What Track can I Use?

Atlas track is good if you can find it. The next best is to use Gargraves with Ross switches. Tubular track is also good.

With tubular track or Gargraves you can cut to fit the track. You can't cut track with plastic road bed that well because of the end sections needing to mate up with other tracks.

Stay away from track with plastic road bed as the noise will kill your ears, especially Fastrack. 

Spacing on curves depends on what size of overhang your; engines, passenger or freight cars have. Usually spacing should start at 5 inches center to center rail on curves.

Lee Fritz

Lee thanks for your help. I would like to know is Atlas track made with Nickel Silver or Steel track? Is Atlas also the least expensive of all the tracks? 

Atlas is not the least expensive track, most of Atlas track is nickel silver. The old type tubular track is most likely the least expensive but needs some work or ballasting if you like to have better detail.

Lee Fritz

Allan Martinez posted:

Lee thanks for your help. I would like to know is Atlas track made with Nickel Silver or Steel track?

Atlas track is solid nickel silver, on plastic ties. Using the proper roadbed, it is NOT noisy.

Is Atlas also the least expensive of all the tracks? 

Absolutely not! Probably the most expensive, if and when, you can find what you want.

For your question about Tortoise Switch Machines, yes they can be used but might need some adaptation to fit a particular vendor's switch.  Of course, it would make a lot of sense to buy switches without the motor attached.

Chuck

Candidly speaking....   Gargraves track and Ross switches will probably be the most tried-and-true formula -- especially if you're starting from Square 1.  It's all made here in the USA, and supply is readily available.

Atlas-O probably has the most complete "system".  But the stuff is imported from China, so you're at the mercy of production schedules and all the delays that come with it.  Up until recently, the #5 and #7.5 turnouts (among other pieces) were nowhere to be found.

MTH Scaletrax is arguable the most realistic looking track.  But like Atlas-O, it is imported from China.  And up until a couple of months ago, dealers couldn't supply #4 or #6 turnouts for almost 2 years!  MTH had zero inventory for those items.  When the new production arrived recently, I ordered a couple of extra items just in case there would be a shortage again.  Who wants to wait another 2 years? 

You could build a great layout with any of these offerings, but only you know your toleration for the life's little nuances.  So proceed accordingly.

David

I agree with David's comments and will add that I have a mixture of Atlas O and Ross track and switches. I had started out all Atlas O back in 2007 and have no complaints about their track but have slowly shifted over to Ross because:

1. As David stated Ross track and switches are made in the USA. I never had to wait for availability of either track or turnout. Note - I buy Ross track rather than Gargraves only because I usually buy track and turnouts at the same time so would rather combine shipping fees.

2. Ross product is high quality and in some cases less expensive than Atlas O.

3. Ross offers a much greater selection of turnout types. I have their 3-way and 4-way yard set which are amazing.

4. Ross turnouts use Z-Stuff Z-1000 or Z-2500 switch motors which offer more options and seem to be more robust than Atlas O switch motors. Opinion here - I use Z-1000 motors. 

5. Making a Ross turnout with a Z-Stuff motor non-derail is as basic as adding a wire and you are done. Because Atlas O switch motors are electromechanical a more expensive circuit board product is needed though I admit I am not sure if a less expensive way exists.

Joe

For starters, two rail track would be my choice, with the development of many new two rail engines, unless you like the toy train look.

Tommy posted:

For starters, two rail track would be my choice, with the development of many new two rail engines, unless you like the toy train look.

Many of us have layouts running 3 rail track that don't have a "toy train look" 

Tommy posted:

For starters, two rail track would be my choice, with the development of many new two rail engines, unless you like the toy train look.

Gee Tommy. That sorta hurt.

I had to go three rail to capture that toy look to avoid trying to hop on board. Me being 48 times larger it is a little ruff on my trains.

Maybe what Tommy is trying to say is: "For the most realistic look, maybe look at 2rail as an alternative. There are a lot of cool new releases too"

GarGraves is likely to be the best choice for covering price, quality, and availability..Nickle Silver is your MOST maintenance free choice of rail materials . Requiring less maintance.

Atlas O track has one of the highest manufacturer's list price, but...  Shop around and take advantage of sales and bulk purchases since you are starting a fresh.  You can get 30% off list.

Atlas O has nickel silver rails and plastic ties (as is MTH Scaletrax) and is immune to  moisture.  Atlas O represents American mainline with heavier rail and closer spaced ties while Scaletrax is more branchline with lighter rail and wider tie spacing and European style rail clips.

Atlas O  is compatible with Ross and with Gargraves with some modifications.  This gives you much flexibility in layout design.  Scaletrax uses a complex design for making electrical connections and has had problems in the past.  Scaletrax has a limit selection of pieces.

At York I questioned an Atlas rep about introducing new pieces -- they are.  Hopefully we;ll see them in a year.

I use Atlas O and will be using some Ross to meet some special ends.

