# Need advice - track and turnouts - Kato vs Atlas - help me get started



## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

So... I have decided on a small 2.5x12 foot N scale layout and need expert advice. My 2 local dealers carry Kato track, and related
accessories, and Atlas Code 55 and Code 80 turnouts and flex track.* I want ultra reliable running once I'm done.* One dealer told
me to NOT buy Kato #4 turnouts nor their double crossover piece due to reliability issues, suggested I stick to #6 and the single crossover
piece, and said 150mm 6" compact turnout was good. When I asked about Atlas Code 55 and 80 turnouts and asked about use 
with DCC, I saw hesitation, and he then said all Atlas is good.

I really want to avoid re-doing track work, as I have so little free time. My track soldering skills are so-so but I'm willing to learn. So,
are Atlas Code 55 and Code 80 turnouts to be avoided, or embraced? No one here carries Peco or Micro in N scale. I do want DCC
friendly turnouts. Ordering Peco or Micro online is possible and I'd do that if they are a better way to go.


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

I do buy from Train World sometimes and I see they have Peco turnouts on hand.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> So... I have decided on a small 2.5x12 foot N scale layout and need expert advice. My 2 local dealers carry Kato track, and related
> accessories, and Atlas Code 55 and Code 80 turnouts and flex track.* I want ultra reliable running once I'm done.* One dealer told
> me to NOT buy Kato #4 turnouts nor their double crossover piece due to reliability issues, suggested I stick to #6 and the single crossover
> piece, and said 150mm 6" compact turnout was good. When I asked about Atlas Code 55 and 80 turnouts and asked about use
> ...


spacomp;

Given your desire for ultra-reliable running, I suggest you pick one entire "track system" including the same brand of both track and turnouts. 
  While, in general, it is quite possible to mix brands of track & turnouts, sticking to one brand makes things easier, and you will be dealing with components that are specifically designed to work with each other. There are several track system choices for the "ultra-reliable running" you want. You didn't mention ease of initial construction as a requirement. If that's important to you then I'm going to recommend using Kato Unitrack and Kato #6 turnouts.
Before going any further, I'll insert a bit on my qualifications, (or lack thereof) for giving the "expert advice" on turnouts that you asked for. I'm a multi-decade N-scaler, and I scratchbuild my own N-scale, code 55, turnouts. I have also used several brands of commercial turnouts over that time frame. They include; Atlas code 80, Peco, Micro Engineering, and some exposure, (on a friend's layout) to Atlas code 55 turnouts*.

One of the brands I have no personal experience with is Kato turnouts or their Unitrack. However, as a long time member of this forum, I have seen lots and lots of posts from dozens of happy Kato Unitrack users about Kato Unitrack and turnouts. All positive, no negative.
That dealer's recommendation "NOT to buy Kato #4s" may be rather exaggerated. There is a video on you tube by Mike Fifer of Fifer Hobby Supply, about modifying a Kato #4 turnout by pulling the outside rail part way out and filing a notch in that rail for the point to recess into. That's the only problem I've heard of concerning the Kato #4. Wooky_Choo_Bacca, here on the forum, has done this modification, so you can ask him about it.

The dealer's statement that, "All Atlas is good" is quite suitable for washing hogs, in my opinion. The Atlas code 80 "Snap Switch" turnout can be modified to work pretty well, but it's still a much worse choice than Peco, Micro Engineering, or Kato. Without the improvements in the files below, you can expect multiple derailments from an Atlas "Snap Switch" turnout. Atlas's better turnout, the "Custom Line" is not available in N-scale, only in HO-scale.

If the convenience of snap-together track is not a major issue for you, then I recommend going with Peco Unifrog "code55" turnouts and Peco "code 55" flex track.**
This choice will give you some hands-on experience with installing cork, or foam roadbed, track laying, ballasting, and installing & wiring switch machines. All good things to learn, but more labor will be required than just snapping sections of Unitrack together. Your railroad, your choice, both are good systems.

