# N Scale Curves: Sections or Flex?



## moloch16 (Jan 3, 2019)

Starting a layout and have generated an initial track plan using SCARM. I used sections to quickly define the turns at each end in the software but when putting the track down which is better to use, sections or flex track?

It seems flex track would be preferred (less joints) but how much misery is involved laying flex track down in curves? I'm pretty handy but if 80% say just use sectional the flex pain isn't worth it I'll go that route.

Thanks!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Flex track on curves*



moloch16 said:


> Starting a layout and have generated an initial track plan using SCARM. I used sections to quickly define the turns at each end in the software but when putting the track down which is better to use, sections or flex track?
> 
> It seems flex track would be preferred (less joints) but how much misery is involved laying flex track down in curves? I'm pretty handy but if 80% say just use sectional the flex pain isn't worth it I'll go that route.
> 
> Thanks!


moloch;

I strongly recommend going with flex track for the whole layout, except turnouts. There is no "misery" involved in laying curves with flex track. You do have your choice of two basic types of flex track though, and they behave differently in curves.

Atlas flex track is VERY flexible. They sometimes advertise it as "Super" flex track. This means that you can easily bend it to a desired curvature, but the second you let go of it, the 30" piece of flex track springs back to straight.

Micro Engineering flex track is different in three ways.

First, it does not spring back to straight like Atlas flex. It holds whatever curve you form it into.

Second, it also bends a bit more reluctantly than Atlas. You may have to bend a little bit of the 36" long piece at a time to form the curved shape you want.

Third, it is, far and away, the most realistic-looking track I've ever seen.

Some people love the Atlas for being "super" flexible, others hate it for that same reason. 
Likewise some love the Micro Engineering track for holding its shape after you form the curve a little at a time. Others hate it for that same reason. 
Either will work fine, simply pick the type you like. 

With either type of flex track, here's a hint for making smooth curves, without any kinks in the joints. Start with two pieces of track laid out end-to-end on a table, or work bench. Push the rail joiners on one piece and then push the other piece into the joiners. It's a good idea to file the ends of the rails at the base into a tapered shape. This makes it easier to slide the joiner onto the rail. I sometimes have to file off a little from the bottom of the rail.

NOTE: The Atlas rail joiners are quite loose. This makes them easy to slide on, but also means they may need to be crimped a little tighter to hold the rail ends in proper alignment.

Conversely, the Micro Engineering rail joiners are super tight. This holds the rail ends in alignment perfectly, but also makes them much harder to get onto the rail. I have had to open the end of these joiners a little with an X-acto knife & #11 blade to help get these joiners started onto the rail. Micro Engineering track definitely needs to have the rail base tapered to get these tight joiners on. They are a tight & precise fit.

This is another of those Love/Hate things. Different folks have different preferences with joiners, just as they do with track. I do recommend using the same brand of rail joiners as the brand of track you choose however.

Get the rail ends inside either joiner lined up with each other and touching. Put a paper towel, soaked with cold water, on either side of the rail joints. This will protect the plastic ties from melting with the heat from soldering. Now, with the track still straight, solder the two pieces of track at both rail joints. 

When the rail joints have cooled, carry the assembled pieces of track to your layout, and bend them to the curve you want, treating them as one long piece of track. Doing it this way prevents the kinked joints that very often happen when laying pieces of flex track on a curve individually. Note: This moving and bending the long piece of track goes a lot easier with two people.

Flex track can be glued down with latex caulk. Put a small dab of caulk at each end and one about every 6"-8" along the track. It can be held in place with pins, or weights, until the caulk cures for several hours. If you later need to remove the track, slip a putty knife, coated with WD-40, under one end of the track. Work the putty knife gradually along the length of the track, and it will come up.
Some Atlas flex track has holes drilled through the center of some of the ties. They make track nails that can be pushed & driven through these holes to hold the track in place. Since this "Giant nail in the middle of the tie" business doesn't happen on real railroads, the much more realistic-looking Micro Engineering track does not have nail holes.

I also recommend soldering a pair of feeder wires to each piece of flex track, sectional track, turnout, etc. on the entire railroad. these feeder wire should be soldered to the bus wires under the layout. (Note: two, or more, pieces of track soldered together can be considered as one long "piece" of track.)
I solder all the rail joints on curves, but leave the joints on straight track unsoldered. This lets the track accommodate any expansion or contraction of the rails (very little) and the wood under them. (a lot more) The feeders and bus wires form a power distribution network that is super reliable and not affected by rail joiners getting corroded or dirty over time.

