# compatable brands



## tntwolt (Sep 3, 2020)

are Bachmann and Kato track compatable? stocking up on track prior to build a layout. have been out for a while. learning as much as i can. still trying to find out what radius curves fit inside each other for double track.


----------



## clovissangrail01 (Oct 8, 2019)

I do not know about the compatibility of Kato and Bachman, but I can answer a little about Kato curves.

Kato makes boxed sets with the following radius ovals -- 12 3/8-inch (M1 and M2 basic oval), 11-inch (V5 Inner Loop, and 15 1/8-inch V6 Outer Loop -- as part of their master and variation sets. These are designed to nest and fit with their double-track crossover.






N Master and variation series Track Sets







www.katousa.com





Kato also has 15 1/8-inch radius curved track and 9 3/4-inch -- https://www.katousa.com/PDF/N-Unitrack.pdf

I think there is some smaller stuff, too.

I have never used the 9 3/4-inch, but I have used the others, and here is a picture of how they 'nest'. Outer loop is 15 1/8. next inside is 13 3/4 (V6 Outer Loop) , followed by 12 3/8 (M1 oval), and finally 11-inch (V5 Inner Loop).

The gap between the 15 1/8 and the 13 3/4 is bigger because I spaced that track wider. The others are set as double track, and after this picture was taken, I pulled that 15 1/8 radius in closer.

Top right corner shows best relationship between the different radii curves.

I decided not to use the 11-inch on my layout because passenger cars do not look good on it.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

N scale track from any manufacturer in the same rail code will work together. However, if the track has attached plastic roadbed, the joiners on these are usually proprietary, so prepare to perform surgery to make them fit together. Different codes can be made to work together, too, but you have to shim up the shorter rail so that the railhead heights match.


----------



## tntwolt (Sep 3, 2020)

Thanks, so I see going to next available radius will be good for a double track. I found a door layout that I like because I like to watch trains run, not much of a switch yard fan. My first n layout was all flex track and passenger cars were literally been pulled of track on some turns.


----------



## clovissangrail01 (Oct 8, 2019)

The layout in that picture is on a 36-inch by 80-inch door, and as you can see, it allows 15-inch radius curves, which can handle those passenger cars without crowding the edge too badly.


----------



## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Kato and Bachmann track will not simply plug into each other.....the clips that join the plastic ballast sections and rail are different.....


----------



## tntwolt (Sep 3, 2020)

Wondering if someone makes an adapter to link EZ and Kato


----------



## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

tntwolt said:


> Wondering if someone makes an adapter to link EZ and Kato


Sort of.




__





FAQ - KATO USA : Precision Railroad Models
 





www.katousa.com


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

tntwolt said:


> are Bachmann and Kato track compatable? stocking up on track prior to build a layout. have been out for a while. learning as much as i can. still trying to find out what radius curves fit inside each other for double track.



tntwolt;

The others have answered your original question well. There is another difference between the Bachmann EZ-Track, and Kato Unitrack, product lines. That is the quality of the "turnouts"(track switches) The Kato Unitrack turnouts are decently made, and reliable, the Bachmann EZ-Track turnouts are neither decently made, or reliable, in fact, they are the worst turnout on the market. I know you said you're more interested in watching train run than switching, and that's fine. However if you buy any turnouts buy the Kato ones, and avoid the Bachmann turnouts. The easy way to get more selection of curves, factory-planned double track, and great overall quality would be to buy all Kato Unitrack, and leave the Bachmann EZ-Track alone.

Traction Fan


----------



## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

I know this is knocking a little dust off this thread and am a "newbie" here (am familiar with forums as I've been a long time member on BenzWorld), I'm coming up on my one year anniversary to model trains and after doing some extensive research last year I came up with Kato equipment being the best across the board with both track and locomotives. I've bought several MicroTrain freight cars as well as some others (can't recall the brand), box and tankers mainly with 4 covered hoppers that had a company logo that I worked at years ago. Those cars that weren't MT had the trucks replaced with MT. Also during my research it seemed that any and everything Bachman either didn't work correctly, reliably, or for very long and that was track, cars and locos. I received two Bachman tankers as a gift from my son, don't tell him, but they wouldn't roll their own length without stopping and were the first to have the trucks changed. There are many outfits out there (some being around longer than I have been on this planet) some have some good equipment along with stuff that is full of headaches. I'll go with Kato as I've had absolutely no trouble with anything I've bought from them and am about to embark on a new track plan with a DCC upgrade with DigiTrax so I can run more than one train at a time


