Comments on: Joining Flex Track With EZ Track – Can it be done?

By: Max

Max — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 01:12:10 +0000

If you’re mixing codes, you can file down the bigger code so it smoothly transitions to the smaller code. Keep in mind if you do this, the rails have to be filed down evenly. If they aren’t this could cause many problems. Also make sure the transition is suttle. If the transition is abrupt, this could cause the front wheels to lift off the rails and gives them the chance to derail, especially on curves.

By: Newman Atkinson

Newman Atkinson — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 03:08:15 +0000

My staging level has over 200 feet of track all flex and some sectional sections to but you will not see me changing to EZ track. I might as well use only sectional track which is a lot of connections and is a lot more work to maintain. Also flex track is like running on welded rail. very few connections Newman

By: Newman Atkinson

Newman Atkinson — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 02:55:24 +0000

Yes you can link the various tracks together but why would you want to? sectional track has a lot of connections and through these you will loose power the farther away you get from the power source. I use flex track and use sections of sectional track to connect from one module to another (or where the layout breaks so it can be carried to shows or to move to a new home).

You can go from different codes of track. They have converter sections to change to the different codes.. Flex track has better performance as it allows less connections and better power down through the rails along the way. But you should run main bus wires under your layout and make wire drops to connect to your rails every 4 to 8 feet or so just as you would with a modular layout.

Take a look around my layout and you will find lots of flex track. a sectional track to cross over to a connecting module and plenty of wire drops to the buss wires below for little or no power loss (Buss wires usually # 16 gauge trailer wire or better and wire drops made of phone wire that is usually a 20 to 24 gauge wire which I have soldiered to connectors between the rails. connecting with easy track can be done but you will be much happier to to just go with flex like I said. Eztrack is really something to begin with for a small layout. Whenit is time sell the Eztrack and press on. Someone setting up a simple track or occational loop of track will get plenty of use out of it. Hope this helps from Newman

By: ED

ED — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:05:46 +0000

the track to use is soly up to you. but Im into H.O. layout and I found out the hard way that if your locomotive is a 6 axle engine, put in the mind that you should use 22” radius track no matter what gage or track name you use.

By: Don Schmitt

Don Schmitt — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:41:34 +0000

In reply to Ken Finley.

The question is about N gauge track.

The “standard” N scale rail is code 80. It represents very heavy rail. Today many N scalers are using code 55, which is closer to scale.

Code 100 is used for HO gauge. It represents very heavy rail in HO scale. Today many HO modelers use code 88 and even code 70 rail.

By: Les Foran

Les Foran — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 23:39:05 +0000

This can be done. Use foam roadbed under your flex track to bring it close to the level of your EZ track rail. You may have to shim it slightly.

I know it works because my own model railroad uses both types of track.

Les Foran

By: Ken Finley

Ken Finley — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 03:01:21 +0000

Code 80 is generally considered light rail for siding. Mainline track is usually code 100 because it takes a greater pounding. Truth is, unless you have a visitor with a calibrated eyeball, once a track is laid and ballasted, it is hard to see. The beauty of uni-track and EZ trak is that the road bed is built in. The flex track will need subroad bed and perhaps shims to bring up to the level of the other track. None of this is difficult, and if you ballast along the EZ Trak as well, the differences will disappear. Generally, I stick with flex track because of greater flexibility and lower cost. I think, however, that there is a basic rule of model railroading of using what you have. When you look at all the beautiful things created for layouts using odd bits and pieces, you discover the real fun of the hobby.

By: Les Wilson

Les Wilson — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 19:11:01 +0000

Intermixing track all with the same code rail shouldn’t be a problem as the same rail joiners will compatible with them all (some trimming using a sharp craft knife may be necessary). Visually, I wouldn’t mix trackage that differs significantly in appearance. If you wish to use finer section rail, I don’t know if any ‘N-gauge’ adapters are available, but in 00/HO Peco do short adapter tracks and adapter rail joiners for connecting Code 100 to Code 75 rails. It might be worth surfing th Internet to see who makes what. Hope this info is useful to you.

By: John

John — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 03:23:18 +0000

It should just slide right on. If not you should be able to remove some of the ties from the Atlas track so it slides onto the plastic on the ez-track.The rest will be trying to hide this transition when you add your ballast. You’ll diffidently need to add cork or foam road bedding to help support the rail joiners though.

By: Mickael

Mickael — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 01:15:50 +0000

Yes it can be done. I did it with my N scale layout in progress.

I had to use the track road bed to help with the height and had to sand some from the height of the joining rails to ,make them level. I also had to sand down a couple of inches so there wouldn’t be a drastic dump.

Hope this helps!

By: Jeffrey A thomas

Jeffrey A thomas — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 00:35:38 +0000

I know that KATO makes a conversion piece, http://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/g-single.html. Here is Bachmann’s site http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/index.php

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 00:26:31 +0000

Atlas Flex-traack can be mated to the E-Z Track. The only difference is the codes. The code being the height of the rail from the top of the ties. If you were to connect code 80 to Code 55, a shim would be needed to raise the height of the two different sets of rails.I have never used Uni-Track, but I believe there is an adapter made to connect the different rails.