Fun with <gasp> Unitrack!

[basementcalling]

Dave, I think the cause is lost on most of this crowd. This is TRW after all... Folks like to argue the same age old talking points and ignore the rest.

I still say your repair job looks great, UniTrack or not. It's hard enough to make a repair, even using the same kind of track. That you were able to do it with completely different track and have it look more or less unnoticeable from the surrounding bits is pretty good work IMO.

+2.   Nicely done. Nothing is worse than a poorly operating layout because of that ONE section of track.

[robert3985]

+1.   Anyone who can blend different track brands and perform a track repair of the magnitude that Dave Vollmer just did is better at track laying than he gives himself credit.

DFF

I agree.  Dave's obviously better at it than he thinks or says.  However, I'd suggest a 35 watt iron rather than the 15 watt he's got...and with a wedge tip.  Also, good flux really makes a HUGE difference...the flux I highly recommend is Superior #30 Supersafe Flux available here: http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/   Tix flux is also pretty good....and use 96/4 Tin/Silver solder, keep your iron tip bright and shiny with a cheap soldering station that's got a damp sponge and a place to stick that little tin of "tip tinning solution"...and all will be well.

The hotter iron allows you to get the heat into the joint quicker, the solder to melt quicker, than lower wattage irons...which keeps the ties from melting and produces fewer (hopefully zero) cold solder joints.  Keep the 15 watt iron for electronics and SMD's, but use the 35 watt iron for them big rails 

[robert3985]

I think that while everybody is getting hung up on the rail height, tie dimensions and spacing, nobody is paying any attention to the oversized molded plastic spikes.  While ME seems to make the smallest spikes, they are still not to scale. They have to be oversize, just to hold the rail and ties together.

Not only they are inaccurate visually, but in combination with the scale height rail, they will drastically limit the number of models one can run on that track. That is because even models with smaller flanges still have relatively deep flanges. Robert did mention the spikes in one of his posts, but otherwise, they are largely ignored.  Sanding them down only weakens their ability to hold the rail.

I've mentioned them (spikeheads) a few times, but...the choices are few and not satisfactory generally speaking.

As has been mentioned numerous times by DKS, spikeheads on N-scale and N-gauge track are all BIG...the only choice, if anybody's concerned about it, for RTR flex and sectional track is to go with the best available...meaning track with the lowest/smallest spikeheads.  The "smallest" spikeheads on presently available track is ME's flex...in code 70, code 55 and code 40.  The "lowest" spikeheads are a toss-up between ME and Peco 55, but Peco's are "low" but "wide" and don't look like spikeheads at all. 

Atlas 55's "spikeheads" look a lot like smaller versions of their code 80 cousins...not really like spikeheads at all and we are all aware of their height, which interfere with pizza cutters...excuse me...TALL pizza cutters since DKS has assured us that ALL flanges are pizza cutters now.

The very best track was Railcraft and early ME.  When the molds wore out, new ones were produced and the new "spikeheads" look very similar to Atlas 55's version, but not as tall.  Here's a photo comparing Railcraft code 55 with Atlas 55:


Ahhhh....Railcraft track was really great!  Luckily, I bought a case of it, and I'm using it on sections/modules that will be closely photographed...but    it's not being made any longer.

Just to show what we're missing, here's another shot of Rail Craft code 55 at Echo Curve, all painted/weathered and ballasted:


I gotta say, even if these teeny spikeheads are too big, they're miles better than anything else that's available today.

The OTHER alternative, is to hand-lay your own track...both track and turnouts.  You'll save a lot of money with the turnouts, but your hand-laid track in between your turnouts is considerably more expensive than any RTR flex, 'cause you gotta buy all those wooden ties, the rails and PCB ties every fifth tie (if you want to go that route).  You could skip the PCB ties and just glue the rails down to the ties, but I prefer soldering them to intermittent PCB ties for strength and stability.  Trouble is, you won't have any tie plates or spikehead details of you do it this way, unless you can find standard gauge PCB ties that have all the copper etched off except where the rails lay.  I've seen DKS's example of this, except maybe he milled the copper cladding off, or filed it rather than etched it.  Seems like several years ago Nn3 ties were available that were done this way.  Not sure.