Micro Engineering is another good choice. This is the brand of flex track I use, and I also have some of their turnouts, all code 55. Micro Engineering turnouts and track, are the most realistic-looking I have ever seen. The tiny spike detail makes them a little delicate though, so be carful when installing them. The Micro Engineering flex track is quite stiff. It is not as easy to bend into a curve as Atlas flex track, but once formed into a curve the Micro Engineering track stays in that curve. The Atlas springs back to straight the second you let go of it. Some like one type and hate the other, and vice versa. However, in keeping with the "track system" idea, I'm going to skip Atlas's perfectly good flex track because of their considerably-less-than perfectly-good turnouts. (By the way the same applies to Bachmann EZ-track. The track is ok, but the turnouts are lousy.)

The term "DCC friendly" turnouts is part of a complicated, and controversial, subject. I recommend you read the attached file, "All about turnouts" for information on what constitutes a "DCC friendly" turnout configuration. On a practical level, any of the recommended track systems, Kato Unitrack, Peco Unifrog turnouts and Peco flex track, or Micro Engineering turnouts and flex track, include turnouts that will work fine with DCC. (or with DC)

* The Atlas code 55 turnouts I worked with on my friend's layout were different from some other versions of Atlas code 55 turnouts that I've seen before and since. None of them would be my first, or second, or even third choice. I suggest that you leave them resting comfortably on the dealer's shelf.

** The Peco "code 55" track & turnouts actually use a weird form of code 78 rail with two flared bases and part of the rail buried in the plastic tie strip. They work fine with each other, but not with other brands of actual code 55 track. See "All about turnouts" for more info.

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 😊


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

well Traction, thank you, this gives me quite a bit to digest  Great info! I really like your method of 1/4" Luan as roadbed. Obviously that's a bit of extra work.

I do like Micro Engineering. I may go with all manual turnouts depending on location, and definitely go for higher number switches with least curvature. It doesn't look

great, but I may go with Kato Unitrack. I have to think on this a while. Thanks for these explanations. Oh, one question, why put insulated joiners on exiting the short side of

a turnout?


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> well Traction, thank you, this gives me quite a bit to digest  Great info! I really like your method of 1/4" Luan as roadbed. Obviously that's a bit of extra work.
> 
> I do like Micro Engineering. I may go with all manual turnouts depending on location, and definitely go for higher number switches with least curvature. It doesn't look
> 
> ...





spacomp92653 said:


> well Traction, thank you, this gives me quite a bit to digest  Great info! I really like your method of 1/4" Luan as roadbed. Obviously that's a bit of extra work.
> 
> I do like Micro Engineering. I may go with all manual turnouts depending on location, and definitely go for higher number switches with least curvature. It doesn't look
> 
> ...


spacomp;

You're quite welcome. Yes, I realize its a lot of info to process. If you go with Micro Engineering you will be using all #6 turnouts, since that's the only type they make.
A #6 will handle any model locomotive, or car, quite well though. Its when you get down into the # 4-1/2, & #4 turnout sizes that things get awkward for 4-8-8-4 Big Boys, DD-40 AX diesels, 85 foot cars, and Thomas the tank engine's other larger friends! 😄 

The insulated rail joiners on the two short rails coming out of a frog is not necessary on all turnouts. Some Pecos (Electrofrogs?) use them as a way of insulating the frog from any power feeders down the line, beyond the turnout.

Micro Engineering turnouts come with the full "DCC friendly configuration" factory-installed, which includes an "isolated" metal frog that is insulated from all the other rails on the turnout. This frog will need to be powered, and have it's polarity switched, by a micro-switch, a "Frog Juicer" circuit board, or the contacts on some of Caboose Industries ground throws, but only if you will run any short wheelbase locos that pick up power from only a few wheels. An all-wheel pickup loco should sail right through a turnout with a dead frog.

