Why Use Only 1 Manufacturer?

My goal in this section is to share what I’ve learned to possibly save you time and frustration.  My previous layouts painfully taught me the paramount importance of having good trackwork.  Fixing poor trackwork later risks re-doing more things than just your poor trackwork;  you may need to replace scenery or structures that can’t be easily replicated.

I naively thought  that Code 83 is a standard adhered to by all manufacturers.  While all Code 83 products have a rail height of 0.083″, no other dimensions match up.  I found that even using rail joiners from Atlas on PECO track wasn’t possible.  So, I sought to find one manufacturer that could provide all the track parts I would need with the hope that those would all work best together.

Some Caveats

First, I’m using Code 83 track throughout the layout.  I avoided Code 100 because it looks too big.  Code 83 is easy to work (it’s not as small as Code 70 or 53), looks more than good enough and there’s a lot of reasonably priced track and turnouts in that size.

Second, I always use turnouts with powered frogs because I wanted to support the running of short-wheel base locos without risking dead spots on the turnouts.  I may install keep-alive units later but I want to delay that if possible.  Specifically, I use PECO’s “Electrofrog” style turnouts.  In 2021, PECO began to gradually replace that style turnout with a more advanced design they call “Unifrog”, which appears to offer all the goodies of “Electrofrog” with a few added advantages.

Third, given the superior performance of PECO products, I’m willing to spend the extra money for the PECO products.  They simply look and perform better than Atlas and they offer a wide array of products which are sold at many outlets.

Fourth, I was committed to installing a switch machine on every turnout and the machine had to be invisible to the layout viewer.  I would not accept having the switch machine above the layout and I wanted any wiring that supported the operation of the turnout to be practically invisible.

Why Not Atlas?

Atlas is one the most well known brands and their products are very good.  Based on cost alone, you would choose Atlas.  Some of the Atlas products fell short in areas that mattered to me and the shortcomings couldn’t be overcome.  I rejected Atlas because:

1. Atlas only makes metal rail joiners that are intended to be used with their Code 100 and Code 83 flex track.  I found that using those rail joiners on Code 83 resulted in a loose fit and I dreaded the thought of manually crimping each rail joiner “just so” every time I installed one.  This was introducing opportunities for failure around the layout.
2. Atlas flex track flexes too easily and refuses to even try to stay in place.  I feel like I’m always fighting it to stay where I want.
3. I wanted to have powered frogs.  The Atlas turnouts that have powered frogs look very clunky and you can’t really improve on their appearance.  The turnouts should not call attention to themselves.
4. I struggled mightily to install hidden switch machines on Atlas turnouts on a previous layout.  They are a PITA to install and tune.  Replacing one is equally hard.  I wanted to avoid that ordeal.

Why PECO?

Finer, Better-Looking Flex Track

PECO has earned a reputation for quality and innovation.  Their Code 83 flex track offers these advantages over Atlas:

1. Both rails slide but there is more resistance than Atlas.  This means the flexed track doesn’t try as hard to spring back to straight and thus is a bit easier to work with.
2. The “foot” of the rail is a tiny bit narrower and significantly thinner than the Atlas track, which gives the appearance of a more light rail, even though both have the same rail height.
3. The metal and insulated rail joiners offered by PECO are less clunky than the Atlas variety.  This results in the rail joints being harder for a viewer to spot.