What's best?

Emilys dad

Emilys dad

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Hello all,

First post!

So after many years of 4mm modelling, then acquiring a house, wife and 2 kids, I received (what I perceive to be) permission to construct a railway outdoors. With a 2 year old and a 10 month old, a 4mm layout inside was always going to be tricky.

I've roughly surveyed a route, and had it approved by the "management", and now I'm being offered assistance from my Dad for track acquiring and laying.

So what's best?

I want to try and keep away from the sectional set track look which will mean flex track. Peco do it, does anyone else? And is it compatible or is it like mixing code 75 and code 100?

(Please be gentle!!)

Cheers

Phil
 
Most European G scale track uses code 332 brass rail, the brass making it relatively expensive.
Therefore second hand bargains are more commonly available with this section and different brands of code 332 track may be mixed with very few, if any, problems. This is particularly useful as you may need to use different brands of track to obtain the best pointwork for a specific location.

Peco uses code 250 nickel silver rail and only has one size of ready made point. The foot is also narrower than most American brands of code 250 rail.

Tenmille produce brass flexitrack that is 332 high but the foot is narrower than standard. It may be joined to standard code 332 rail using special or modified joiners.

AMS code 332 track from Trackshack http://track-shack.com/acatalog/AMS_GScale_Garden_Railway_Track.html
(no connection other than a satisfied customer) is good value.

As an economy measure second hand LGB 300mm long radius 1 (about 4 feet diameter) curves may be obtained cheaply and straightened out. The difference in length of the two rails may be compensated by using them on alternate sides. Some have reported more success with easing the radius than totally straightening them.
 
As an old timer in Garden railways!! first one in '76, I have tried mant types of track outside, I recommend LGB as a first choice although PIKO is fine,

I did try PECO G scale track in the garden for a short while It can be joined to other G scale brand via special railjoiners, but i found that it needed cleaning much more frequently than the brass track AND I had problems with the point tie bars in that the switch rails fixings failed in that they became detached! I sent some back to PECO and they repaired them but the repairs did not last long so in the end i gave up on Peco track.

As far as the sectional track look is concerned this is easily overcome by good ballasting and worth remembering that g scale manufacturers supply several radii of curved track AND LGB and others supply flexible track ( LGB is in 1.5M lengths) rail & sleeper units are supplied as seperate parts assembled, when i used it on a much larger line than currently building i found it easier to curve the rail sections first THEN thread on the sleeper units ( It is a bit more substantial than PECO 00 track ;D)
 
Hi

I have an 18 month old son, so I have some experience with what does and does not work with playing trains with little kids.

The great thing about G is that much of it is big and tough enough to hand over without worrying too much about damage. My little boy is already demanding that we run a train, carrying them and driving them around the garden :-)

I am using ground level LGB track code 332 track, which can be walked on without damaging it. While code 250 Peco track does look good it is not as tough and you would probably need to go down the raised line approach.

I would suggest looking at battery control and the Playmobil RC diesel is a great place to start. My little lad played havoc with my wires when I was track powered :-)

Have fun!

Rob
 
We use PECO but if I we're to start from fresh I'd go for LGB.

The reasons for that is the size of the turnouts is restrictive and if you want to use rail clamps you've got a search on your hands
 
Neil Robinson said:
Most European G scale track uses code 332 brass rail, the brass making it relatively expensive
...........

AMS code 332 track from Trackshack http://track-shack.com/acatalog/AMS_GScale_Garden_Railway_Track.html
(no connection other than a satisfied customer) is good value
................
Click to expand...

For flexi-track (or just areas where you need some long straights) the 6 foot lengths of code 332 AMS are hard to beat on value - a full box of 12 lengths (72 feet of track!) is very cost-effective at around £4 per foot, compared with £5-£6 per foot for other brands and/or shorter lengths.
Using longer pieces, whether on straight or curved sections, also reduces the number of rail joints which can only improve electrical continuity (and of course economises on track clamps if you plan to use these).
I bought a full box of 6 foot AMS from GRS last week, they may not be the cheapest but they DO have it in stock by the box or by single lengths.

Jon.
 
If buying second-hand, go for the larger lots.. You tend to get better value, and a greater selection this way.
That which is not your brand of choice can be sold-on..

If second-hand, then you will come across Aristocraft track, which is code 332 and the same profile as LGB.
If you want new, then no one has mentioned Piko.. This comes out cheaper than LGB in my experience.
 
If buying S/H Be aware you may have to clean it up I bought 12 sections of LGB R5 1/2 curves recently ( these are large radius 7.5' curve)

They worked out approx 1/2 typical discount retail price, But they did need a bit of a clean up took me about 30 mins to do the lot so no problem.