Micro Engineering turnouts also come with a built-in spring similar to the one in Peco turnouts. This means either Micro Engineering, or Peco, turnouts are set up for reliable manual operation right out of the box. You can operate turnouts manually even if they are beyond easy reach. Just use simple, reliable, and cheap, manual linkages. The files below explain my "poor man's manual tortoise substitute" switch machine. (Oh No! more files to read! ) There are many other types of linkages too.

Keep having fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

spacomp92653 said:


> So... I have decided on a small 2.5x12 foot N scale layout and need expert advice. My 2 local dealers carry Kato track, and related
> accessories, and Atlas Code 55 and Code 80 turnouts and flex track.* I want ultra reliable running once I'm done.* One dealer told
> me to NOT buy Kato #4 turnouts nor their double crossover piece due to reliability issues, suggested I stick to #6 and the single crossover
> piece, and said 150mm 6" compact turnout was good. When I asked about Atlas Code 55 and 80 turnouts and asked about use
> ...


Hi spacomp92653,

Kato track should give you excellent, problem-free service for your layout. Lots of folks use it and really like it. Electrical conductivity is pretty good with this track, and you shouldn't really have to solder any of it. Virtually everybody that uses Kato track swears BY it, and not AT it. Your one dealer is correct about not using Kato #4 turnouts or their double crossovers, due to potential problems. I've heard this from multiple sources over the years.

And, having two local dealers that carry it will be a real advantage to you when you need to buy track pieces and accessories. You can get it the same day you need something. And if one is out of something you need, the other may stand a good chance of having it in stock. It beats the heck out of mail-ordering stuff that's not available locally, and having to sit and wait for it to show up.

I've always used Atlas and Peco track and turnouts, they're both good products too. Occasionally I have a problem here or there, but I have quite a bit of experience under my belt and know how to deal with any trouble that may pop up. Given your druthers though, I think Kato should be your first choice. Good luck with your layout.


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

I visited the Short Track model rail club in Vista a few months ago before we all had to close down again, their N scale layout

is 20 years old I think and one guy commented to me their turnouts were all hand laid, and they use Code 55 track, not sure of the brand and he said there

is constant maintenance repair work being done all the time. But of course it's very large and some years old too.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> I visited the Short Track model rail club in Vista a few months ago before we all had to close down again, their N scale layout
> 
> is 20 years old I think and one guy commented to me their turnouts were all hand laid, and they use Code 55 track, not sure of the brand and he said there
> 
> is constant maintenance repair work being done all the time. But of course it's very large and some years old too.


spacomp;

Portable, modular, layouts also tend to lead far rougher lives than a normal home layout does. The fact that that layout is still operating at all, after 20 years of being disassembled, loaded in trucks, driven to the next show, and set up again; is a testament to the quality of that club's initial construction work, and the ongoing maintenance performed.
Is this Vista, California, you're talking about? If so, I'd like to see that layout someday , post covid.
I think I may know why the code 55 turnouts were hand laid. Back then commercial N-scale code 55 turnouts were not available, as they are today. I started making my own, back then, for the same reason.

Traction Fan 🙂


spacomp92653 said:


> well Traction, thank you, this gives me quite a bit to digest  Great info! I really like your method of 1/4" Luan as roadbed. Obviously that's a bit of extra work.
> 
> I do like Micro Engineering. I may go with all manual turnouts depending on location, and definitely go for higher number switches with least curvature. It doesn't look great, but I may go with Kato Unitrack. I have to think on this a while. Thanks for these explanations. Oh, one question, why put insulated joiners on exiting the short side of
> 
> a turnout?


spacomp;

Except for the one curved route of Atlas "Snap Switch" turnouts, and curved turnouts, there is no "curvature" in any other model turnouts.
Both routes are straight, and diverge from each other at the angle represented by the frog number. You should have excellent tracking & reliability with either Micro Engineering's, or Kato's # 6 turnouts. The same goes for Peco #6s (which they call "medium") too.

