Advice for a Sectional Track layout needed.

[boxbrownie]

i am primarily a 7mm modeller, but since moving to the West Country three years ago after retirement all my stuff has been packed away, last week I decided to get some out and have a play, unfortunately I find now my dexterity due to illness has made it all too obvious I will not longer be able to “model and engineer” as I have loved doing all my life, building the models and details was my passion along with the electrics and fitting sound and special/custom speaker installations.

 

I have come to the painful (and honest) conclusion it appears I will have to “play” trains in the future rather than build, better than nothing at all (or worse still just looking at my vast collection), it is with this in mind I have decided to try and just go back to basic 4mm RTR stuff and even start with a basic layout using “setrack” type track. Now I know about the Peco stuff and have a couple of starter sets coming tomorrow just to see if I can actually still plug the rails together and get a basic “carpet fluff collector” circuit up,and running, but what I wanted to know after all this rambling is are there any better/better looking plug and play sectional track systems?

I’d like it not too look toylike but be able once on a proper board to landscape/weather it to be more acceptable.

 

Basically I want to play trains again!

Edited November 17, 2018 by boxbrownie

[Butler Henderson]

Setracks tend to fall into two camps - with or without a moulded base. There are various versions of the latter, each system being proprietary, I would be tempted to suggest Kato Unitrack   other than its relatively expensive and their are very few stockists. If you cannot get on with the Peco track it might be worth having a word with Gaugemaster as they stock a relatively wide number of ranges [link]. One trick I hit on with the Kato and which may work for other moulded base ranges was to butt up it cork strip that has a chambered edge which then instantly brought the track leveller with the surrounding landscape once the cork strip was absorbed by the surroundings.

[Allegheny1600]

Hello David,

In addition to Butler Hendersons suggestion of Kato, above - there is Atlas & Bachmann 'snap track' as they call it in the USA and Roco, Fleischmann, Piko and Trix in Europe.

My personal favourite is the also expensive Roco-Line with roadbed - which is a soft rubbery type of material that softens the noise and cushions any bumps on the ground.

See how it looks:

Track by Allegheny1633, on Flickr

This is, like pretty much all the others, designed to be laid on the floor, picked up and laid again on a fairly frequent basis so is definitely robust. All of mine was picked up secondhand as Roco stopped making it for many years but I believe it was re-introduced a year or two ago.

[Suzie]

Since you are a 7mm modeller perhaps now is not the time to go smaller. Peco do make 7mm set track that might be more of use to you:-

 

https://peco-uk.com/collections/setrack/7mm-o

[boxbrownie]

Since you are a 7mm modeller perhaps now is not the time to go smaller. Peco do make 7mm set track that might be more of use to you:-

 

https://peco-uk.com/collections/setrack/7mm-o

I know what you mean Suzie, but to be frank just trying to handle the heavy weight and fine detail on my Dapol, LLC and especially Heljan locos is getting almost impossible without “dropping the ball” and breaking some detail parts on them, one of the things that really struck ho,e was I test ran my Lionheart Autocoach set and one of the buffers popped off, I found the circling which held it on the shaft but a few years ago I would have just re assembled it, this time forget it......I could hardly put the buffer back into the shaft......I need something lighter, more reliable (as regarding detail parts) and easier to handle.

 

I appreciate your comments though.

[woodenhead]

I wouldn't say OO is any easier to handle, just lighter, take any steam locomotive with a tender and you've got handling problems if you've lost some dexterity.

 

O Gauge stuff still looks more solid

[Butler Henderson]

I wouldn't say OO is any easier to handle, just lighter, take any steam locomotive with a tender and you've got handling problems if you've lost some dexterity.

 

also a lot of the fine detail on OO models is ultra fragile.

[TonyMay]

If you want to just play trains, why not go for complete whimsy?  I'm thinking Thomas - the grandkids will love it.  The models are fairly robust and can be picked up cheaply.  

[Phil Bullock]

Another vote for Kato track....

