Code 83 Track

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am looking for suggestions on the best code 83 track. What I want is goodlooking ties and tieplates. I don’t want huge eversized tieplates like Atlas 100.

Does atlas code 83 track have better tie plates? Or, can someone please suggest a better brand.

Smitty

2

http://www.proto87.com/

This is about the only way to get good looking tie plate detail. Atlas 83 looks better than their 100 but still doesn’t come close to Proto87 or CVMW.

3

Loather,

Is this like handlaying track? From what I gather, they give you the ties and rails and then you slip the rails into the ties. Something like that.

Thanks Smitty

4

http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1254573/ShowPost.aspx

Here’s a thread we had going on the layouts section. There’s some pics and links on it.

5

The Central Valley stuff (http://www.cvmw.com/) Looks pretty good. I was in a hobby shop on Saturday, and they had a small pack of 4 one-foot (ish) sections. I didn’t buy it, because they only had c100 loose rail, and I’m shooting for c55 for my diorama. Having those tie strpis laying around would get them lost for when I actually need them.

However, I will say that after seeing them I might just have to reconsider my dislike of the product based on photographs on their website. It’s one thing to see a picture of a product, and a wholly different thing to see said product up close & hold it in your hand.

I will disagree with Loathar in that only Central Valley and proto87 are the only two options with good tieplate detail. Micro Engineering flextrack looks very good as well but you don’t get to handlay it [;)].

6

I’ve never seen the ME stuff so I can’t comment. I’ve just heard people say it’s kind of fragile. I wish they had some good pictures of it. (and a web site)

Ne06874-I told you that stuff looked better in person.[:)]

7

atlas track:

micro engineering track:

8

I wouldn’t discount the use of PECO’s new code 83 line based on US prototypes. I am using them and Atlas code 83 on the layout. It is more expensive, but the detail is very good.

Bryan Williams
www.trainweb.org/chessievalayout

9

I recently noticed that not all code 83 HO flextrack is made of the same sort of plastic. Atlas ties are cast in styrene while Walthers are acetal plastic. Not that one ever needs to glue them together but the acetal resists heat better when leads are being soldered to the rail.

Central Valley’s flexible turnout kit has styrene ties which are hollow on the underside. Fearing the small cross section of plastic would react very poorly to heat, I soldered the leads to the rails before placing it on the ties.

10

wow that stuff looks awsome

wish I seen that 3 years ago

:

11

I’m sure some of you are sick of this photo but here goes:

Code 70 on the left code 55 on the right:

I have several hundred feet of ME on my railroad. It is stiffer to bend it (esp. the weathered stuff), but it holds a shape nicely. As to it being more fragile, maybe, but after its mounted, it is all the same in my book. The look is so good that it is worth the tiny bit of extra care one has to take.

Unfortunately they don’t have a website. I think that they would sell a lot more of their stuff with a decent site.

Guy

12

Thanx guys. I like the looks of all the suggestions. I will probably order some ME and check it out. See how “fragile” it is and check out the tie plate detail. It would be nice if they had a website.

Smitty

13

Sure would. Where do you guys that use the ME track order your stuff from? Any possibility of posting some close up pics of their turnouts?

14

Here is a shot of a couple of code 70 ME turnouts. There is a little bag of details included with each switch that have not been added to these switches.

Click on the image to expand. The distortion in the ties is from compression of the photo into the thumbnail.

I usually bottom feed on Ebay for my turnouts. I have bought tons of track and turnouts for far below MSRP. When I knew I would be building a new layout, I started searching keywords ME, BK Enterprises, Railway Engineering, Peco etc. Over a couple of years of bottom feeding (still am) I picked up a copy of almost everything out there in code 70 and 83 for peanuts. Another approach, try Caboose hobbies, Train shop in Santa Clara, CA, Bruces Train Shop in Sac, CA and others. Dealers often have stock and will mail order, all you have to do is call.

I have never been skunked finding stuff, even in the great Walthers/ Shinohara shortage a couple of years ago I found the curved turnouts I needed by calling around… I did have to wait a month once for ME to make more code 70 turnouts that I ordered direct from them, that has been the worst wait I have had to endure. To my book that is a short wait in terms of MR time scales. Remember the wait for the steam Tsunami (or maybe the diesel is a better example)??

There is a larger picture of the turnouts here (click on the switch detail large image):

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=7495

Guy

15

Thanks![tup]