Regarding my Luan roadbed, I actually use 1/8" luan as roadbed (directly under the track) and 1/4" luan as sub-roadbed (the "ground" under the 1/8" roadbed) I have a bandsaw, which makes cutting curved sections of luan easy, but a sabre saw will do the job well too. Cutting Luan leaves edges that are festooned with hundreds of slivers, so if you decide to use luan roadbed, be careful not to hold it by the edges, or better yet, wear work gloves, when handling fresh cut pieces. The very next stop when I make my luan roadbed is my disc/belt sander. This takes the splinters off, and I also bevel the edges to help form a ballast profile later. I will often make several long pieces of straight roadbed in one session, and store the cut & sanded sections for future use. Curved roadbed pieces, of course, need to be "custom cut" to match the particular track curve they will support.

 Wet wood warps. Obvious as this simple fact should be, most model railroaders don't paint the wood their layouts are made of. Thin wood warps very easily. This is one reason for I use the luan "plywood" rather than say, MDF (which doesn't generate all those nasty little splinters.)
The multiple, cross-grained, plys pressed into the luan, tend to keep it more stable, but I still paint everything. I also brace the 1/4 sub-roadbed with 3/4" x 1/4" pine strips glued all along the bottom of both sides of the sub-roadbed. This forms a miniature, "double 'L'-girder" (or inverted 'U' girder?) along the full length of the sub-roadbed. This makes it impossible for the Luan to bend (a.k.a. warp.) Since the 1/8" roadbed is firmly attached to the sub-roadbed, (with waterproof carpenter's yellow wood glue) and sealed by painting, it can't warp either. All this is indeed extra work, but it results in excellent, permanently flat & rigid, track support, and I feel it's worth the effort. 
Mind you, I live in sunny San Diego, California, where we don't get the wild humidity and temperature changes of say a Michigan basement, or a Florida garage. I sort of cringe a bit when I see somebody building a layout from minimally-braced particle board in an eastern basement just waiting to drip moisture from the cinder block walls. That layout is going to acquire some unplanned grades and dips in it's track! 

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

Traction, thanks, yes in Vista at the old farm equipment//steam engine outdoor museum. You can find a little info on their layout on their website, I visited last
May I think it was when they had an open house, we were all masked up, all doors open and it seemed safe. I heard from them just a couple days ago by email,
they are still closed down, so is the HO club in Oceanside, and it looks like the clubs in Balboa park are still closed. Except to members who still get to enjoy 
their layouts. shorttrackrr.org is their site.


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

traction fan said:


> spacomp;
> 
> Portable, modular, layouts also tend to lead far rougher lives than a normal home layout does. The fact that that layout is still operating at all, after 20 years of being disassembled, loaded in trucks, driven to the next show, and set up again; is a testament to the quality of that club's initial construction work, and the ongoing maintenance performed.
> Is this Vista, California, you're talking about? If so, I'd like to see that layout someday , post covid.
> ...


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

BTW Traction, I can't even fathom scratch building code 55 N scale turnouts and the skill it must take, for me it would
be like trying to build a Rolex out of brass barstock


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> BTW Traction, I can't even fathom scratch building code 55 N scale turnouts and the skill it must take, for me it would
> be like trying to build a Rolex out of brass barstock


spacomp;

Its not really all that difficult, just time consuming. I have taught other to do it, including a ten year old boy. Everyone I've taught made a working turnout on their first try. When I started making turnouts, the only code 55 N-scale turnouts "available" were made by Rail craft, (bought out by Micro Engineering I think ) These were hand made affairs, probably done by some guy in his garage. They had a frog, point rails, stock rails, guard rails, and no ties. The various rails were temporarily held together by a few brass strips soldered across the tops of the rails. You were required to supply and mount your own wood or PC ties and then glue, or solder this "turnout" (kit) to the ties. This was long before the advent of DCC, so the turnouts were set up for DC. These things were very rare. The production rate was so slow that I think it was one guy was the "factory." I found I could scratchbuild my own, stronger, turnout before another of these things just might, maybe, actually, show up in a store. Today Atlas, Micro Engineering, and Peco* each offer some form of code 55 turnout, and the prices have come down a bit too. Here are some photos of turnouts and other trackwork that I've built. Since it sounds like you're just "champing at the bit" to start making your own turnouts, I've also included, guess what, another long file! (Yippee Skippy!😕 that shows how I make them.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