----------



## tntwolt (Sep 3, 2020)

traction fan said:


> tntwolt;
> 
> The others have answered your original question well. There is another difference between the Bachmann EZ-Track, and Kato Unitrack, product lines. That is the quality of the "turnouts"(track switches) The Kato Unitrack turnouts are decently made, and reliable, the Bachmann EZ-Track turnouts are neither decently made, or reliable, in fact, they are the worst turnout on the market. I know you said you're more interested in watching train run than switching, and that's fine. However if you buy any turnouts buy the Kato ones, and avoid the Bachmann turnouts. The easy way to get more selection of curves, factory-planned double track, and great overall quality would be to buy all Kato Unitrack, and leave the Bachmann EZ-Track alone.
> 
> Traction Fan


what is the problem with Bachmann turnouts? being retired i can`t afford stuff that will not work as it should. i fixed kato/bachmann track by mating short pieces of track from each brand since i brought a lot of bachmann track and kato bridges. i can do this if bachmann turnouts fail since there is only 4 and not buried in layout, yards not planned yet but may be manual


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

tntwolt said:


> what is the problem with Bachmann turnouts? being retired i can`t afford stuff that will not work as it should. i fixed kato/bachmann track by mating short pieces of track from each brand since i brought a lot of bachmann track and kato bridges. i can do this if bachmann turnouts fail since there is only 4 and not buried in layout, yards not planned yet but may be manual


tntwolf;

"What's wrong with Bachmann turnouts?" (I'm assuming you're talking about their EZ-Track turnouts) Well, everything basically. They have a very bad reputation for either not working right out of the box, or failing soon after being put to use. They also seem to have an issue with not throwing their points over all the way, and derailments. There are parts inside, (shown in a repair video) which are not well designed, or well anchored. A much shorter list would be "What's right about Bachmann EZ-track turnouts?" Well, I guess they look ok, (though not as good as several other brands.) Other than that, everything is reportedly a problem, or a problem waiting to happen. 
The file "All about turnouts" below has a ranking of seven popular brands of turnouts near the end of the file. No surprise, Bachmann comes in dead last. If you are planning on buying more turnouts, I would definitely not recommend buying Bachmann.
Kato turnouts are quite decent, if you prefer roadbed track. I think you do, since you mentioned both Bachmann, and Kato, track products.
I don't use roadbed track, so my opinion of both Kato Unitrack, and Bachmann EZ-Track turnouts is based on online research, and their respective reputations here on the forum, rather than the considerable personal experience I have with most brands of non-roadbed commercial turnouts, and building my own turnouts. On this forum, I have read nothing negative about the Kato turnouts, and nothing positive about the Bachmann turnouts. I recommend reading the comments from actual Bachmann turnout customers at the very end of the file. The rest of the file contains a lot of information on model turnouts in general.

Traction Fan 🙂


----------



## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

Traction Fan, are you referring to the original turnouts or the #4 and #6 turnouts. I now the original (I believe 11" curve turnouts are, uh, defective but the numbered ones seem to work OK. For me, anyway.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

ftauss said:


> Traction Fan, are you referring to the original turnouts or the #4 and #6 turnouts. I now the original (I believe 11" curve turnouts are, uh, defective but the numbered ones seem to work OK. For me, anyway.


ftauss;

The originals, I guess. As I say in the file, I based my low ranking of Bachmann EZ-Track turnouts on information obtained online, including the bad experiences of Bachmann turnout owners, and on a repair video showing the inside of the (IMO) overly complicated, and poorly secured, inner workings of a Bachmann turnout, not on personal experience with Bachmann turnouts, since I don't use Bachmann turnouts. As also stated, the information I found online dates back several years, and it's possible that newer Bachmann turnouts may be improved.

I learned long ago not to argue with success. If you are getting reliable performance from some newer, numbered, Bachmann turnouts, I'm happy for you. My original intent, was simply to warn new people away from a turnout that I had heard a lot of bad things about, and no good things. Perhaps you can pass the word along about the numbered Bachmann turnouts, and your good experiences with them.

Traction Fan


----------

