I am tired of waiting for Atlas to get their track back on the shelves and am about to go with ME flextrack. Would the ME code 55 flextrack work well with Atlas code 55 turnouts? Would I have to shim them? I am new to EVERYTHING so can I handle ME55?
The short answer is yes, it will work. I’ve found the ME c55 pretty nice to work with. It’s a little more fragile but nothing you can’t work around with a little care. When joining track of two gauges or manufacturers you just need to focus on one spot. Specifically, it’s the inside flanges where the two sections meet. You want the inside gauge’s to match and the rail tops to be even. If not, as you mention just do some shimming. I generally do not solder joints but make and exception in this case. Lightly pull the shorter rail up until the rail heads match and then solder the joiner.
On a related note you can easily join ME c55 flex to an ME c70 turnout. Slip the joiners on the c70 turnout. Take some pliers and flatten the exposed end of the joiners that protrude. Tin the top of the flattened joiners and the bottom of the c55 at the end. Rest the c55 on the flattened joiner, make sure the rail heads are even and solder in place.
Lance
visit Miami’s Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
Too bad you had to wait on the Atlas track. That’s a downside from having this stuff shipped in big lots from China. ME is hard to get somtimes too. Of course, you are referring to N scale as Atlas doesn’t make anything smaller than 83 in HO.
I have used Lance’s tecnique in HO, for example, when I join code 83 ME flex with code ME 70.
Next, I will being joining hidden code 100 Atlas flex with ME 70. I’ve used transition joiners or flattened code 100 joiners on one end before but plan on trying something different that Ed Hawkins from Hawkins Rail in Lafayette, Indiana has done. He says he has put the code 70 joiner inside one end of the code 100 joiner. Interesting…
Yeah, what is up with Atlas. Of all things to be out of.