I have always used Atlas track but my LHS only has Peco at this time. With the Atlas, I have to shim my Walthers turnouts about ,015" to bring the up to level. Does the Peco require shims as well?
Is one better suitable than the other?
Peco ties are a bit thicker than the ones on Walthers turnouts also.
I wouldn’t say one is necessarily better. Both products will be pretty similar to use.
Have you given any thought to using the Walther’s/ Shinahara track along w/ your Walther’s turnouts? The track is quite similar in quality and laying, but you won’t have any shimming issues. My club has been using the flextrack exclusively now for quite a number of years w/ great results. There are many places where Fasttracks and other handlaid special trackwork are used in conjunction w/ it as well.
bogp40, Walthers flex is double the price of Atlas and Peco. That’s why
Speaking of Atlas track,when is it supposed to be back in stock?
It is in stock - at least at places I use like Modeltrainstuff.
–Randy
Hi Blind Bruce
Don’t know anything about the US brands mentioned never used them.
I only use Peco track on my layout unless I run into the need of a 90 degree crossing Peco don’t make one of those in the track code I need .
The only advice I can give is choose a brand that you like the turnouts they manufacture.
Having done that get the matching flex track as well a lot less hassles when it comes to doing a good track laying job no shims or other stuffing around to get the track level.
Don’t try and save money because this brand of switch is good but there flex is a bit more costly than the other.
Each manufacturers track is slightly different only just enough to make it a pain in the you know where when it comes to mixing brands of track.
I find any money saved that way is just not worth the extra hassles and messing about or the time wasted to get them to work together
regards John
Don’t forget that Walther’s flex track is 3" longer per section. It’s 39".
I used Walthers/Shinohara code 83 turnouts with Atlas flex track. While the experts say the track should be shimmed, I have not shimmed anything unless I had some sort of roadbed problem. Some of the track and turnouts have been in several years with no problems whatsoever. So my two cents worth is go ahead and use the Walters turnouts and Atlas flex track (or Peco) and don’t worry about the tie thickness being off a few thousandths of an inch.
Hi Blind Bruce
My measurements - Walthers/Shinohara 0.150", Atlas 0.165", Peco 0.170". If you needed to shim your W/S with Atlas you will need to with Peco also.
Be aware though that the Peco rail cross section is narrower than W/S so there may be issues with joiners, and the Peco ties are smaller and more closely spaced.
I know your dilemma. I started with all Atlas but changed to W/S turnouts for their better appearance. Then found the shimming issues so changed to Model Power track which is very similar in appearance to W/S. Then I found that Model Power code 83 is actually closer to 0.090" so every turnout to flex track has to be carefully filed.
Our new club layout is all Peco code 83. It is beautiful to work with and I would certainly recommend Peco (or all W/S) over Atlas. Peco has overcentre springs which hold the switch rails in place until we get to fit Tortoises.
The Peco spring is difficult to remove from the top so should be removed before installation but I did find that a Tortoise with larger spring wire (0.032" I think) will overcome the spring.
Good luck.
Bill
I have successfully installed Peco flex track into an Atlas flex track layout without the need to shim and without any resulting derailments.
Twice, I have needed some additional flex track only to find out that my LHS did not have any Atlas flex track in stock. So, I bought the Peco flex track. Quite frankly, I did not even realize that there was a difference in the rail profile.
I have also installed Peco crossing and turnouts into my Atlas flex track layout without any problems.
My main complaint with Peco flex track is that it does not spring back to straight. I really dislike that.
Rich
What about the Micro Engineering flex track as sold by Micro Mark?
Most of the track I use is Micro Engineering. I like how it looks. Try it out before buying a lot, because working with it is not like using Atlas, and many people don’t care for the work required to lay it.
ME track has tiny spike heads, and they fit very tightly against the rails. If you try to flex it like you do with Atlas you will snap the ties off and ruin it. To curve it you just about have to keep it on a flat surface and push a few ties at a time to shape a curve. Straightening requires moving ties around too and laying ME track straight is more challenging than curves. It takes a lot more time to install than Atlas, and is about equivalent to Walthers 83 flex in terms of effort required.
One big positive for you might be that ME ties match up well with Walthers 83 turnouts, and you won’t need to shim anything. Note that the rail cross section is different and you’ll need to be careful to ensure smooth joints between the two brands.
All of this track is Micro Engineering, except for the Shinohara turnout.