I use Bachmann E-Z Track on my layout (I’m not confident in putting in flextrack and using rubber or cork roadbed as my skills aren’t very good with tracklaying yet). The turouts for Bachmann are completely unreliable and my cars and locomotives derail all of the time. I hate tensing up every time that I move a loco over a switch, wondering if it’s going to derail or not. If anyone has any suggestions on solving this problem, don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
I use Bachmann EZ-Track on my own layout, incuding several #4 and #5 turnouts. The track connecting to the turnout must be level in relation to the turnout. Do not lay the turnout right after a curve. You’ll get a derailment almost every time. There must be a section of track level with the turnout before the start or end of a grade. Many of the turnouts have a blunt end on the point rail. File this with a fine file so it becomes flush with the stock rail. If the point rail doesn’t quite reach the stock rail (known to happen) you can bend the end of the point rail slightly so that it does. If the frog seems a little high (another common problem) it can be filed down the height of the rails. I’ve used all these to correct the problems as best I can and I rarely have a derailment due to turnout problems.
I started with it because it was what I had from a cheap set I had gotten my son. A year ago I would not have started off with it, if I could have done something else. (I’ve always liked Atlas). That being said, I like EZ track a lot. It goes together and pulls apart repeatedly with little effort. When you put it together it stays together. With my current layout, I really see no reason to solder the rails together or nail them down as they don’t move. Time will tell on the rail connectors on whether or not I solder them in the future. I have heard some bad things about the turnouts so I listened to people that had them. The switches need to be flat and the tracks on either side need to be straight and flat as well. You might can get away with putting all of this on a steady incline as a package, but mine aren’t so I don’t know how that works. All inclines with EZ track need to be minimal with only the slightest grades made as gradual as possible. I do know when the switch is operated, the points move solidly and consistently. (Unlike my fathers Atlas switches). Like all switches they might need to be filed and slightly adjusted to make the transition smooth. None of mine did. My experience is to make the switch at a slower speed. I rarely have a derailment. It is usually one particular engine on one particular switch. As long as I go slow through the switch it works fine. All of mine are #4’s. The biggest beef I have with them is price. Trainworld.com has them for $10. Extra wire for those throws next to the wall goes for about 8 bucks for a 10 foot piece. I have decided not to splice wire here and use the factory plugs and remote switches since the stuff is just so small. My LHS sells the switch for 16.50 and I have seen them for 18. DCC capable are a lot more.
Excellent advice and points so far. Ditto about the need for the turnout to be flat (itself…they are known to be twisted or humped) and the sections on each exit that meet the turnout being on the same grade as the turnout. You can have slight variances, but you have to play with it over time and get a feel for each individual situation. Then, a new engine will have you back to square one.
You need a track gauge. Your hobby shop that sells any amount of toy trains will have an NMRA track gauge. Get one, take care of it, and use it regularly. Gauge the points rails all the way along from the sharp swinging tips to the place where they hinge. You might be surprised to find that they are either too close or too wide. Either way will cause problems.
The hinges…sheesh! Some of them are so sloppy they allow the points rails to fall halfways over on their sides. What do you suppose that does to the track gauge?
The sharp point rails…place a wooden matchstick between the point and the stock rail against which they lie so that the point is held away from the stock rail. Pressing lightly with a thumb, keep the point rail against the match, which is butted against the inner stock rail face, and using a small metal needle file, begin a series of long gentle strokes with the file held at a very shallow angle to the tip. You are stroking from the frog toward the tip and beyond. Your aim is to file that tip to a very thin blade. In doing this, you may improve any narrow gauge sufficiently that nothing else needs to be done, but you will also reduce the probability of any one flange picking the blunt point and lifting the entire truck or engine off the rails.
One or all of these things is the problem, assuming that all your wheels on the rolling items are in gauge…also verifiable with your trusty NMRA gauge.
Quite frankly, I would never use Bachmann E-Z Track. Flex track, (mounted on cork roadbed),is so versatile, and can be cut and curved easily. I use a small nail mounted in my drill press for making the holes in the tyes, in order to nail the track down. Even with combinations of code 100 and code 83 Flex track (connected with Transition joiners, I have no trouble with my 110 turnouts, which are on grade, curves, etc. With ballasting, you can’t beat the realistic appearance. Bob Hahn
Everything covered earlier is what you will experience as you build or modify your layout. Run the loco’s as slow as possible or even roll them by hand to see what’s happening. Although rolling by hand doesn’t always reveal the problem. The problems aren’t just with the Bachmann’s. Several other manufacturers of turnouts often need working as well, so what you learn now will carry on to Atlas etc. If there’s a sharp edge anywhere on the outside of a curve, a flange will always find it and rider over it.