It seems CCHobbies has good prices on Peco stuff and the also carry Atlas. I’m going to be using Atlas flex with Peco turnouts. Has anyone had problems with them? Can any of you suggest someone else? My LHS doesn’t carry Peco nor do they want to mess with it. Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks
Ed
I purchased all of my code 83 track from Cherry Creek Hobbies. I had to mix Peco, Atlas, and Walthers/Shinohara turnouts with Peco flex track, because some of the turnouts I needed were not made by Peco.
Atlas and Peco seem to have different ideas of what constitutes code 83, because the rail on Atlas turnouts does not match up to Peco or Shinohara. Peco and Shinohara are a perfect match, but Atlas is way off in two areas – height of the rail (or thickness of the crossties) and width of the rail foot.
I had to put shims under the Peco flex track to bring the rail foot up to the same height as Atlas track, and file down the ends of the Atlas rail so it would match the height of Peco or Shinohara.
I also had to use Atlas rail joiners on their code 83 track, and crimp the other end in slightly so it would hold onto the Peco or Shinohara rail. Peco rail joiners were too narrow to fit onto Atlas rail.
I found very good prices on Peco at www.modelrailwaypo.com in New Jersey. They advertise in Railroad Model Craftsman. Their web site is basically a copy of their ad, and you need to call to place an order, no web-based shopping cart and checkout stuff. On the other hand, I got a real person with good English language skills who knew the inventory. As I recall, it was flat-rate shipping, and my order was shipped promptly. It’s been a while though, so compare prices with other e-tailers.
Code 83 refers to the height of the rail only. The thickness of the ties and stuff is not covered, so that can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Put the two pieces together with a rail joiner and then add something underneath to make up the difference. Thin cardboard, masking tape layers, …
Check the dealers listing of the British Railway Modellers of North America. Most of them will carry Peco track in all varieties.
Last month when I was in Caboose Hobbies I noticed they had a pretty good supply of Peco switches. You can order online there as well.
I would go one step further wih this. Purchase a caliper (vernier types are about$15, but I have a digital readout had for around $30). Then measure the rail height. Code 83 will measure .083". I’ve heard of some rail advertised as Code 83 that was actually Code 80-.080". BTW the caliper has numerous uses around the layout, I would not do without one on my pike.