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Peco setrack


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Just a bit of advice to anyone out there just starting out or whatever. Dont bother with peco 00 setrack curved points , they really are not worth it , they are infact rubbish. Stalling locos (old and new) derailing locos and stock (old and new) 

Nothing wrong with the peco streamline curved points ,they are infact lovely , i have only ever used electrofrog points with no issues but these things are terrible , unfortunatley i am tied to using 2 of these in my present layout due to the space,all my other pointwork is streamline electrofrog and is fine. I cant comment on the setrack straight points though as i dont use them.

 

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A bit scathing I feel. I put a pair on a layout for my grandsons last year and they work ok even with 5 and 7 year olds running the trains. Maybe laid loose they are problematic, fixed down they seem to be fine.

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I find curved points in general troublesome . No experience of Peco but I tore up the Hornby ones because of the constant issues . Peco Setrack straight points no issue at all. Generally I find them more robust that the Hornby ones .

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Just a bit of advice to anyone out there just starting out or whatever. Dont bother with peco 00 setrack curved points , they really are not worth it , they are infact rubbish. Stalling locos (old and new) derailing locos and stock (old and new) 

Nothing wrong with the peco streamline curved points ,they are infact lovely , i have only ever used electrofrog points with no issues but these things are terrible , unfortunatley i am tied to using 2 of these in my present layout due to the space,all my other pointwork is streamline electrofrog and is fine. I cant comment on the setrack straight points though as i dont use them.

 

I agree entirely. I found set track curved points and the Hornby equivalents to be unusable in a slow running environment, and pretty bad when trains are running fast.  I don't like set track at the best of times, the track spacing is ridiculous.  I have at times live frogged set track points when space is very tight and carved bits off to fit them in to cramped spaces but this is not for the beginner.  For people starting in 00 these set track curved points are best avoided.

 

My solution for a tight curved point is to bend a streamline code 100 curved turnout tighter than the 30" standard radius. I have curved a Peco curved point down to around 18" radius, see pics.  This was a hacksaw job cutting across all the webs from one side to the other. It needed a new shorter points blade to compensate I think I tried shortening it but this put the tie bar an an angle so I fitted a shorter blade from a different peco point, on the more tightly curved road from my scrap box, they pull out of the tie bar and disconnect at the pivot end if you squeeze up the tags.  That was just one blade not the pair of blades and tie bar, no way would I try to change the tie bar except on the very old code 100 points where the two halves of the base "clipped" together under the tie bar.

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post-21665-0-27723800-1537387772.png

Edited by DavidCBroad
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I have a Hornby 4th-3rd radius curved point at the fiddle yard entrance on Cwmdimbath, and it is unfortunately critical to fitting the railway I want into the available space.  It has given trouble in terms of slow running/stalls and derailments, and has been twice ripped out and relaid.  Faffing with the setrack sections (there are several setrack no.4 curves in the fiddle yard either side of it) in terms of their alignment has eventually resulted in reliable running of all my locos; a particularly recalcitrant beast in this regard was my Hornby 42xx for some reason.  Ratio GW 4 wheeled coaches can be hauled over 4th radius, but not propelled; the rest of my RTR stock is fine.

 

I would recommend setrack in situations where very sharp curves need to be laid accurately, such as industrial or dockside layouts, as flexible track tends to distort at radii below about 2 feet and pull out of gauge, but would not recommend the use of curved setrack points from any manufacturer; stick with straighforward turnouts or Ys.  I have used Peco Streamline live frog curved points on other layouts in the past with no trouble, though; it seems to just be setrack that causes problems.  

 

I use dead frogs on all my points on Cwmdimbath in the interests of wiring simplicity and reliability (any set up relying on my soldering skills is questionable at best), and find that they provide completely reliable slow running with 6-coupled locos so long as care is taken to ensure that they are laid smoothly to the track adjoining them and absolutely level on a firm base.

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Glad it's not just me then haha.

Like I said I don't have any problems with streamline curved points. Initially I bought and installed 5 of the curved settrack points, 3 got removed soon after and replaced with streamline but still have 2 in use , unfortunately I'm stuck with them due to the geometry and space but any future layouts I will not use them again. Nice work customizing the streamline point to a tighter radius by the way, not a road ( or track pardon the pun) that I will go down , would only end up recking the track.

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I had a Peco Setrack curved point in the fiddle yard of my roundy-roundy and I had few if any problems with it.  It was certainly less problematic than one of the Streamline short radius turnouts on the scenic section, which ended up being re-laid twice before certain locos would traverse it without the front pony truck derailing.

 

As for "a section where one rail is curved and the other straight" - don't all turnouts have this?  Otherwise they wouldn't be, well, turnouts.  (I freely admit that I may be missing something.)

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Hi all,

I tried Hornby curved points about 30 years ago when they first came out. I had no end of trouble with them causing continual derailments and bumpy running. I ended up tearing them out and have never used curved points since then. Admittedly my railway has been in boxes for the last 10 years now due to no space. But I cannot think they have got any better.

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Toy train prices!

 

 

Just what do you expect from toy train track?

I expect 'toy train track' to work reliably with stock that is designed to run on it; this should run without derailing or stalling so long as the track has been laid correctly and is pinned or glued in place.  My Hornby 42xx is designed to run on Hornby trackwork of radius 3 and above; it should not stall on the no.4 radius curve of a turnout it is designed to run on.  I have had to 'jiggle' the pieces each side to make a slight kink at the join (this is incorrect tracklaying) to get the loco to run reliably through the turnout.

 

As a problem, it is solved to my satisfaction, but as a problem, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.  A less experienced newbie using setrack with RTR stock, having been assured by manufacturers that it will work, would be in real trouble with this.  I do not therefore recommend curved setrack pointwork to the very people most likely to use setrack.

 

'Progress' to kits or scratchbuild, or scale couplings, and you will not be able to use these unrealistically tight radius curves anyway; the very people most likely to be able to deal with the problems of train set track are the ones least likely to use it.

 

To put this is a bit of perspective, for Hornby to make a 42xx of such scale appearance that will negotiate a no.3 curve is miraculous; I bet not many scratch builders could do it!

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As for "a section where one rail is curved and the other straight" - don't all turnouts have this?  Otherwise they wouldn't be, well, turnouts.  (I freely admit that I may be missing something.)

Well not when its the same running line, which tends to require a constant gauge.

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