If someone could please tell me the difference besides color between code 83 and code 100 track. Can they be used together, I can find everything I need but in a combination of both. I am so new to this hobby my locos still have that new locomotive smell.
Kev
It’s the height of the railhead, code 100 is taller, ie .100". There are transition rail joiners you can buy and many ways to make them. You should consider checking out the nmra.org website since they have a lot of information on the hobby.
Richard
As noted, the actual difference is height of the rail. Mixing them requires some filing or shimming to make the rail tops line up smoothly.
This is somewhat easier using all Atlas, in that the their Code 83 ties are made thicker so that the rail tops of the Code 83 and Code 100 track line up better. There is still a difference in the rail height, but they also sell transition joiners (Atlas #551). These may yet be out of stock, but it’s easy to make a few of these on your own.
Bottom line, for a few spots where you need to transition from one Code to another, not too difficult. But if you are transitioning back and forth at every turnout, that would be a lot more work.
Thank you for clearing that up and yes it would be small sections. I have enough of both so that all the mainlines would be of the same code and only the suprs would need to be mixed. This forum is great I appreciate the help, O gauge was much easier when it came to track you could tell by looking if there was a difference. Here though it may look like a duck quack like a duck but be a cow.
Kev
In general code 83 is preferred by most modelers for mainline track beacuse it looks more prototypical.
However code 100 will work for mainlines and for years all HO track was pretty much code 100. Not being a rivet counter I would not dream of tearing out my code 100 after all the work I have dobe
In addition to the color, code 83 ties are closer to scale size. Narrower and closer together.
All you have to do is to assure that the railheads are at the same height. I have connected Atlas Code 100 to Atlas Code 83 with standard Atlas ‘universal’ rail joiners. Just gouge a deeper clearance trough in the Code 83 ties and slip a .017 inch (or less) shim into the Code 83 end of the rail joiner.
I leveled my joints by sitting a length of 60# (prototype) rail on them until the caulk set. This might be overkill…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rails of assorted appropriate heights)
The “code” is the height of the rail in thousandths of an inch. Code 100 is 100 thousandths, or 0.1 inch high from railhead to bottom of the web. Code 83 is 83 thousandths. Track gauge is the same no matter what the code, so no problem there. In the beginning all HO track used code 100 rail. It is somewhat over scale, but not all that much. Pretty much all train sets come with code 100 and any used track you might find at yard sales will be code 100. Code 100 track is usually a little cheaper than code 83. You can make code 100 rail look much better by merely painting the sides of the rail a brown/rust color. When left bright and shiny, the rail looks much bigger than it is. Painting is easy, I brush painted all the track on my layout in a single evening.
Code 83 looks a little nicer and costs a little more. Given the choice of paying for new code 83 of using available (free) code 100 track, I went with cheap, i.e. code 100.
Some truly ancient rolling stock may have deep wheel flanges that strike the plastic “spikes” that hold the Code 83 rail in place. In the US, the NMRA RP25 wheels with very low flange came into widespread use in the 1960’s. That was 50 years ago. RP25 flanges run perfectly on code 83 track. If perchance you have something that bumps the “spikes” on Code 83, the fix is to replace the wheels with RP25 wheels. This is straight forward on cars, somewhat harder on diesel locomotives, and quite difficult on steamers.
Joining Code 100 track to Code 83 track is straight forward. Sl
Dstarr you think you went the cheap route well I think I may have done one better. I was very frustrated with the lack of code 83 available I trecked on down to my local Lionel/HO shop. The owner lets you explore anywhee in the shop you wan’t. I came accross a ton of new brass track, he had switches and everything. I already had some had home that was tarnished and looked unusable. The new track was also dim, at about 12 cents each I thought I had nothing to lose so I bought a lot. I did a search on youtube for cleaning brass. I came accross a woman cleaning jewelry with a paste made of 50% flour and 50% vinegar. I thought why not give it a try and what do you know it worked effortlessly. I will just paint the rails and keep the tops clean but if it doesn’t work out I am out about 25.00 and maybe by that time code 83 product will be back on shelves in full force.