Proto87 stores makes tie plates for code 40 rail (or code 43   ) and they're relatively inexpensive, but they're micro-sized...with etched spikehead details.  I''ve got several frets of them, but have yet to work up the courage to see how they'll look on my hand-laid code 40 trackage.  I've seen at least one photo of a section of code 40 track done by Ed Nadolski, but they weren't very obvious.  Seemed like a whole lot of work for not much gain.

ON THE OTHER HAND, code 40 track looks pretty good without any tie-plate or spikehead details.  Here's an example on my Park City Branch which diverges from the UP mainline at Echo:


Like DKS and his "I'd rather not have any sound as opposed to bad sound"   I'd almost rather not have any tieplate/spikehead details than grossly oversized and inaccurate looking stuff...and I'm thinking that applying those details to hand-laid code 40 track is probably not worth the effort, although I don't know for sure yet.

[MichaelWinicki]

All I can vouch for is my own experience.  My code 55 in Enola looks fantastic, but backing a 22-car coal drag down the yard ladder is not an experience I relish.

Hey Dave, I'll tell ya when it comes to using code 55 wheelsets do make a difference.  I'm not sure what you're using or if you've switched over to all metal, but one thing I have found is that MT lo-pros are more problematic for me.  The flange is too sharp, and some of the wheelsets I have found to be too narrow. 

The best plastic wheelsets that I've found for code 55 are the Atlas browns– very reliable on Atlas code 55.

[Midniteflyer]

ASSHATS PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I used Unitrack.............

[davefoxx]

2014: The year of a$$hat tolerance.   

[DKS]

I'm using Unitrack for my new Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad.

[towl1996]

Hmmm, seems like a fair amount of people are coming out of the closest, as it relates to the use of Unitrack. Has the de facto king of N scale track, Atlas code 55, been dethroned?

To bad that Railcraft track is no longer available.

[bbussey]

Atlas probably still sells more track than everyone else combined.  It's unlikely anyone will supplant Atlas as the #1 model track manufacturer in the world.

[peteski]

Atlas probably still sells more track than everyone else combined.  It's unlikely anyone will supplant Atlas as the #1 model track manufacturer in the world.

Hmmm...how can they be #1 seller of something they haven't had in stock for a very long time? 

[Kisatchie]

Hmmm...how can they be #1 seller of something they haven't had in stock for a very long time? 

HO scale track?


Hmm... I bet they sell
a ton of O scale track...

[Dave V]

Hmmm, seems like a fair amount of people are coming out of the closest, as it relates to the use of Unitrack. Has the de facto king of N scale track, Atlas code 55, been dethroned?

To bad that Railcraft track is no longer available.

FWIW, I've settled on doing the Juniata Division's extension with code 55.

[peteski]

HO scale track?


Hmm... I bet they sell
a ton of O scale track...

I thought that N scale c55 track was all that mattered. 

[wcfn100]

FWIW, I've settled on doing the Juniata Division's extension with code 55.

If you want any Atlas c55 flex to mess around with, I've got 10 pieces.  I'd just need them replaced when the new stock comes available.

No joiners or anything as I packed all that with the rest of the code 55 I sold.


Jason

[kalbert]

Hmmm, seems like a fair amount of people are coming out of the closest, as it relates to the use of Unitrack. Has the de facto king of N scale track, Atlas code 55, been dethroned?

To bad that Railcraft track is no longer available.

I don't see any one comming out. About all of the unitrack shown in his thread was done so by members known to be users.

Atlas code 55 has never been the defacto king of anything. Its a nice product for sure, but there's a hell of a lot of people using other stuff, especially outside the US.