Tack choice for N Gauge Layout.


R

r6racer

New Member
My 6 year old son and I are planning our first layout. We've been playing with temp layouts for about 2 years now and have collected about 20-25 ft of Bachmann EZ track in that time. Our layout will require about 54 ft of track including a number of turnouts, Wyes, 3 bridges and a tunnel. My question is- Do I stay with Bachmann EZ track OR do I switch to Atlas pieces and flex?

Here are my concerns:
I've never dealt with road bed and ballast. How much more effort/work/detail does that bring to the project VS EZ track?
Cost: I've read/heard the Atlas track is cheaper. Even with the 20ft of EZ track I have would the Atlas cost me less?
IF I go Atlas - which Code track. I'm thinking 80?

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks,
 
Hey!

Glad to hear you're getting into the hobby. I've just made a selection of track for my layout, so I can relate. Considering you have half of the track you need, I would use the Bachmann EZ track. It's track, as opposed to Atlas, is made of nickel (?), so it won't tarnish. I know of a really good video series to help you go along with all this. Please let me know if you are interested.
 
 
VinnyV123 said:
...Considering you have half of the track you need, I would use the Bachmann EZ track. It's track, as opposed to Atlas, is made of nickel (?), so it won't tarnish...
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Both Bachmann E-Z Track and Atlas track, as well as all other current N-scale track as far as I know, are made of nickel-silver alloys.
 
r6racer said:
...My question is- Do I stay with Bachmann EZ track OR do I switch to Atlas pieces and flex?..
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Personally, I would switch(but not neccesarily to Atlas). I have quite a bit of E-Z track, and the turnouts do not work vey well. I will say that I do not have any of the newer #4's or #6's, only the original very sharp turnouts, so I don't know if any of the newer ones work better.

r6racer said:
...
I've never dealt with road bed and ballast. How much more effort/work/detail does that bring to the project VS EZ track?..
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It's quite a bit of work, but the results look a lot better. Also, there are other roadbed track besides E-Z Track, and some look much better. Two good options are Kato Unitrack and Atlas True-Track. In my opinion, Atlas True-Track is the best looking of all the roadbed tracks, but it doesn't have near the varity of pieces as Unitrack and only has one size(very sharp) of turnout. While Unitrack does not look quite as good as True-Track, it looks MUCH better than E-Z Track and, at least in my experience, the turnouts are much more reliable.

r6racer said:
...
Cost: I've read/heard the Atlas track is cheaper. Even with the 20ft of EZ track I have would the Atlas cost me less?
...
Click to expand...

When you include the price of roadbed and ballast, the price of roadbed track doesn't seem to be significantly different than regular track. Also, if you do switch track, you can still use what you already have.

r6racer said:
...
IF I go Atlas - which Code track. I'm thinking 80?
...
Click to expand...

For me personally, I would not bother with code 80 Atlas sectional or flex, because if I'm going to go through the trouble of laying roadbed and ballasting, then I'm going to want the better looks of code 55. I would either go with Atlas code 55(which is what I am using on the main part of my layout), or I would use Unitrack(which I am using for my staging yard).

To complicate matters, there's also Micro Engineering, Peco, Tomix, and even more track brands.
 
Thanks for all the info. A couple of follow up questions.
I have a double line going around the perimeter of the plan. With Unitrack should I consider Kato's Double Track or go with single pieces?
The double track looks like plastic toy track to me. Or do you lay something between the lines to break it up?
Second-what are the opinions on the super elevated track?

Thanks,
 
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