Kev
Kev,
All I can say,is Good For You,Now that’s being frugal…
Cheers,
Frank
Frank, I let you know if it pays off.
Kev
Brass track can often be had for a good price (cheap or free). HO trains ran just fine on brass track from the time HO was invented up until the 1960’s when nickel silver became popular. No reason you cannot run HO on brass in the 2010’s. The supermarket brass polishes (Brasso) have some trick chemistry that turns the black tarnish back into shiny brass metal just by chemistry, no rubbing required. They leave white deposits when they dry, but those go away if you wash the track in soap and water. The homebrew flour and vinegar mix probably needs a good deal more rubbing than the commercial polishes to do the job.
Paint the brass rail rust color or rail brown leaving only the railheads bright and shiny. Most folk won’t notice the yellow luster of the brass railheads , they will just see “shiny” and think it looks fine.
DSTARR,
You just took me back,50yrs,cleaning all the Brass,on a Military class A uniform,with Brasso,getting ready for inspection…Geezz…
Cheers,
Frank
I remember when I was a kid I had brass track it must have been 1972 or so. That layout was great my father spent months working on it. We were poor as dirt but he knew I loved trains and he must have spent every spare penny building that thing. I always remembered the brass track which I didn’t know I still had until my sister who is sentimental had taken it off the board and put it in a box to be delivered to me 40 years later. I Loved my dad and that train set but I don’t think a 7 year old should have such a nice thing. I ran that locomotive to death literally and we were to poor to by another one so the layout just got neglected and exiled to the junk pile on the side of our house. I was unable to find free brass track but I did get it for 15-20 cents each. I use Brasso on the track that is so dark it is almost black but most of the track I got is new old stock and a few minutes in the flour and vinegar you just have to rinse and wipe it down. This also works great for the nickel silver track. The only drawback I can see right now is that the brass track only has 18" max curves but if I am wrong let me know.
Kev
I’m a Scotsman, so frugality is in my blood. But, there are limits, and with me it’s more important to have solid, reliable trackwork on my layout than to save a bit of money.
If you’re going to be transitioning back and forth between Code 100 and Code 83, you’re going to have to do a lot of extra work to make sure that your trains run reliably over the junctions. The railheads will not line up, so you’ll be shimming every junction. Using rail joiners won’t be quite as reliable, and you’ll find that your power distribution will be weak, and you’ll need a lot more feeders. Yes, it can be done, but spending a lot of time fixing track work is not pleasant, and takes away from the enjoyment of the hobby.
Brass track, since no one has mentioned it, has a problem with oxidation. Nickel-silver oxidizes too, but the oxide of NS is electrically conductive, while the oxide of brass is not. So, you’ll be spending more time cleaning your track to maintain reliable operation. Again, it can be done, but for most of us it’s a chore, not a pleasure.
I agree with MR B here… What is your time worth??? Sometimes better to spend a little more now to head off problems later.
While it can be used successfully, brass track is, for the most part, obsolete. No one in the hobby has recommended using it for decades. You’ll get other opinions on this, but do some research before you go down this road. Personally, I don’t want to do any extra track cleaning.
Your mileage may vary,
Guy
The OP specifically states,That he is only using the brass track,to play around with,until any and all track and switches,that he wants to use,becomes readily available…For the price he got it for,why not?? It’s not going to be permanent…
Cheers,
Frank
Frank,
Missed that… Thanks for pointing it out…
Guy
Real railroads often use heavier rail on the mainline than on yard tracks, spur tracks, sidings etc. Using the code 100 as mainline track and code 83 on the other tracks might be a good solution.
As a “recovering O scaler” myself, I know that you mean, at first everything seems very small in HO. But in time you’ll get used to it and be able to see the difference in things like track. Of course, O scale has it’s own problems, like whether to use the correct 1:45 scale, or the 1:48 scale used in North America, or the 1:43.55 used in Europe?? Two rails or three?? How about some outside-third-rail action??
[:S]