Have fun;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

PS. The files below contain lots of useful information on model railroad subjects for beginner's.

View attachment WHERE DO I START 3.pdf


View attachment All AboutTurnouts.pdf


View attachment 1 How to build a better first layout.pdf


View attachment 2 How to build a better first layout.pdf


View attachment 3 & 4 How to build a better first layout.pdf


View attachment 5 How to build a better first layout.pdf


View attachment 6 How to build a better first layout.pdf


View attachment Improving Atlas turnouts pdf version.pdf


View attachment Model Railroad Terminology 2.2.pdf


View attachment MODEL RAILROADING ON A BUDGET.pdf


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

It takes a little bit of patience, but flex track is not hard to lay, and will result in smoother curves and fewer joints to worry about. Best practice is to join several pieces with soldered joiners, enough to go around the curve. This helps to avoid kinks.


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## CV-62 (Dec 9, 2018)

moloch16 said:


> Starting a layout and have generated an initial track plan using SCARM. I used sections to quickly define the turns at each end in the software but when putting the track down which is better to use, sections or flex track?
> 
> It seems flex track would be preferred (less joints) but *how much misery is involved laying flex track down in curves? * I'm pretty handy but if 80% say just use sectional the flex pain isn't worth it I'll go that route.
> 
> Thanks!


Everything Traction Fan said. He knows what he is talking about. He has been there and done that. 

I am new to the hobby as you. I have NOT started building my layout yet and am still a ways away from doing so. I am currently in study mode and will be for a while now.

With that said, I recently read where someone said to use a block of wood to help shape the curves. Here is what you do

Take a straight section of track and apply some black acrylic paint to the top of the rails. Place a small block of wood on the rails to transfer the paint to the wood. (clean the rails off while the residue is still wet ) Using a table saw, cut the blade kerf on the lines slightly less then the code of the track in depth.

As you shape your curves, use the block and apply downward and outward pressure as you follow your radius lines.

**DISCLAIMER**

I have NOT tried this personally, but it sounds like a simple solution and well worth a try. It may not work, but if you own a table saw, it won't cost you anything but some time.

For me Flex track is the way to go. Today, at Tony's Train's I picked up some Peco Code 55 for $5.98 a stick. Remember if you are considering Atlas flex track that Atlas track is only 30" while Peco and ME are 36". That's a 17% increase in trackage!!!! One should factor that in to their budgeting as they are real numbers for me.


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## moloch16 (Jan 3, 2019)

Thanks for the help everyone and especially Traction Fan for the detailed response. Can you combine track manufactures? For example, connect Micro Engineering flex track to Atlas turnouts?


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Yes, and No.*



moloch16 said:


> Thanks for the help everyone and especially Traction Fan for the detailed response. Can you combine track manufactures? For example, connect Micro Engineering flex track to Atlas turnouts?


moloch;

Yes, you can fit different brands of track and turnouts to each other, there are a few oddball exceptions, but the general rule is that the various brands of track are compatible.

No, I do not like Atlas turnouts at all, and especially bad, in my opinion, are their "Snap Switch" turnouts. The plan you did with SCARM, and posted here, looks like it uses Atlas Snap Track turnouts, is that correct?

Atlas actually makes two separate lines of turnouts. Their "Custom Line" turnouts are better quality than the "Snap Switches", but neither of them is anywhere near as good in quality as Peco, or Micro Engineering turnouts. If you read the "All about turnouts" file I sent you, it explains this in some detail.
The one I'm attaching below details what problems might arise with Atlas "Snap Track" turnouts, and some fixes for most of them. It primarily deals with the HO-scale turnout, but except for the tight (for HO) 18" radius curve issue, most of the other problems apply to the N-scale version too.

I recommend Peco, or Micro Engineering, turnouts over Atlas. They do not have a curved route, but rather have two straight ones. The Atlas snap switch is the odd exception in having one curved route, and one straight route. That means the Peco, or Micro engineering turnouts will not be an exact fit to replace the Atlas ones in your track plan. The different brands have different geometries. However, if you use flex track, this won't be a problem, you can just bend the track to line up with the turnout.

