APPENDIX 3: TRACK 

Note: These comments are mine alone. Other comments are welcome and will  be placed here. No matter what track is used, thorough inspection of all aspects of track and turnouts with a Mark IV NMRA gauge is essential.

Track I recommend avoiding:

·     Precision Scale: Out of gauge, does not work with semi-fine scale (0.088”) wheels. I would also add that the track is also poorly made and unattractive.

Track that I'm not familiar with:

 ·    Peco: There are many that consider Peco track to be the best available. I'm unable to comment because I haven't seen it in person. I am concerned by the temptation this track offers to have unpowered turnout frogs.

Flex track that has been acceptable on modules I’ve observed:

·     Walthers/Shinohara: Flex track, code 83 and code 70. Preferred by some for durability, the rail cross section is not as fine as Micro Engineering

·     Micro Engineering: Flex track, code 83, code 70 and code 55. Preferred by some for appearance, the rail cross section is more delicate than Walthers.

·     Atlas: Flex track, code 83. Like Walthers flex track, the rail cross section is not as fine as Micro Engineering.

·     These tables provide a comparison of flex track and rail joiner choices.

TIES	Thickness	Width	Ties per  6 inches
Atlas	0.0820	0.1000	25.0000
Micro Engineering	0.0780	0.0980	26.0000
Peco	0.0820	0.1055	27.0000
Walthers/Shinohara	0.0575	0.1100	24.0000
RAIL	Rail height	Base width	Head width
Atlas	0.0835	0.0795	0.0410
Micro Engineering	0.0835	0.0685	0.0320
Peco	0.0830	0.0685	0.0315
Walthers/Shinohara	0.0825	0.0795	0.0405
RAIL JOINERS	Atlas Metal 100/83 #170	Atlas metal N-scale #2535	Atlas insulated 83 #552	Atlas insulated N-scale #2538	Micro Engineering metal 26-083	Micro Engineering insulated 26-084
Atlas	Snug	No	Snug	No	No	No
Micro Engineering	Loose	Snug	Slightly loose	No	Very tight	Very tight
Peco	Loose	Snug	Slightly loose	No	Very tight	Tight
Walthers/Shinohara	Snug	No	Snug	No	No	No

Track that requires care with installation:

·    Central Valley track is a craftsman product that requires careful assembly. The rail is glued to well detailed tie strips. Since the glue bond can weaken at high temperatures, keep Central Valley trackwork out of direct sun and away from extreme ranges of temperature to avoid loosening of the rails. Also, the rail to tie glue joint can be fragile and subject to damage with handling if not reinforced with occasional spikes.

Turnouts:

 ·   Central Valley turnouts (#5, 6, 7, 8, 9) are craftsman kits that require very careful assembly.  When used with Details West frog castings, the appearance of Central Valley turnouts can be very good. Care must be taken to make sure that rail alignment (height and side-to-side) of the rail segments are perfect, especially those adjacent to the frog casting and the switch rails. My observation is that it is not uncommon for CV turnouts to exhibit misalignment or height differences in these locations. Switch rails can be somewhat loose unless fine stabilizing wire is soldered across the outside joint of the closure rail and the switch rail. Switch rail points are blunt and need to be carefully dressed so that they nestle right against the running rails. Note that detail cast into the gauge side of switch rails does not meet the flangeway requirements of the NMRA Mark IV gauge. The cautions about Central Valley track apply here as well.

·    Fast Tracks turnouts (#4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and many others) are also craftsman kits that require very careful assembly. They are economical only if a number of the same size turnout are required. Only when very carefully made and installed, are they extremely smooth running and reliable.

·    Atlas produces DCC friendly turnouts (Wye, #4, 6, 8) that are better looking than earlier versions.

·    Micro Engineering turnouts are good looking but limited to #6 only. In a few instances they have proved to be a bit fragile. The specified closure radius for the turnout is 34.6"

·    Old Walthers and all Shinohara turnouts require modification to make them DCC friendly.  Unfortunately, the newer DCC friendly Walthers turnouts (#5, 6, 8, 10) are not as good looking as they could have been. the #10 turnout is especially unattractive and not prototypical in appearance. While I use these turnouts because I appreciate their robustness, I replace the throwbar with a PCB throwbar and spread the switch rails a bit to reduce the "shark jaw" appearance. I also fill the frogs so that dropping of semi-scale wheels is minimized. The very small jumpers on the bottom of the turnout are fragile and should not be depended upon.  Careful inspection with a NMRA Mark IV gauge is required to insure that all aspects of the turnout are correct. For comparison, the NMRA specified closure radius of a #6 turnout with curved points is 40.3", just under the Free-mo minimum of 42".

Railbars:

·     Details West rail bars can be used to improve the appearance of track. I advise against using code 83 rail bars with code 83 track since the railbars fill the flangeway and result in bouncing of rolling stock. On code 83 track, use code 70 railbars instead.  They nestle nicely against the web of code 83 rail.

·     Prawn Designs rail bars are another alternative. Be sure to select a size that doesn't interfere with the flangeway.

Ballast:

·     Careful attention to right of way details and a good ballast job help to “make” a module. I use Walthers and Shinohara flex track and Arizona Rock and Mineral ballast. After ballasting, I weather and blend colors with an airbrush to adjust the overall appearance. I have often been asked at shows if my Walthers and Shinohara flex track is hand laid. I think this indicates that a good job of installing, ballasting and painting/weathering the track makes it very hard to determine what brand of track is used.

Bridge rails:

·     Different rail types at adjoining module ends requires careful attention to bridge rails and rail joiners if bridge rails are to be as secure as possible during layout operations. Consider following the guidelines that I developed using the data presenented above. Use of these guidelines has eliminated brige rail issues when followed carefully.