Some time ago, I stopped by a LHS, not my regular one, and picked up 5 lengths of flex track.
When I got home and started working with it, I thought something was strange because when I went to bend it, instead of forming a curve, it twisted like a slithering snake. Then, I realized that I was sold Peco flex track. Not only does this stuff curl up in an S-pattern, but the rails move in opposite directions.
I was too lazy to return it, so I just set it aside. But, today, I needed some flex track, and it was all that I had, so I used it.
I use Walthers flex. It sounds like Peco bends the same way as the Walthers. The fact that the track stays put after you bend it, is something I really like. Try bending the track at the far end from where you are working. Going back towards where you have joined it to the previous piece. It is kind of like doing things backwards. It takes a bit of getting use to, but after I did I won’t go back to the “spoing” track.[(-D]
I use the Peco C55 in N scale and while it is stiff, I like it much better than the Atlas C80 I used to have. I have some of the Atlas in my staging yard (got it cheap), and you can sure tell the difference. To say the Peco track is robust would be an understatement. The stuff is bullet-proof. I bend it to the radius I want, and it stays there. I have not encountered the twisting problem you have. And I like the fact that there are no pre-drilled holes. Why? Because most holes are drilled in the middle of a tie. I don’t like a spike driven in the middle of the tie, especially in N scale. I shave off a tie plate on the outside of the rail and drill my own hole and use a ME small spike to tack it down. It blends in very well.
Merry Christmas mate, try laying a length of track on a flat surface, hold fingers against outer rail and thumbs on inner facing center, bow it out gently noting which rail slides easiest. That rail is laid on the inside of the curve and it’s the awkward sod that needs cropping to length. All codes of Peco are the same, you ain’t tried pointwork yet!!!
Modelling’s fun ye know. Happy New-year to you and yours.
To each his own, but the ‘sproing’ flex track is FAR FAR easier to form into smooth curves than the other kinds where you have to work your way along and set the curve. I’m sure it works fine, but I don;t understand how anyone could find this ‘easier’. With the ‘sproing’ track it’s nearly impossible to get a kink other than at joints betwene sections, which is true of any sectional or flex track. Curves are autoamtically smooth, much like using a bent stick to draw the centerline in the first placeEven with less than perfect alignment, you end up with gently iggles rather than jerky kinks, simply because the track tends to want to be straight anyway.
Edited the original post and several replies to remove simulated profanity.
And if I didn’t make this post, I bet nobody would notice it’s gone.
Using symbols in place of a curse word is against Forum policy. What’s more, it’s unnecessary. You people are smart enough to express yourselves without it. So please don’t. Thanks.
I agree with you 100% on this one, Randy. The couple times I tried to use some of the stiff stuff I always found that making a bend in one end, no matter how gentle, would result in the other end tending to bend in the opposite direction.
I can’t speak to the HO Peco track but I certainly liked the N-scale peco track much better than the Atlas. But I do remember it being springy like HO Atlas not stiff like Shinohara.