I’ve used Atlas switches before and never had a problem.However I’ve heard that peco switches a much better. I plan on building my layout next month and I’m going to need a ton of switches. I really don’t want to be messing with ,repairing switches later on in the life of the layout.
Walthers switches and Shinharo are out of my price range. So peco is the next best thing…right ?
The layout design I have in my head will reqiure about 25 switches,both left,right,curved ect. I figure ,if I’m going to invest in the this new layout,why not spend the money on the best.
I’ve got some of each, but mostly Atlas. I’ve had no problems with either of them. All of mine are run remotely, with the twin-coil machines designed for the turnouts. I had a lot of old brass Atlas snap-switches left over from my teenage layout in the 1960’s. They’ve been in boxes most of the time, but I am using a number of those 40+years-old Atlas switch machines now with no problems.
To me, the Peco turnouts are much nicer because the switch machine mounts solidly, easiliy and out of sight below the turnout, attached directly to the bottom. The standard Atlas, on the other hand, is mounted above ground and just looks wrong after a while. The under-table mounted Atlas is an add on. (You can’t buy a turnout with an under-table machine, but you can buy one with an above-table machine included.) Also, the under-table Atlas machine maxes out at a 1-inch depth, so us 2-inch foam guys are out of luck. I did take one and glue it to the underside of the turnout. So far, so good, but it’s rip-up-the-track time if the thing ever fails. (Upside to Atlas above-table machines - they’re easy to replace if necessary.)
Either the Atlas above-table or the Peco turnouts can be operated manually. The Atlas under-table can’t be operated from above, if that’s a concern.
Peco offers an add-on to provide contact closure for signals and indicator lights. Atlas offers a relay, which could be wired in parallel. I think the Atlas device is more expensive by a couple of dollars, maybe more.
Peco switch machines need more juice than Atlas. I found that my Atlas machines all worked fine on the old toy train transformer’s AC outputs, but I had to add a capacitive discharge circuit to get the Pecos to throw reliably. On the other hand, I’d recommend a CD circuit anyway, both for good performance and for switch machine protection in the event of a toggle control switch hangup.</
This is a general MRR forum, not specific to HO. Many scales are discussed here. There are far too many N scalers and others to assume that someone is talking HO.
The code 100 Pecos are what I use. They are very reliable, work very well for manual switching, what I do, because of the positive spring action that they have. They are not based on US prototype design, which is an issue for some. The new Peco code 83 is based on US practice.
I’m useing Atlas with little to no problems. Having problems with one throw bar. (out of 22). I looked at the Pecos and like stated above they are not based on US prototype and didn’t like the way they look. I was on the Atlas forum the other day and someone made a comment about one of their throw bars not working right. Atlas monitors their forum and jumped right in and said send us your address and we’ll be happy to send you some new throw bars. I thought that was pretty cool of them.
http://www.nhshobbies.com/SearchResults.asp Don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy. He has the best prices and is dependable to work with. Sometimes he waves S&H if your order is sizable enough.
atlas c100 flextrack with peco turnout. very reliable and cheap . Some folks says the peco look too british but once its painted and ballasted, it looks proto to me. if youre running DC with 1 engine, insulfrog allow you to leave engine on unpowered spurs. Atlas and peco match perfectly also. The vast choice of crossing in c100 enable you to really plan and build almost any configuration. Just wish Peco would use numbering instead of their small-medium-large and state the radii of their curved turnout
The geometry of the code 75 and code 100 Peco is all set up so the large/medium/small turnouts will all mate up together - i.e. they all have the same angle on the diverging route. Peco have used this system for many decades.
The code 83s, on the other hand, are made entirely to a US spec and use the US numbering system for the crossing angle. I have a number 6 turnout sat on my desk here and it’s a really nice piece of work.
Peco are worked over-centre with a spring holding the blades hard to the stock rail. I’ve never known any problem with this.
The Peco dedicated point motor is a solenoid that kicks the blades either way. It needs no holding current because of the over-centre action. They can be burnt out but it happens very rarely… usually because of a fault somewhere else. If they need rplaceing you just need to be very careful to unclip them down out of the plug-in points that they plug into ([:-^]). So long as you are careful the replacement will simply plug straight back in.
You might find it less expensive to use ordinary (UK) peco switches off scene and the smart US ones on scene. If you want robustness use code 100 off scene and whatever size 9code 83) on scene… shim the plain track in between as needed just after the track goes off scene.
I fretted over the same question. I have used Peco (code 70) HO turnouts on a friends layout. They have the over-center spring which holds the points against the stock rails. They also have a little nub on the throw bar, and he throws them by hand using the nubs (not the points themselves, please!). They are quite nice.
I bought a couple Atlas Code 83 customline turnouts to try. They lack the over-center spring, so some sort of switch-machine is mandatory. I’m using Caboose Industry ground throws. I added a short 30-gauge jumper between each point rail and it’s stock rail and I soldered feeders to the stock rails. I also spent a few minutes with a file dressing each rail at the joiners and sharpening the points slightly to ensure wheelsets wont pick the switch.