Now to answer the question bound to be asked>>>>> why did i need 12 of these, well I didnt really BUT they are an excellent means of removing the geometrical impression of straight track they form a gentle S curve if used back to back and are good to use at the beginning of a curved section as a transitional lead in to the curve.
PS They came from GRS
 
Another vote for the AMS flexi track here! I've been very pleased with it, mostly used it in the 3 foot lengths. My line's a mixture of LGB and AMS. I went for a minimum radius of LGB R3 to allow for long US diesels etc., with R5 where possible.
 
I've laid a lot of LGB flexitrack, using a Massoth rail bender. The advantage is that if you want to follow the contours and gradients on a plot, you can lay the trackbed where you like, only limited by a minimum radius and a maximum gradient, then bend the track to fit.
Also my wife bought me tubes of the stuff (from Dragon Gscale) for my 50th birthday.
It's lasted a long time with little attention so far. (the rails)

Good luck btw, it's fun.
 
If you're looking for 45mm gauge then LGB is a good bet. I've acquired lots of second hand track, both flex and sectional over the years with no problems. I also got a Train-li track bender. Expensive ,but means that you can bend flex or sectional track to whatever shape you want. I've also acquired lots of R1 curves very cheaply, and bent these to my own needs, or also straightened them. A track bender is a good investment, and if treated well, will hold its value.

Do, please, use track clamps. They make life SO much easier. There are a bunch of threads on here as to which are best in a myriad of opinions.

I also guess it depends on the size of your project.

As others have pointed out, the likes of LGB, Piko and Train Line have a great variety of points in 45mm gauge.

I can't speak about 32mm, if you want to go down that line (sorry for the intended pun). I have stuck with 45mm, but I think if starting again, I may have gone down the 32mm route as to my eyes now, for British outline narrow gauge, it looks more, well, narrow!

However if you plan to be working with other scales than 16mm or 15mm then that's a moot or even irrelevant comment.
 
Another vote for brass code 332 track here, mainly LGB although I have a little Aristo and Train-Line too.

I would also consider Piko.

If you want to buy British, Tenmille do a code 332 track, although it has a narrower foot than other types.


http://www.tenmille.com/GScaleTrack.html

Easy enough to join with rail clamps if you file the other wider rail to the same profile....
 
How are you going to power your locos? Track or battery?

As already mentioned, the Playmobil battery RC loco is a great one to start with.

Your second loco could be an LGB if you opt for track power.
 
Yet another vote for code 332, if only for its robustness and ubiquity. Easy to get hold of 2nd hand in all its forms. Along with LGB/Trainline/Piko/USAT/Bachmann,/AMS cross compatible code 332 add Garden Railway Specialist for handmade, wood sleepered points, crossings and slips in a range of angles and radii which as well as stock items can be made to your specs'. They are reasonably good value too and use LGB code 332 rail. They also make up some dual gauge stuff at 45/32 mm 64/45 mm. Even more possibilities ! There is another specialist maker using code 332 but their name escapes me for now.

Use a proper rail bender on flexi stuff, avoid tummies for bending. Always use a dab of Massoth graphite paste or Coppergrease on all rail joints whether fishplates, clamps or a combination of both where track power is concerned or envisioned. Make sure where tracks join that 2nd hand stuff is clean and bright. Clamps are great to stabilize complicated track formations and downhill bits that might hammer apart with use, even when going battery power and live steam. Max.
 
maxi-model said:
...........There is another specialist maker using code 332 but their name escapes me for now.

........... Max.
Click to expand...

3.0.1 Models? Great products, but he has little or no online presence - I do have a phone number for him somewhere if needed.....

Jon.
 
My track is lgb/aristo/ams/ and some flex sections that had no makers name i picked up a show, but are similar to aristo, if your not bothered about sleeper spacing often the american style sleepers can be found discounted, I picked up 10 sections of 2nd aristo dirt cheep as they were american sleeper spacing
 
I use whatever 332 I can get at good price outdoors because it is robust. Peco looks more realistic so is good for indoor layouts. Straight track can be flexed by cutting the plastic between the sleepers.
 
Zerogee said:
3.0.1 Models? Great products, but he has little or no online presence - I do have a phone number for him somewhere if needed......
Click to expand...
That's the one. Always has a pitch at the 16 mm NGM Peterborough show. Also think I've seen him at the annual Warley show at the NEC. Could contact him via both these societies also. Max
 
As for many of us coming to large scale from smaller scales I initially had the view that set track is a no-no for serious modelling. However I soon discovered that working with code 332 flexitrack is very different from what I was used to in 4mm and 2mm. It is hard to bend and hard to cut. Set track can be loose laid on site to see what looks good before committing to the final alignment and used with care and a mix of radii the giant train set look can be minimised. In the end I used LGB set track for most of the line with a quantity of LGB flexitrack where I had the room for long sweeping curves. You can see the effect if you have a look at my website (in my signature).

Personally I would recommend ordering one pack of flexitrack to experiment with before rejecting the idea of set track completely.
 
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