez track, and I regret it now. I really wish I wouldn't have bought so much of it and used it. If I could start over, I'd use flex any day. The bachmann stuff is noisy, too many joints for my liking, and sometimes a pain in the rear end to get exactly that curve you need. ALSO, the turnouts suck. I had to spend a ton of money and alot of time modifying my turnouts to get them to work the way I wanted them too.

Just my 2 cents
 
Chemdawg said:
Let me just say this. I chose to go with the Bachmann ez track, and I regret it now. I really wish I wouldn't have bought so much of it and used it. If I could start over, I'd use flex any day. The bachmann stuff is noisy, too many joints for my liking, and sometimes a pain in the rear end to get exactly that curve you need. ALSO, the turnouts suck. I had to spend a ton of money and alot of time modifying my turnouts to get them to work the way I wanted them too.

Just my 2 cents
Click to expand...

Yeah on the surface the bachmann and kato ez track look really attractive

I damn near bought their n scale starter kit plus one or two of their fairly big track kits

What track to use and what track bed were/are my biggest thought processing choices...

I'm 99% sure it's going to be all atlas flextrak code 55 and I'm 95% sure it's going to be wood side scenics black rubber track bed instead of cork

I got a lot of info and confirmation of my ideas from the model railroading magazine folks book called "Basic Trackwork for Model Railroaders"

It's written by Jeff Wilson, all of the books I bought turn out to be written by him and they are excellent!

I figure once I lay down the ballast you won't see the bed anyway

I decided to something kinda weird, I'm going to build a bench with plywood then one inch styrofoam and then layout all the track bed using their foam nails just so I can get a reality check on my layout concept before guessing how much track to buy

This way I will know almost exactly how much track and how many switches I need before I spend a bunch of $$$ on the track stuff

There is a very large model railroad show fairly nearby and there are generally great deals

Matthew
 
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