HI ME AND MY KID ARE STARTING A LAYOUT ,I HAVE A 4x8 TABLE BUILT AND SOME HO TRAINS AND EQUIPMENT.WE WANT TO START OUT ON WHAT WE HAVE BUT WANT ROOM FOR EXPANDSION.WE HAVE SOME LIFELIKE SNAP TRACK BUT THEY SEEM THAT THEY DONT CONNECT WELL ALL THE TIME.I SEE THAT ATLAS AND BACKMAN HAVE THE SAME TYPE ARE THEY ANY BETTER ALSO WHO HAS THE BEST ACCESSORIRES.I KNOW THIS IS BASIC STUFF FOR ALL OF YOU BUT ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT
THANKS
If you feel that you are not likely to go beyond what you have in the foreseeable future, EZ-Track has worked well for me. They have a wider range now in curves and other track items so that you can tailor your layout to suit your ideals.
However, if you are quite certain that you will add to this, and make it more complex, you really should investigate Pecos track, Micro-Engineering, and Walther’s/Shinohara. They make a flexible track that comes in 3’ lengths. That and their switches will give you a great deal of satisfaction, but it is much more labout intensive to install and to have your trains like it. You’ll have to do some soldering, for example.
It depends on your goals. For most of us here, Atlas Flex Track is a good choice. Learning to lay it properly is a skill but mastering that skill does not take too much practice. For turnouts I use Atlas and Peco. I really have had no problem with either.
Bachman EZ Track is what my father uses. It’s advantages are that you can rearrange your track plan at any time. I don’t think the turnouts are all that great and find Atlas Tru Track (their version of EZ Track) turnouts to be more reliable. Kato’s version of EZ Track is probably better than Bachmann’s as well… Ultimately, you will probably want permanent track. You get better reliability with Atlas Flex track. It is also a whole lot cheaper, too.
For roadbed I use both the Woodland Scenic and the traditional cork roadbed. I prefer Woodland Scenics because its HO Roadbed has a much lower profile. It looks more prototypical and holds the nails pretty well.
Suggest you look at Peco code 100. Robust and relatively cheap.
Suggest you look at Peco code 100. Robust and relatively cheap.
For N scale or HO, I would go with Kato Unitrack. Easy to use and bulletproof. It’s somewhat expensive but worth it IMO. I found the best prices for Unitrack at www.toytrainheaven.com Another good dealer is www.modeltrainstuff.com
Good luck!