I believe I paid about $13 for each turnout with the ground throw. The Peco code 83’s would have been over $20 each. Also, I can find the Atlas turnouts at any of several local hobby shops, but the peco’s are not available locally on a reliable basis.
In the end, I chose to use the Atlas turnouts. My layout is brand new, so I don’t know how long they will hold up, but I don’t really expect problems. All my rolling stock, including a P2K 0-8-0 which gives me problems on tight radius curves, likes the Atlas track I laid. No regrets so far.
I’ve always used Atlas turnouts, in the beginning primarily due to price, starting with the snap switches on my first sectional track layouts in the early 80’s. My new layout which is currently 1/2 way through the track laying phase is using Atlas code 83 #6’s, although in my staging I plan on reusing some of my 20 yr old code 100 #4’s since they will be out of site for the most part.
I’ve never personally tried any other brand of switch so I cannot comment on those but I’ve always had great luck with the Atlas and really like my new code 83 custom lines. As mentioned before you just need something to hold the points against the rails, otherwise they wander. I plan on using Caboose ground throws but at the moment Atlas track nails stuck into the foam work just as well [:)]
On my layout, I’ve been using Atlas Custom Line Code 83 #6s. I’ve been happy with them, except for two things.
The frog seems to be a tiny bit higher than the rail son some turnouts for some reason. I haven’t been able to figure out why this is, but sometimes it doesn cause problems. I’m considering sanding it down, but I want to make sure that I’m not going to mess with some unforseen issue regarding the design.
I use Caboose Hobbies ground throws for my turnouts. Therefore, I sometimes need to flip the throwbar so that the ground throw is on the correct side of the turnout. Flipping the throwbar is , just pop out the rails, flip it, and reinsert them, but I’ve been finding that after I flip them the rail’s clip may not hold to the drawbar as well as did before, causing the rails to slide and make the turnout unfunctional. This problem may just require more care and maybe a bit of glue, but I’d hate to have to pull out a few turnouts to do this.
I’ve decided that any mainline turnouts on the rest of the railroad will definitely be done with Peco Code 83, but I haven’t used them before, so like Cannoli, I can’t say anything about them.
In HO code 100 I’ve used both the Atlas and Peco switches and neither gave any trouble. I always disliked the Atlas switch machines but tolerated them. I did start having issues with the Atlas switches after a while and especially with my 3 axel diesels and passenger cars. Most of the problems traced to the turnouts going out of gage between the points and the frogs but with some patience that was cured. I also ended up with two points pivot rivets out of thirty or so turnouts that didn’t have continuity and allowed the engine to stall in the turnout. Most of the time the rivet can be retightened by taking the unit out and tapping the rivet with a punch and lightweight hammer on a solid surface. Haven’t had any issues with the Peco at all yet though in all honesty I’ve owned most of the Atlas switches three or four times longer. J.R.
I use all Atlas code 83 turnouts with Tortoise machines with no issues. The only exceptions are the three 3-Way and one double slip turnout, all of which are Walthers.
Interesting. Peco made code 75. American companies (and Shinohara) made code 70 to NMRA specs. Some, thinking 70 too ‘delicate’ for twin-coil switch machines, went to code 83, and then thicker ties for 83.
Peco makes a good switch. Due to dimensional differences, one won’t get in trouble - excepy by mixing brands.
You may run many different engines and cars on your layout over time, but your track will remain with whatever was selected.
Caveat:switches and derailments run hand-in-hand. Remember that.
I find the pecos to be for sure better but the price ughhh…so much more than an Atlas. So I dont know if it is worth it…rather use Atlas’ on all the 4 and 6’s and save my money for Shinohara switches. As far as I can find NHShobbies has 4’s and 6’s for 7.75…peco’s are almost double. For the price you cant beat the Atlas switches. Anybody find em cheaper…? They also have the Peco’s for between 14$ to 18$ and that’s a great price I think. The Peco’s are also much darker in color…they do not match. Suggestions? Merry MRRing !!!
I’ve used both the Atlas and the Peco code 100 switches. They are not in the same ballpark. With that many switches, you do not want to spend all your time trying to fix them, so go with the Peco.
Yes, Atlas are cheaper to buy the first time, but if you have to keep replacing them, the cost adds up quickly. Atlas switches have their flangeways 'way too wide, are rough-riding, and have serious contact problems with short-wheelbase locos. Their Customline Code 100 turnouts have unpowered frogs that need extra contacts on the switch machine to power them. The newer Atlas Code 83 line is almost as expensive as the Shinohara.
I have never had any problems with Peco Electrofrog switches. They are reliable, and there is never a problem with them shorting out at the frog point, or having a huge cast-metal thing that’s frog-shaped but never sits level. The appearance issue is overrated, I think, since 999 out of 1000 viewers would neither know the difference nor care. If I had it to do all over again, I might go with the new Peco Code 83, but then if pigs had wings…
In all, I prefer the Peco switches, even over the Shinohara. I have a Shinohara #8 curved