I’ve run into exactly two people whom I’ve been able to talk trains with. One uses flex everywhere he can. The other uses set pieces and uses flex only if there is no other way or he has a straight run.
So if you had your druthers, and you could do things either way, do you tear open the shrink wrap or go for the box of sticks?
I guess each kind serves a purpose. I personally have both. All you need to lay a nice run of flex is a streight board and a yard stick to draw a radius. I have a mix of Kato track with the roadbed installed and in areas thar are easy to reach I use Flex track. Mainly because of the cost difference. If you had 4-18" sections or 4-22" sections, you can draw most of your curved radius, and then lay the Flex track on the line.
I prefer flex, the fewer joints, the better. The trade off is difficulty. There are TONS of published plans using sectional track that you can just put together ina short time, exactly as listed on the plan. To replicate it in flex you would need to cut custom lengths to fit.This job is made FAR easier with a Xuron track cutter.
Fewer joints are best though - case in point, I had a test track set up with Bachmann EZ-Track, a basic 4x8 oval using 22 inch radius curves and a few straight pieces on each side. I had two feeder sets evenly spaced, and STILL had problems with power loss. I recently completed the first loop on my 8x12 layout, using flex track and a few switches. To test it out I connected just ONE pair of feeders and I can run as slowly as my locos will run with no stuttering or stalling. I’m not going to rely on this, I have many more feeders, I just haven’t run the main power bus yet.
–Randy
For getting set up quick–sectional is easy to work with, and can be taken apart easily if you change your mind on your layout configuration. That’s what I did originally, using EZ Bachmann wide-radius track. But when it came time to lay the final track, I went to Atlas and Sinohara flex, using my trusty Ribbonrails to set the track radius. The reason? like Rrinker says, power loss between joints in sectional track. Flex has far fewer ‘joints’, hence, less power loss. I’m not sorry I went to the additional expense of the sectional track, though, because I changed my mind several times until I was satisfied with the layout. It would have been a mess using flex track until the final decision.
Tom
Flex or Pieces?
MOULAR (pieces) - ease of assembly / following exact plan.
FLEXTRACK requires additional skills - cutting, fitting, getting correct curveture. etc. plus needs sub-roadbed such as cork.
Supposed simplfication offset by additional time needed.
I have used BOTH as well as laid my own. MY preferences are:
MODULAR for followig a smaller, prescribed track plans such as 4 X 8’s.
FLEX for larger, more ambitious endeavors.
There seems to be a stated preferrance for ATLAS Flextrack beause it “bends easier”. ( I suspect it’s because it’s cheaper). it’s also more diffiicul to maintain true radius of the curveture - as one will find out with brass engines and connected drivers.
Space: Flex is probably best not many joints to worry about also more cost effective. If you have a smaller layout some pieces may be rquired to fill in that small left over space , though anytime I’ve had said little spaces left the spot is usually smaller than the 4" filler piece most piece manufacturers make so I end up cutting off a small piece of flex to fit anyway.Keep asking the questions and you will have the best layout of the bunch.[(-D] Talk with you soon. Trolleyboy
I use sectional track to lay out ideas or as temporary track, but I almost invariably remove it and lay flextrack when it comes time to actually do the permanent trackwork. The reasons mentioned above–cost-effectiveness and fewer rail joints–apply, but there are other reasons. I have often found,using sectional track, that sometimes a connection will be a fraction of an inch off, and no amount of fiddling with those little 1/2-3/4" pieces will make things work right–one is forced to choose between a gap and a kink. With flextrack the fit is exact.
The other advantage of flextrack is unlimited flexibility for curves. Want a 34.5" radius curve? No problem! Want a 12" radius curve? Go right ahead! With an improvised compass and a pencil you can lay out curves of any size, make wonderfully smooth easements, and otherwise make the track go where you want it.
I don’t use published track plans anyhow…