ok Traction, now I am officially overwhelmed  That's quite a 33 page tutorial, very clear but probably beyond what my old
hands are able to do. Very nice work though, I always admire the incredible skills displayed by model craftsmen, to me it's functional
artwork.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> ok Traction, now I am officially overwhelmed  That's quite a 33 page tutorial, very clear but probably beyond what my old
> hands are able to do. Very nice work though, I always admire the incredible skills displayed by model craftsmen, to me it's functional
> artwork.


spacomp;

One of my daughter's favorite lines from the movie "Clueless" comes when the three not very bright high school girls are pondering the concept of being overwhelmed. 
"I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever be just whelmed?" One of the other girls responds, "I think you can in Europe." 
Talk about not understanding the concept! 😄 

In any case, there's no law that says you have to read every word, of every file, I send you, or any of them for that mater, let alone make your own turnouts.
Micro Engineering, Kato, or Peco will be only too happy to sell you their turnouts. If they were offering code 55 N-scale turnouts way back when I started, I might never have made any. Still, I can make any special trackwork I need, and I enjoy making it. The only real downside for me is the amount of time it takes. However, I'm retired, and having something to occupy my time is actually good for me.


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

Traction, I really have enjoyed your write-ups, just kind of kidding about being overwhelmed. It's a real skill to be able to describe in detail a technical subject well enough
to allow the reader to duplicate your results. I used to have good skills building and machining stuff, and still tinker with mechanical projects when I have time. I think I'm going to go
with off the shelf pieces, as it gets me off dead center, and into running trains sooner. I was able to get my second dose of vaccine last week, and hopefully the public at large
gets to be vaccinated by end of summer and we all get to return to a more normal lifestyle. And enjoy visiting the great layouts we have locally.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> Traction, I really have enjoyed your write-ups, just kind of kidding about being overwhelmed. It's a real skill to be able to describe in detail a technical subject well enough
> to allow the reader to duplicate your results. I used to have good skills building and machining stuff, and still tinker with mechanical projects when I have time. I think I'm going to go
> with off the shelf pieces, as it gets me off dead center, and into running trains sooner. I was able to get my second dose of vaccine last week, and hopefully the public at large
> gets to be vaccinated by end of summer and we all get to return to a more normal lifestyle. And enjoy visiting the great layouts we have locally.


spacomp;

Thanks for the kind words.
Yes, I hope that when summer comes, we can go out into the world again. I, and my family, are also vaccinated. I don't know what's going to happen to the whackos who refuse to get the vaccine. To me that sounds like refusing an offer of a seat on one of the Titanic's lifeboats! Extremely stupid, and not likely to end well for said whacko.

Off the shelf turnouts, and track, are fine. Today you have many choices that were not available to me "back in the day." Have you decided which track system you want to use yet?

With your machining skills, maybe you should have gone into live steam model railroading! 😄 Now that's real scratchbuilding! Before you can make your locomotive, you have to make all the parts for it.

Have fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

back in the mid-70's, my Dad introduced me to a neighbor in Danville California who had a full machine shop and was producing live steam
engine wheels and associated parts, valves etc. I don't know the scale, not familiar with the big stuff, maybe 1/4 scale? and it sure looked expensive. 
My track system, well I presently use Kato HO track for a small ON30 layout. I'm going home tonight to take some final measurements and decide on N vs HO for a
new 'shelf' layout in my garage. My space is long and narrow, so I keep gravitating to N scale but I don't have the eyes or the hands I used to, and 
am now second guessing my idea to do N scale. I've messed with N scale a little, enough to know I can't see and appreciate the detail without glasses
which I don't normally wear. If I do go with HO, I'll have Peco, and Micro-E goods locally, Walthers and Shinohara too.