One reason newbies tend to use Atlas snap track turnouts (besides the plans that use, and advertise, Atlas track) is that the snap track turnout has a switch machine attached. This looks like a bargain, until you end up owning some poor quality turnouts, and the poor quality switch machines that come attached to them. :rippedhand: 

Turnouts, and switch machines, are two of the more expensive items on any model railroad. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce this cost.

Both the Peco, and the Micro Engineering, turnouts have a built-in spring. This allows them to be reliably operated with a simple push of your finger. Caboose Industries ground throws are another option.
For turnouts you can't reach, you can use commercial switch machines like Peco's own, or the popular Tortoise machine. They cost about $18 each, though you can often find discounts on them.

Or, for a little under $5 each, you could build my switch machines. The other two files explain them.

Good luck;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

View attachment Improving Atlas turnouts pdf version.pdf


View attachment Introductory letter for $5 switch machine.pdf


View attachment Assembly instructions for $5 switch machine..pdf


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Cutting perfect curves on a table saw?*



CV-62 said:


> Everything Traction Fan said. He knows what he is talking about. He has been there and done that.
> 
> I am new to the hobby as you. I have NOT started building my layout yet and am still a ways away from doing so. I am currently in study mode and will be for a while now.
> 
> ...


 CV-62;

The wooden thing you mention sounds like a weird version of the metal track gages available commercially. It also sounds like an impossible wood working project, if using a table saw. A router with a circle cutting compass arm would do the job, but a table saw is normally used to make straight lines. It wouldn't be able to make the accurate smooth curved cuts described. Good thing you included your disclaimer! :laugh: You do bring up a point that I neglected to mention. There are metal curve gages available. (Ribbon Rail is one brand) They fit tightly between the rails of flex track and are machined to form curves of various different radii. For instance if you wanted to make a 19" radius curve in flex track, you could buy the 19" gage, snap it between the rails, and move it along the track as you glue/pin it down. 

Regards;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

PS. Thank you for the nice vote of confidence above, but be aware there are lots of other people here who have "Been there and done that." Some longer than I have.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Actually, TF, you misunderstood the concept of the shaping device. The block of wood you're talking about is maybe an inch and a half long -- not long enough to impede the curves one needs here. Some of the old track tool kits contain a similar gadget made of hard acrylic.

I have used this successfully to gradually shape MicroEngineering flex, which is stiff and therefore somewhat hard to shape. 

Other brands of flex are springy, and don't require any force to shape -- the challenge for those is getting the correct curvature, for which the small device envisioned would be no help. And you do need a longer curved template of the correct radius.

I also agree with the assessment on turnouts. Don't use Atlas snap switches, unless you enjoy fighting with pperational issues.

But you can freely mix brands, you just may need to do some slimming and fine tuning where the two brands meet.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Thanks*



CTValleyRR said:


> Actually, TF, you misunderstood the concept of the shaping device. The block of wood you're talking about is maybe an inch and a half long -- not long enough to impede the curves one needs here. Some of the old track took kits contain a similar gadget made of hard acrylic.
> 
> I have used this successfully to gradually shape MicroEngineering flex, which is stiff and therefore somewhat hard to shape.
> 
> ...


CTValley;

Thanks for the clarification. I thought this would be a large template covering a large part of the curve. The small block idea sounds a lot more reasonable.

regards;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

The Forum members have provided excellent
advice in answer to your questions.

There is one additional tip that is helpful when
using multi-sections of flex track on curves.

That is to 'stagger' where the rails join. One
rail joins about 2 inches from where the other
rail is connected. You save the ties and 
use them to maintain gauge. This system
helps prevent kinks.

Don


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## moloch16 (Jan 3, 2019)

Thanks again for all the advice. My original plan used Atlas code 55 and I used section track just to make it easier to draw. Now that I've gotten better with SCARM and read through Traction Fan's info I'm redoing the layout with Peco 55 flex and turnouts, plan to use that instead of Atlas. Thanks everyone!!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Excelent choice!*



moloch16 said:


> Thanks again for all the advice. My original plan used Atlas code 55 and I used section track just to make it easier to draw. Now that I've gotten better with SCARM and read through Traction Fan's info I'm redoing the layout with Peco 55 flex and turnouts, plan to use that instead of Atlas. Thanks everyone!!


moloch;

The Peco turnouts are excellent. While I have no personal experience with Peco's flex track, everything I've heard about it here has been good.

Have fun;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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