Hey All, I'm in the process of designing my first serious N scale model railroad, and I'm wondering what the advantages and disadvantages are between the Atlas, Peco, and Micro Engineering Code 55 track systems? Right now I'm leaning towards Atlas because from a first look it appears they have more variety in their offerings of turnouts, crossings, etc., than Micro Engineering. (I haven't looked real closely at Peco yet.) BTW, I plan on modeling North American lines if that makes a difference. Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
I'll leave it to those more knowledgeable than I on Code 55, but be sure to include availability in your analysis. Some years back when I looked at Code 55, I found some brands were more difficult to get than others. (I ultimately decided to reject Code 55 because I have a lot of old N Scale with larger wheel flanges.)
My thoughts: 1. Peco looks the least like North American track, but is also the sturdiest. Also, it will accomodate rollingstock with "pizza-cutter" flanges, which the others will not. 2. Micro Engineering (the business) is presently for sale, so long-term availability is questionable. That said, their flex track is terrific. Their turnouts are good, but the points are a little fragile, and are not always perfect out of the box - they may need a little work to make sure they are in gauge. Also, only #6 straight turnouts are available. 3. Great assortment, and very good appearance. Biggest issue for me is that sometimes the internal jumpers in the turnouts are unreliable and can fail over time. It's my preferred choice, but I add power feed of my own rather than relying on the jumpers. Turnouts still need some tuning, just like Micro Engineering.
I agree with nickelplate. I'll add that Peco code 55 is NOT code 55 rail, it's code 80 rail that they set deeper in the ties to give a code 55 height........if you choose Peco, you might as well do code 80, which is more available. I too am using Atlas track, but I haven't got the new layout far enough along to give feedback on any issues......like you, I found the variety of track was better, and I used Atlas track planning software, so everything was right there for layout design.
Like ME code 55, but I too wish it was more available, with more variety of track work. So I have gone with Atlas code 55. Like big turnouts and long flextrack. NO # 4 & 5 turnouts for me. Maybe some hand laying for anyone? One thing I will use is Atlas code 80 on hidden track work. I got it left over and if you can't see it, who cares? Nice big radius curves [20" + minimum] # 7 turnouts in yards and # 10 on the main. And PLEASE don't get me started on pre-fab KATO snap track.
My layout is chiefly code 80 but I do have some Atlas code 55 laid on some spurs and, I have to say, it looks terrific. The #7 switches took some tweaking but there are almost no commercial switches that don't need tweaking. I have been in N scale from the beginning when there was only code 80 so that's why I still use code 80 - I have so much of it but I always say that if I were starting over, I would use all Atlas code 55. Doug
Thanks for the feedback guys. That was exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Plus it pretty much confirmed the impressions I had developed from reading here and elsewhere. Atlas Code 55 it is. Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
When I went to c55 the choices were limited. I ended up with ME flex (great stuff) and Peco turnouts (also great) but combining them requires surgery. I did buy an Atlas once, beautiful but way too delicate for me. I've learned to value robust over looks; if I were to do it over again I'd go 100% Peco.
That is exactly what I did. The only caveat I would make is that you avoid Peco Code 80 turnouts and go with the Code 55 ones. Track can be either C80 or C55 but I went with the C55. Peco C 80 turnouts are made to NEMA (European) standards and not NMRA standards. Clearances in the frog area of Peco C80 are very liberal and can lead to derailments. You can add a shim to the guardrail to rectify the problem but go with the C55. In addition, the C55 turnouts have a powered frog. Peco has recently come out with a "Unifrog" in addition to their "Electro-Frog" but I have no experience with these. Someone else can comment on them.