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

I personally would stay away from the #4 switches and all of the crossovers, anything long or anything with many axles or... what I’m trying to say is if it runs on track it will derail on the switches/crossovers at _least_ once, probably more. I can’t say if newer stuff is any different because everything I own is older than me, but I haven’t had a problem with the #6 switches so I would recommend you use those.


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## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

I can't vouch for code 55 or 80 but when I had my code 100 N scale layout I went with all Atlas and didn't have any manufacturing issues.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> back in the mid-70's, my Dad introduced me to a neighbor in Danville California who had a full machine shop and was producing live steam
> engine wheels and associated parts, valves etc. I don't know the scale, not familiar with the big stuff, maybe 1/4 scale? and it sure looked expensive.
> My track system, well I presently use Kato HO track for a small ON30 layout. I'm going home tonight to take some final measurements and decide on N vs HO for a
> new 'shelf' layout in my garage. My space is long and narrow, so I keep gravitating to N scale but I don't have the eyes or the hands I used to, and
> ...


spacomp;

Yes live steam is mega expensive! I had one live steamer say he could have bought a brand new luxury car for the money he had invested in his one locomotive. Great trains, but I could never afford model railroading in that scale.

If you have a long narrow shelf layout space available, then modeling scale is less of a concern. Look up my layout in the "Layout design section" of this forum. It's at the end of the thread, "Here are the layouts of some forum members." My layout is primarily on long narrow shelves in my garage. Mine is N-scale, but with a bit of widening at the ends,
I could have just squeezed in HO-scale, if I wanted to. 
So, assuming you want continuous running, the only space restriction affecting scale choice would be "How deep can you make the ends?" Using short locos & cars, you could get by with four feet of depth in HO-scale. If you want to run bigger rolling stock, then four and a half feet would be better, in order to have room for wider curves.
These deep sections are sort of a natural fit for corners of the room, if you plan on using two, or more, walls of your garage.
If all you can get is one long narrow space, HO-scale would still be possible for a point-to-point switching layout. 

I do highly recommend making your layout in sections. You've probably read about that in my files. If there's too much stuff in the place where you want to build your layout, you might consider the same "Bookshelf Model Railroad" design that I used. The railroad is on the lower level, and the top shelf can be used to store whatever. The photos show the basic idea. The arches support the top shelf, which is very strong. There are no front supports, so I have a full length unobstructed view of the railroad. 

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## spacomp92653 (Jul 5, 2018)

Traction, I remember reading your blurb on your end sections, the C shapes made by laminatiing thin ply-foam-thin ply and I was thinking of three 4 foot sections. I'm going to stick to
my original thought to use N Scale, because I can do more in the space I have. I've run HO on real tight radii and it does not look pretty with overhang. Even with N scale I plan to use short 
locos and cars. Well today my 2 hound dogs asked me to take them to the Perris rail museum, and luckily, they are open to the public. They were slightly disappointed though that they
do not allow dogs to ride on the trains.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> Traction, I remember reading your blurb on your end sections, the C shapes made by laminatiing thin ply-foam-thin ply and I was thinking of three 4 foot sections. I'm going to stick to
> my original thought to use N Scale, because I can do more in the space I have. I've run HO on real tight radii and it does not look pretty with overhang. Even with N scale I plan to use short
> locos and cars. Well today my 2 hound dogs asked me to take them to the Perris rail museum, and luckily, they are open to the public. They were slightly disappointed though that they
> do not allow dogs to ride on the trains.


spacomp;

OoooohowLLLL 😕 Poor dogs!

