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Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains(tm)
This page will help you choose the best combination of track products for your railroad. There seem to be many choices, but a few key principles might be:
- Use the widest curves you have room to use conveniently. Trains look better and run better on wider curves.
- For turnouts (switches) that your mainline traffic will be running through, select turnouts that have at least as wide a radius as the track you are using (for sidings that you will only be putting short freight cars on, you may use turnouts with tighter curves).
- Once you've selected an overall style of track (say Standard Gauge/US-style solid brass), try to keep subsequent purchases in the same style so you don't mix and match too much.
- At first your investment in track may be more than your investment in trains. In fact it probably should be. Think of your roadbed and track as the "hardware" and the trains you run it on as the "software." You can always "upgrade" software (or buy another train) later, but if the "hardware" you're running it on isn't up to the task, you won't get what you need to out of the system anyway.
Choices include:
Note: I confess that most of the examples shown on this page are AristoCraft. That's because it is the line of track I have found most useful over the long haul. Its screw-on rail joiners provide the most effective mechanical and electrical connections between track pieces of any off-the-shelf product (except for that by USA Trains, which copied AristoCraft's system, with permission, of course). That doesn't mean that the other brands suck. I have friends who are delighted with track from Llagas Creek, LGB, and several other manufacturers. In fact, the only Large Scale manufacturers whose track is useless outside are Bachmann (which keeps the price down by using indoor-only track) and Lionel (which only makes one Christmas Train in Large Scale anyway).
Confusion Solution - If you're having trouble keeping all of this straight, or narrowing your choices down to the products you will probably find most useful, check out the Track Order form page. That page includes a checklist of the most useful AristoCraft track products, sorted by material, style, and length.
Update for 2008 - Aluminum Track Revisited - Many garden railroaders suffered sticker shock when they tried to buy track in late 2007. Suddenly aluminum rail is looking like a viable option, at least for some folks. For dry climates and battery power it's almost a no-brainer. Folks with other circumstances, however, need to choose carefully. Our new article "Is Aluminum Track a Viable Option" addresses some of these issues. To see a list of aluminum track products that AristoCraft has reintroduced and is planning to introduce, check out the Aluminum track section of our "Track Order" page.
Most Large Scale railroaders use solid brass track because it's durable and widely available, and because it matches the track that came with their LGB, Aristo, or USA Trains starter set. If you want your track to conduct electricity, you will likely find yourself choosing between brass and steel track (although aluminum also seems to work great for some folks, and costs less).
- Solid Brass - Solid brass meets most people's needs. Brass track turns brown in a couple of years, depending on your climate, so it will quite properly recede into the "background." If you put metal wheels on all of your rolling stock, just running your trains will keep it fairly clean. I clean my brass track maybe twice a year, except for spot cleaning where pine sap, bug juice, or bird poop has damaged connectivity.
To see a list of solid brass track products that AristoCraft offers, check out the Solid Brass Track section of our "Track Order" page.
Solid Stainless Steel - On the other hand, people who use stainless steel track say they almost never need to clean it (except for the exceptions noted above). If, from the start, you feel that reducing maintenance to almost zero (say for a "display" railroad you are building for someone else) is more important than saving money on track, stainless may be your best bet. Also, since prices for good brass track have jumped up, some folks are opting to use stainless steel. In some cases, they have to start with a smaller railroad, but the maintenance for stainless is so low that they tend to stick with stainless once they've started.
To see a list of solid stainless steel track products that AristoCraft offers, check out the Solid Stainless Steel Track section of our "Track Order" page.
- Aluminum - Aluminum track is being reintroduced by AristoCraft and has long been made by Llagas Creek and a few other suppliers. This product is very useful for people who are comfortable with flextrack, especially if they are going to build a very solid roadbed to support it (it's not as resistant to foot traffic or whatever as brass track).
Some folks say that they have trouble with with aluminum, but other folks say it's just fine for them. Aluminum track is usually much expensive than brass track, so if it would work for you, it's worth a look.
For an article that may help you determine if aluminum track is right for you, check out "Is Aluminum Track a Viable Option?". To see a list of aluminum track products that AristoCraft has reintroduced and is planning to introduce, check out the Aluminum track section of our "Track Order" page.
