I’m designing a new layout that circles several rooms along the walls. Overall layout is one room 42’ by 15’ and the other, adjacent room is 18’ by 15’. The layout is essentially two loops that meet at the common wall. My question is whether Bachman’s EZ Track will work on such long runs (lots of straight track) or whether I’m asking for trouble. Looks of the roadbed is not crucial since the layout will be high up on the wall (at 7’), so I’m not worried about the “toy train” look of EZ Track. I’ve got the layout fully designed now (using XTrackCAD) with EZ Track, using 26" radius or larger and no smaller than #6 turnouts. I could convert to flex track but prefer the easier and more sturdy track of the EZ Track design. Concerns are: 1- Expansion due to room temp changes (between 68 and 80 Deg. F) 2- Electrical performance of that track without a gazilion feeders 3- Other? Thanks for your feedback.
Just add a few extra feeders, dosn’t have to be alot and you will be fine.
Nothing wrong with EZ-Track as long as you take your time and lay it well so the rail ends are in the joiners and there are no bowed sections to cause rises and dips that could cause uncouplings or derailments. The only trouble I’ve seen with EZ-Track is the turnouts. They have no spring action to keep them locked to the direction they were set to. This makes it easier for the wheels to pick the points. However a little preventive action beforehand can minimize the problem. Check the turnouts carefully with an NMRA gauge to insure that they are in gauge. I’ve found a couple that were out by a small degree. The problem is easily remedied with a hot soldering iron. Carefully filing the point rail so it lays flush with the stock rail goes a long way to keepint the wheels from picking the points. Am I knowledgeable about the advice I’m giving here? I laid down the track for my current layout in 2004. It’s all Bachmann EZ-Track, including the turnouts, which I hardly have a problem with. I’ve heard some say they have problems with them but a lot of the younger modelers I come across who are having the problems usually run their trains over the turnouts at warp 4 and above. Even most real trains slow down for turnouts.
The two responses above are right on.
Jeffrey has explained the subject very well, and he should know. He maintains an elaborate, and every changing/developing layout using EZ-Track, and he has long since learned how to baby that fine product.
My only caveat is with the snap-type turnouts of varying numbers. I run larger steam, so when I was using the EZ-Track on my first layout, I resorted to the newer regular turnouts that were about a #5. They took some tuning to get them to work well, but I was never very confident with them. I always wondered when they would begin to wear at the hinges. In fairness, after I had filed the points to fine razor edges, and taken the time and pains to ensure the plastic ‘ballast’ was thoroughly supported at each joint (and there will be many!), the whole system was a joy to use.
-Crandell
I have to respectfully disagree, although easy track and the other like products are unique and a good choice for the not so serious train enthusiast When you use such a product it hampers your creativity and takes away from the realism of building a believable model railroad. For example all track on the prototype is never perfectly straight as an arrow, especially if your modeling steam era railroads. Look down any branch or mainline and you’ll see a not so perfectly straight line.hence that rocking motion of a real train at low speeds Another thing is you don’t have the flexibility that comes with using flex track. There have been more time then I can count where without the use of flex track the track plan being used could not have been accomplished without the use of flex track.
When it comes to making EZ track quite I view it as an exercise in futility, Yes I am aware and have seen it first hand laid on cork, homasote etc.all attempts to stop that annoying echo or resonating sound that comes from running a train over EZ track. I have never bothered to do a price comparison but that stuff isn’t cheap either and if your building what sounds like a rather large railroad going around the perimeter of several rooms then plan on spending a chunk of change. Something tells me it may be a lot more cost effective to go the traditional route of track and roadbed.
Your railroad your choice
I had a layout made with EZ track The reasn I tore it out was problems with the track. I’m in between on your question. My biggest concern was the height. It does not line up with any structures and in fact is about 1/4 inch too high. The turnouts require work. I’m guessing I spent about 45 minutes each on them to get them working. When they fail you have to rip up several sections of track to fix them.
All in all, considering price and flexibility, you’d be better off just going with flex. It won’t take that much longer to lay and with the money you save you can buy a couple engines.
As for the electrical issue, you want a lot of feeders as every joint is a possible failure point. Here again, you are better off with flex.
I got back into the hobby about 4-5 years ago and built a small HO layout.
My other half is into trains as well and likes N scale. SO, I bought a lot of Bachmann EZtrack N scale with some switches {turnouts} thrown in for good measure. I thought it was the newest thing to come down the pike, looked promising, and would be easier than Atlas and Flextrack. It was fine and great if you only have a circle or oval of track to go around. But We found nothing but problems with those durn switches left and right {no pun intended on lefthand or righthand turnouts}. Either way they were too much of a problem to fiddle with so we ditched them {actually they are in a box I’d give to someone if they wanted it- I tried before to give them away and couldn’t get any takers…} in favor of the Atlas track.
Sounds like others had problems as well. SO if all you really want is a circle going around it should be fine with a few feeders here and there, but if you plan on switches, as other here have said, expect some fine tuning. {probably easier to do in HO than in N}. Especially if the layout is 7 foot above the floor.
Just our [2c]
I appreciate your inputs. Looks like the major concern is with the turnouts. I’ll be using the #6s with DCC On Board. I’ll just have to inspect them carefully and check the points in particular. Ironically, one of the appeals of the EZ Track is that the turnouts are available with DDC built in. With the layout so high up, the bottom of the bench needs to look good and clean; no room for hanging stuff under. There is limited space on top, so any add-on switch machines and decoders will be a bit awkward, I think. As I mentioned, looks of the track is not too important as the road bed itself won’t be visible. As far as cost is concerned, EZ Track will run about 20-30% more than cork and flex. I’ll be getting about a 30% discount from MSRP. Total track list price is over $1,200. Thanks all.
You can save yourself the trouble of running a bunch of feeder wires by soldering the the rail joiners. This creatse a solid electrical contact with no chance of corrosion building up in the joints.
You could go Kato track instead or Atlas now makes one with roadbed installed, I think Peco dose also.
Note re appearance that the Bachmann track is meant to be track with roadbed, not with simulated ballast. You normally would lay the track without needing to use cork or other roadbed, then add ballast over it. Kato and Atlas track is made with simulated ballast. The Atlas ballast is nice because you can remove it from the track to weather it, but it only comes in limited curves (24"R max, No. 4 turnouts only). Kato is a great choice IMHO - a little work like painting a few ties and the rails with result in a good line of track, using thin code 83 track that is very realistic.
Plenty of people are using EZ track and like it. I personally don’t prefer it but if not sure of the final track plan it would definitely allow you to experiment easily until you found what works for you.
Good Luck