Right now I am leaning to putting down code 100 track due to the age of my locomotives. All of them are from the late 60’s to the early 80’s with the majority of them built in the mid 70’s (they were all my grandfathers). I am unable to tell if his layout is code 100 or 83 (it was laid in the late 60’s early 70’s). The main reason I was going to go with the Code 100 is because then I am guranteed that there won’t be any issues… Is this a proper assumption or would I be OK with the code 83 track?
I would bet that your Grandads layout used code 100 track. I was faced with the same issue as I wanted to run my old trains for sentimental reasons. The wheel flanges were too large for code 83 and so i went with 100. I use Atlas flextrack and Peco turnouts. I have been very happy with the performance of both. If you paint, weather and then do a good job putting in the ballast, code 100 can be made to look just great. The argument for code 83 is that it is more prototypical, which of course is true, but you have to balance what is important to you. If you are interested, you can see some shots of the code 100 track after installation on my picture trail site. Just follow the link in my signature.
I agree fully with simon1966. HO Code 100 track is over a foot high in scale…hardly realistic! But, when you have it weathered and ballasted, and your fine old locomotives are doing their thang on them, you will be very content.
A lot of people like 83 including me, but there is nothing wrong with 100, there is something wrong with brass 100. It works ok for a temporary setup, but that is it. About the gurantee, that is optomistic. It still has to be laid smooth and the joints have to be smooth.