- Nickel Silver - combines the low maintenance of stainless steel with something close to the conductivity of brass, at a generally higher price than either. Unfortunately, I don't have any vendor links for track using this material, but
- Note: Neither Bachmann nor Lionel Large Scale track can be used outside. But that's okay;
you don't want to use 4'-diameter curves anyway, if you can avoid them. Save the track that comes with your starter sets for use around Christmas trees or to set up "Christmas Villages" at the old folks home or whatever.
Another factor you may consider is "rail profile."
The most popular Large Scale rail sizes are known as Code 332 rail and Code 250 rail. When you hear a rail code, think "thousandths of an inch". Therefore Code 250 rail is 1/4" high, and Code 332 rail is just under 1/3" high. Code 215 rail is also made, but not all Large Scale trains run on it properly, because the wheel flanges are too deep on many out-of-the-box pieces.
- Code 332 rail is the kind popularized by LGB. It's the kind that still comes with most Large Scale train sets. Technically Code 332 rails are a little too big to be quite in scale with many Large Scale trains. But people like it, not only because LGB started a tradition, but also because Code 332 brass rails are structurally very rigid; they stand up better to kids and deer walking on the track, sagging roadbed, and other mechanical problems that would cause problems with smaller rails. Professional installers who don't want to be called back frequently for minor repairs due to soccer balls, errant toddlers, etc., almost universally use code 332 track for a more "bulletproof" installation. Also, many more kinds of turnouts (switches), crossings, and other track accessories are available for code 332 track. If you want to see a list of the kinds of products available in Code 332, plus links to suppliers we trust, check out our "Track Order Form" page.
- Code 250 rail is more in scale with Large Scale trains, so it looks more realistic. It's also less expensive per foot than track made with code 332 track, unless you want to use a lot of turnouts and crossovers and don't feel up to making them yourself. It isn't quite as strong as Code 332, though. It is also less standardized than Code 332 track, so if you go with Code 250, consider getting all of your track from one supplier, or if you are going to order from multiple suppliers, get samples before placing a large order.
- You can use Code 332 and 250 on the same railroad - many adapters are available. However the appearance is different, so I wouldn't go back and forth too much. By the way, I use Code 332 exclusively on my railroads because of the reliability factor I mentioned above - however, if a good source of Code 250 stainless (including turnouts and other track accessories) was available at a reasonable price, I could be tempted. . . .
Most beginning railroaders are more used to track with preformed curves, since that's what comes with their starter sets (and any "train sets" they played with as kids). In fact, most garden railroads today are built with mostly preformed curves. That said, flexible track is great for large layouts with sweeping curves, and is used for most display railroads (the really big ones in botanical gardens, etc.). Still, for most people starting out, a couple circles of preformed curves and a dozen or two pieces of straight may be more useful than a case of flextrack, while you're learning all the other aspects of building a right-of-way. for that reason, this site links chiefly to the most common configurations of preformed curves. If you want more specifics on flextrack, please contact
me.
Track made to suit modern US equipment has more, smaller ties than track made to suit narrow gauge equipment such as the old US 3'-gauge or the European metre-gauge trains. If you want an old-timey or Euro look, or if you've got a bunch of LGB track onhand that you need to match, go for the Narrow Gauge (Euro-style) track. Otherwise, you'll likelier prefer the Standard Gauge (US-style) track in the long run. (It's also what comes with AristoCraft starter sets, but since those use 4'-diameter circles, you won't necessarily be using that track on your permanent railroad anyway.
On the other hand, choosing "wrong" here doesn't mean you have to replace your track if your taste in trains changes. As long as you don't mix track styles in the same part of your railroad, 99% of your visitors will never notice if your ties are "too small" or "too large" for the trains you are running. When I started my New Boston and Donnels Creek line Euro track was the only kind available. If I was starting another railroad now, I'd probably use Standard Gauge (US-style) track. But the track that's out there has faded to brown and settled so nicely into the ballast and woolly thyme that it looks fine no matter what I run over it.
