Code 100 Longevity Question

Hi!

With all due respect, buy the track and ENJOY!!!

If - and its a huge “if” - your beneficiaries are interested in model railroading in the far future, they will surely not want to use old HO track. Remember, it will probably go through a number of layouts, and not be in that great of shape in years to come. I just dismantled a 15 year old HO layout built with new Atlas code 100 flex track. I am now rebuilding a new layout, and trying to recycle the old track. Much of it will be reused, but I am dealing with ballast and cork and other scenery stuck to it, plus the soldered feeds, plus the soldered track joints. Out of 300 feet, I will probably reuse 150 or so.

Mobilman44

[quote user=“tomikawaTT”]

Do the guys in your hobby shop still wear skins (a’ la Fred Flintstone) or have they graduated to togas?

I recall going to a hobby shop where the resident guru was supposed to be very knowledgeable about all things railroad. Turned out, he hadn’t had an original thought since sometime before the advent of the four wheel trailing truck. When I tried to get information about NYC diesels (in a shop only a short distance from the NYC main line) he looked at me as if I had just crawled out from under a rock…

Good tracklaying, in any scale from 1:1 to darn near invisible starts with a good, solid subgrade, then proceeds upward to equally solid, accurately shaped (all three dimensions) roadbed. Track should be fastened in a way that doesn’t deform the ties and rails or put dimples or waves in the roadbed. Track nails, if used, should be seated on the ties, not pounded into them with a full-scale t

I would question whether code 70 and code 83 really result in more derailments than code 100. If you have a lot of pre-1985 equipment with huge flanges, I guess it might. If you have newer cars with smaller flanges it shouldn’t. I’ve used code 83 for 20 years and never noticed any unusual problems with derailments or any excessive wear on the rail. If you have a club or display layout where trains are running all the time or something it might be an issue, but I doubt the average modeller actually wears down track where it has to be replaced??

As far as passing the hobby along, it’s hard to say what is the best way to interest someone. My grandson was brought downstairs to watch my HO layout a few times and didn’t seem to care too much. Same with train videos playing on the TV in the frontroom. Then last fall, just before his second birthday, my wife took him down to see UP 3985 when it was here in St.Paul. (I had thought about bringing him down but she beat me too it!) From that point on he’s been a train nut, as soon as he gets in the frontroom he grabs the remote and announces “WE WATCH TRAINS GRANDPA !!”.

It would be great if that sticks with him, but unfortunately some kids who are into trains find that it’s not “cool” (or whatever the current term is) as a teenager and drift away from it. Some will come back as adults, some won’t. I don’t know if there’s much anyone can do except let them know you’re there to help if they become interested.