 

I have some I use as my test track and also take to shows for demo's.... Goes together well, is robust and with its moulded base should help keep fluff levels down.

 

Good luck with taking this forwards and please let us know how you get on. It's something we will all face as time passes.

 

Phil

[boxbrownie]

I wouldn't say OO is any easier to handle, just lighter, take any steam locomotive with a tender and you've got handling problems if you've lost some dexterity.

 

O Gauge stuff still looks more solid

 

But it is, my circumstances dictate I cannot "feel" as well as control dexterity, trying to handle a heavy 7mm model with the same fine detail means I have to hold them more firmly, or basically uncontrollably. the lighter 4mm models are far easier to hold without fear or dropping so easier to handle without using the same force thus not so damaging to finer detail.

 

Trust me I have tried and tried.

[boxbrownie]

Right, after the Peco Setrack arrived this morning I had a play with it and have definitely decided it’ll be this or possibly Kato HO track (must get a couple of pieces to play with) on a split 8’x4’ board. Have been trying out some of my 4mm sound diesels and I find them so much easier to handle being lighter and less “added detail” on the bodies than my 7mm stuff there is less chance of breaking bits off, seems I am going back to 4mm definitely.

Going to have a play on the com0uter with AnyRail this afternoon, I rather like the look of the “Bredon” layout in the Peco Setrack plans book.

[boxbrownie]

I have fiddled around with Anyrail and come up with this in Peco Setrack, it is a slightly modified/enlarged Bredon on an 8x4 board.........comments?

 

[Butler Henderson]

UK Setrack curved points are problematic - they are a bit of a bodge and at one location their is a straight rail parallel to a curved rail with a consequential gauge narrowing which can cause problems.

[boxbrownie]

I was going to try the layout with Kato Unitrack but I cannot find anywhere reference to curved points from Unitrack HO..........can that be correct?

[boxbrownie]

UK Setrack curved points are problematic - they are a bit of a bodge and at one location their is a straight rail parallel to a curved rail with a consequential gauge narrowing which can cause problems.

 

That's a pity as I was basing the whole layout on using the curved points, save a lot of space length wise.

[Phil Bullock]

I was going to try the layout with Kato Unitrack but I cannot find anywhere reference to curved points from Unitrack HO..........can that be correct?

[Phil Bullock]

Kato points are quite limited unfortunately....

 

Phil

[boxbrownie]

Kato points are quite limited unfortunately....

Phil

Certainly I found the HO system is, I built (and still have) a Japanese based 2mm layout over ten years ago, the amount of Kato N Gauge track is amazing, while I was working in Japan I bought tons of track, locos and EMUs. And all a helluva lot cheaper than over here at the time, about third or quarter the cost!

 

I assume the HO is lacking as it is primarily for the US market and certainly not for the domestic Japanese market (they haven’t the room in homes there for HO) which has amazing point junctions available.

 

I reckon it’s back to the Setrack then, and will order a couple of curved points to try them out first.

[Taigatrommel]

I think Trix C Track is very good, with a robust clip together mechanism and no fishplates to lose. 

 

http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_results.asp?searchstring=c-tracks%20brand~~563~~brand%20%20scale~~%ACho%AC~~scale%20category~~1262~~category&currentpage=1

[alfsboy]

I use Roco Geoline track to play on the floor  with the grandkids .It works fine

[boxbrownie]

Ooo I like the look of the Trix track.......and a very helpful manufacturers site also.

[boxbrownie]

Ooo I like the look of the Trix track.......and a very helpful manufacturers site also.

Oh dear...the curved points are radius one...........that is too tight for modern UK stock I fear. 

[boxbrownie]

Roco Geoline, Bredon modified with double main line

or without double main line?

 

[Zomboid]

Trix also do R3/R4 curved points (part numbers 62771/ 62772).

 

This has diagrams to explain how they fit

 

http://railway.zone/post/how-to-set-up-the-new-marklin-and-trix-c-track-points

Edited November 17, 2018 by Zomboid

[boxbrownie]

Arghhh! Back to the computer then.....