I have arches at both ends, and one more in the center, of each of my 4' long sections.
The original "Bookshelf Model Railroad" idea came from an article published in Model Railroader Magazine back in the early 1970s. I thought the guy's design was fantastic, but the material he used was awfully heavy. He cut his arches from 3/4" plywood, and used commercial (pressed wood) shelves. Each of his 4' sections probably weighed 50Lbs. or more!
I went to the other extreme, with very lightweight sections. My thought at the time was that I would take the layout to train shows, which never actually happened.

The last sections I built used the same design, but with conventional pine lumber, rather than foam, between the 1/4" Luan arches. This is a little bit less work than the Styrofoam version, though not all that much. Likewise, its a little bit heavier, but still pretty light. Either material works well, is very strong, and either is a lot lighter than the original 3/4" ply & pressed wood monster.
For these latest sections, I used 1" x 3" boards for the vertical back brace, and the top, & bottom members. I glued a square of 1" x 6" in the corners of the "squared off 'C' shape.
Once the Luan side arches were firmly glued on both sides of the assembly, I cut the curved shape of the critical fillet into the projecting part of the 1 x 6. corner brace.

Are you planning on building the same "Bookshelf" design with a storage shelf on top of the railroad? If you make it in four 4' sections, will the end two be deeper to house return loops, or are you going with a pint-to-point layout?
My "standard" sections, like the "Cedar Falls" section in my 1rst photo above, are four feet long, 16" high & 16" deep. The return track is hidden behind the curved backdrop (the curved white thing at the right.) which is removeable for track cleaning & maintenance. Thus, the train travels the full length of the layout without any obvious oval where you can see it come & go & come & go, & come & go, etc., etc., snore! 

The second photo shows a 2x2 box girder made with the same "Styrofoam sandwich" technique. It weighs almost nothing, but is probably stronger than the conventional 2x2 shown in the background. If you elect to use the foam-filled version, plain, cheap, white, "bead board" will work as a filler, or you can use any leftover more expensive, blue, pink, or green extruded foam that you used for scenery. The foam in these "Lightwood" girders & arches is used strictly as a spacer between the Luan sides. The foam itself has no structural duty.

For one of my end loops I used two sections back to back. They are in the lighthouse scene, and the train rounding a curve in the forest, photos. (My layout is two-level.) The photo below shows a section with a finished backdrop. It is backed up to the "Black River" sections shown in the second and seventh photos above.

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

spacomp92653 said:


> Traction, I remember reading your blurb on your end sections, the C shapes made by laminatiing thin ply-foam-thin ply and I was thinking of three 4 foot sections. I'm going to stick to
> my original thought to use N Scale, because I can do more in the space I have. I've run HO on real tight radii and it does not look pretty with overhang. Even with N scale I plan to use short
> locos and cars. Well today my 2 hound dogs asked me to take them to the Perris rail museum, and luckily, they are open to the public. They were slightly disappointed though that they
> do not allow dogs to ride on the trains.


spacomp;

OoooohowLLLL 😕 Poor dogs!

I have arches at the ends and center of my 4' long sections. The original "Bookshelf Model Railroad" idea came from an article published in Model Railroader Magazine back in January & February 1977. I thought the guy's design was fantastic, but the material he used was awfully heavy. He cut his arches from 3/4" plywood, and used commercial (pressed wood, A.K.A. particleboard) shelves. Each of his 4' sections probably weighed 50Lbs. or more! Also, particle board warps if you look at it cross-eyed, so, applying ballast, and other scenery materials with white glue diluted with water, would not have worked out very well, in my opinion.
I went to the other extreme, with very lightweight sections. My thought at the time was that I would take the layout to train shows, which never actually happened. The last sections I made used the same idea, but with conventional pine lumber between the 1/4" Luan arches. Either material works well, and is a lot lighter than the original 3/4" ply & particle board monster. The late sections used 1" x 3" boards for the vertical back brace, the top, and the bottom members. I glued a square of 1" x 4" in the corners of the "squared off 'C' shape. Once the Luan side arches were glued on both sides of the assembly, I cut the curved shape of the critical fillet into the projecting part of the 1 x 4. corner brace.


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