# LHS says . . . .



## Stejones82 (Dec 22, 2020)

Obviously, goes without saying that it is my railroad and I will make the final decisions. 

LHS guy sneered a bit when I was talking track and turnouts. He likes Atlas just fine for both flextrack and for turnouts. Tortoise was the call for switch machines. I have a few pieces of Micro-Engineering flex. 

1. Is it easier for a new guy (me) to work with Atlas flex, that continually flexes or with ME that holds its shape. I am quite willing to buy radius gauges, I have several already. Seems that with a little practice, you can bend and then fine-tune with the radius gauge by firmly sliding between the rails. But is there an advantage to the Atlas style that continually flexes? 


2. Seems this forum has quite the love affair with Peco electrofrog/Unifrog. But I would appreciate stories of success or failure with Atlas Custom-Line. I must admit, I am looking at the Micro-Engineering. 

3. Can anyone speak to experience with the Micro-Engineering Yard Ladder System turnouts? They look nice, but do they really save space? Does the track spacing cause problems? 

4. I know I have a long reach - - that reach track will be part of the yard. Could I put re-railers in those yard ladder lines? Would that help with derail issues? How well do re-railers work with, say, a BLI 4-6-2? 


Thanks! Hope to start laying track within four to six weeks! I will brief you all on track plan. 

Steve


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

A little cynically, your LHS owner probably recommends that you buy dead stock that he's trying to get rid of, or the stuff with the highest profit margin, or both. Here is my take.

1) this is purely a matter of personal preference. I got tired of trying to hold Atlas flex in place while the adhesive set up, so now I only use MicroEngineering flex. I know a lot of people don't like how fiddly it can be to get the ME flex perfectly curved. I personally like the appearance of the ME better, too. It really is your choice, though. Neither is better. 

2) Peco turnouts are good quality and widely available. That makes them a good choice. Walthers and ME are of comparable quality, although Walthers is just completing a change of suppliers, so availability is poor. Atlas Custom Line are fine, too. Atlas Snap Switches, and Bachmann aren't so hot -- stay away from those.

3) The ME ladder system allows you to lay track closer together for a more prototypical appearance. They will save space, in that you can place your tracks closer together. Is that really a benefit? There is no magic about clearances, and you still have to observe fouling points (the point beyond which a car can be hit by one on an adjacent track), so you can't necessarily fit more cars into that narrower yard. Also, if you constantly trade out cars in an yard with your hands, it might be tough to get your fingers in with the smaller track spacing.

4) Rerailers don't really help. The way you prevent derailments is with bullet-proof track work. Laying your track carefully and triple checking every joint and alignment is the way to avoid derailing equipment.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

I use Peco track, Altas track, Peco turnouts, Walthers/Shinohara turnouts, turnouts that I custom make myself, Micro Engineering ladder system, ME bridge track lengths, and I have one Atlas, an older one, not the Customline. At this point in the hobby, I can make any combination work. You just need to get hands on, think some little problems through, and improvise when you need to.

My mains, now four layouts, are always Atlas flex. I don't have any trouble with it. I use track pins in the tiny holes to lay out curves and tangents, and when my underlayer of acrylic caulk sets up, I remove all the nails. Or, I lay tins of soda and soup along the rail tops if I don't want to drive nails. They all work.

The Customline are nice turnouts by all accounts. So are the Pecos, and there IS a price difference. The Pecos use an 'over-centre' spring in the throwbar that makes the points pull toward one side and stay there. If you pull them the other way, same thing; once past centre, they pull the other way. They are high quality, reliable, but somewhat pricey.

If I have a love affair, it would be with the Fast Tracks system of building my own turnouts using rail stock and PCB copper-clad 'ties', available from the Fast Tracks site. Once I had built several types of turnouts, I was able to craft others of unique geometry, and have done so several times to close the mains on my layouts.

I have just installed the full ME ladder system. So far, it seems fine, but I'm only at the stage of laying out dirt and I'm starting to clean off the rails to try the whole system. I don't expect any problems, but I may have to add some feeders here and there...not sure. Do they save space? Yes, some, but any model yard of any reasonably utility is going to need A LOT of room. Realistically, to have a switching yard with some cross-over/run-arounds, a crossing or double/single slip switches and such, you need about 10 feet AFTER the ladder turnouts. If you are willing to use smaller number frog turnouts, you may get away with less. The longer full #5 and higher turnouts that are more realistic will cost you room.

The re-railers work with every type of locomotive and rolling stock. You'll want one at each end of a difficult-to-reach length of track, or one half-way along it.

If this is your first layout, I would suggest playing with different track plans until you learn what is going to have legs and let you enjoy a more permanent arrangement that holds your interest more than a couple of months. Don't do more than to tack things down temporarily with track nails, or with a very thin skiff of DAP Alex Plus 'clear' holding it in place. You can always take a butcher knife to it and saw it through if you want to free it and try something else. Work the knife, flat, under the ties, and then carefully saw back and forth, trying not to snag the edges of the ties, and free up the track lengths in order to use them again diffrently.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

I use both Atlas and Peco flex track. They both work well. The Atlas has pre-drilled holes for track nails, while the Peco does not, if that matters to you. Personally, I prefer to pin my track down, you may prefer to glue it down.
Peco turnouts are good quality, I have some of them. Most of my turnouts are Atlas Custom-Line turnouts. I lay them carefully, test them well, and have very few issues with them. The Snap Switches are something I avoid. I think they are what gave Atlas turnouts a bad reputation.
I've never used the ME ladder system, but couldn't the same thing be accomplished by cutting the past the frog of an Atlas turnout? There's nothing sacred about those rails.
I have a re-railer on each loop of the mainline before crossing the river bridges, but not one on the elevated section of track before the truss bridge. I plan to "disguise" them as road crossings. They do work to re-rail cars, though.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

i used atlas flex track mostly, and some sectional ... for turnouts i used atlas custom line number 6 ... it was what being sold on ebay reasonably, the other brands and / or models were quite a bit fewer, and sold off ..


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## Boris (Dec 5, 2020)

flyboy2610 said:


> couldn't the same thing be accomplished by cutting the past the frog of an Atlas turnout?


Absolutely, you're right nothing is sacred. I chose to use the New ME #5s without the shortened ladder pieces, because it worked better for me. I have also cut ME #6 switches to attain 2" centers or tight space ladders. it amounts to what ever works for your needs. My layout consists of modeling two separate railroads that run parallel or share trackage, in different sections of the layout. I use Micro Engineering, Atlas Custom Line, and Peco code 83 on one line, and Micro Engineering and Shinohara Code 70 on other portions, reflecting the practice of the prototypes. Most track in HO, works interchangeably (with modification).


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