Jan

Tommy posted:

For starters, two rail track would be my choice, with the development of many new two rail engines, unless you like the toy train look.

I have seen 2 rail O scale track but for starting out I would recommend 3 rail track engines. You can find more 3 rail stuff and sell 3 rail stuff easier if you want to sell it later. Another feature of most 2 rail track engines is that they run on DC instead of AC like 2 rail engines.

Even though 2 rail track and equipment looks more realistic there is a smaller market for 2 rail track then 3 rail track in O scale.

Lee Fritz

A lot of it comes down to preference. The cheapest track by far is tubular track, while Lionel no longer makes it, Menards seems to have taken up the charge with that, and for switches Ross makes a ton of different styles, tinplate style to scale. Tubular can run almost anything (deep flanges have no problems on it), but also can take a lot of work to look more realistic (ballasting, putting extra ties in it, painting the rails). 

For me Gargraves rail and Ross Switches is a kind of jolly median, though Gargraves disturbs some because the ties are larger than scale and isn't quite protypical, for price and performance to me it is in a sweet spot (and that is me). 

Atlas makes nice track, but even with a discount it will be more expensive, and as others have pointed out, it can be difficult to get, Atlas had horrendous problems with shipping (Gargraves is made in Upstate NY, Ross is in Connecticut) for a while, and still can have problems, plus the variety ross offers with switches is much, much larger than Atlas.  Atlas looks nice, though, and the nickel silver rail is easier to maintain (won't work with magnetraction is you wanted to use engines with that).

MTH scale trax to me is the best looking, most prototypical, but it is expensive, it can be tricky to work with, and can have availability issues. 

Scale Trax and Atlas track also has a drawback if you run older tinplate equipment I hear, some of the deep flanged engines and rolling stock may have trouble with those (least that is what I have heard, haven't tried doing that myself). 

Some people work with Lionel fast track or the plastic bodied track that MTH and Atlas produce (it is track integrated with a plastic roadbed) and make it look quite nice. Because of the plastic, these tend to be a lot noisier, though, and can take some work to deaden that sound. They also limit what you can do with them, for example cutting. Another factor is they aren't particularly cheap, either. 

In the end it comes down to what you can affford which in turn involves how realistic you want it, how big the layout is (the differences in price become a lot bigger the larger the layout), and what looks good to you, all have their pluses and minuses. If you are on a budget, you can buy tinplate track really cheaply used, and 'fix it up' with extra ties, ballast and such, and it can look pretty darn good (with Ross Switches, Lionel tinplate switches are pretty rugged, but don't look as good IMO). There is no one right way,no really 'best' product, really depends on your unique needs and limits, too. 

To make Lionel tubular track look better I have used plastic ties that were sold by Moondog Express(now out of business) and 3R Plastics(still in business). The 3R plastic ties hold in place better then Moondog ties as the 3R has a small slot in the top of them and Moondog were just flat on top & bottom.

To me Gargraves track looks more realistic then Lionel tubular track. Ross Custom switches are my newest and best switch I have bought, well worth the extra money. Ross Custom switches can handle almost any brand of engine, they work great with my MTH Reading T-1(4-8-4 steam engine).

Lee Fritz

I haven't looked into it deeply myself, but wasn't GG made in a few ways and using various rail materials?

FYI I think most here are referring to GG's traditional flex tracks. There are pre bent sectional track pieces too.

Blackened center rail or plain too.

Anyones flex track will be more difficult to form into curves if its solid or a harder alloy. This is one of the advantages of GG. Its actually a tube if you look at the cross section profile.

When shopping for track you'll possibly come across a "code measurement" too. This is the height to of the rail top, measured from the top of the ties.

I could easily see pizza cutter flanges bottoming on the tops of ties of more proto code. This already happens on some select "special sections" of Lionel tubular and Marx tubular, and mixing of other brands with normal post war type flanges; there are slight differences in the flange code of various models and years. (Yes wheels have a code measurement too)

  If you have any intension on running a tin plate train once in a blue moon, you'll need a tall code. And to use a turnouts deviation, vintage switches that can handle a "Fat wheel" where the cast wheels gear is a larger diameter, meeting right to the flange, making geared wheels wider there. There must be a wider space between guide rails or no guide rails, and other such allowances to allow its passing, as well as the taller code. Keeping the fat wheel to the straight thru long rail's side of turnouts often allows a one direction ability to pass thru most switches by going straight.

A halftone grey as the gear, to illustrate a fat wheels issue on guide rails

 While I wasn't deep into the hobby as the term evolved ,as a kid, hi-rail to me was a layout that involved a somewhat prototypical track with a tall code vs a scale code from prototypical measuments. Ie GG was hi-rail defined. If you said you had hi-rail, I expected to likely see GG/Ross first and formost

More prototypical flanges require more presice track laying, especially at the joints; and need a flat top rail, hollow or solid, but the less head rounding the better.(head , web, foot; the three basic elements of a rail cross section)