- Curves - Order the widest curves you can conveniently use. If you plan to run equipment with really long cars and locomotives (such as heavyweight coaches or Dash-9s), consider 10'-diameter the minimum (15'-diameter is better), although most pieces will negotiate 8' curves if that's all you have room for.
- Straights - For straightaways, a few longer pieces are better than many short pieces; however it makes no sense to order a case of five-foot pieces if you only need 20' of straight track. For starting out or a very small railroad, most of your needs would be better met with a case of 2' track. You may be surprised how seldom you need 1' pieces, though.
You do not have to order turnouts that match the diameter of your mainline as long as the straight leg of the turnout (not the curved leg) is on the mainline (a good practice at any rate). However, you should also know that:
- The turnouts that match 4'-diameter curves look silly unless you're using curves almost that tight on your mainline as well (not recommended). Also, running really long pieces of rolling stock through 4'-diameter curves can get interesting. That said, if most of your pieces are 2' or less in length, and you are pressed for space and money nobody will die if you use some on your sidings.
- The wider turnouts do not exactly replace curved pieces, so if you're hoping to exactly replicate a tinplate railroad (like the old Lionel, where the curved side of a turnout exactly replaced a curved piece of track), you'll need to make some adjustments. (One exception is the LGB 16050/16150 line of turnouts, which are made to go with the 8'-foot diameter curves, such as LGB 16000 (R3) or AristoCraft 11600. These turnouts are slightly "tighter" than the AristoCraft Wide-Radius turnouts, but they have an excellent reputation and will handle almost all currently-available rolling stock.)
- Most brands of turnouts can be changed from manual to automatic simply by adding switch machines (available separately). Note: Among Garden Railroaders, LGB's switch machines have an especially good reputation for long-term durability, although I've never had enough experience using remote turnouts outside to give me an "authoritative" basis of comparison.
Rerailers are pieces of track with huge flanges to help "rerail" cars that are slightly "derailed" before they hit the flange. (If a car is really derailed before it hits the flange, a rerailer will only make it worse, though). I actually like having a few around as generally I have more of the former problem than the latter. Rerailers are molded to represent grade crossings, so I try to use some of them that way. Putting a rerailer near where you put the trains on the track helps some people get their trains properly on the track more quickly, as well. A couple of these might be helpful to have on hand as a "preventative," although some people think they cause more trouble than they're worth. (As always, your mileage may vary.)
- Extra track joiner screws - Each piece of Aristo Track comes with rail joiners and screws (including screws that are fastened to the bottom side of the ties with wax). That said, you'll probably need to replace some rail joiners eventually, and you ought to have extra screws onhand before you start assembling any stretch of track - the chance of dropping a screw into the ballast and not being able to find it is high and the cost of having an extra pack of screws onhand is low.
- Extra track-to-pack connector wires - These are little wires with eyelets on one end and tinned leads on the other that you're supposed to use to run between the power pack and the track. They also make very easy jumper wires between track sections, if you take the time to screw each end to the underside of adjacent sections of Aristo track by the screws provided on the track ties. I make my own heavy-duty jumper wires using 16 gauge or so lamp cord and smash-on eyelets, but these are fine for light duty and very easy to use. They will also significantly reduce the chances that one flakey rail joiner will unexpectedly damage your track's connectivity twenty minutes before your first open house.
- Plastic Track Joiners - use to connect rails between "blocks"
(So you can run electricity to one section and not to another--
this is especially helpful for sidings.)
Lighted bumper without track - These clip onto almost any kind of commercially available Garden Railroad tracks to mark the end of each siding. The light also lets you know if there is electricity going to the siding.
Reversing System (for back-and-forth running) - This setup includes everything you need to create a back-and-forth system, say for a trolley or a "shelf" railroad.
- Waterproof remote switch machine - These convert turnouts to remote operation. (That said, I try to structure my railroads so that I can reach most turnouts from my ordinary operating positions anyway, just to keep a close eye on things while I'm doing any operations.)
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Note: Family Garden Trains(tm) and Big Christmas Trains(tm) are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are
Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by Paul D. Race.
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For more information, please contact
me
Rail Materials
Solid Stainless Steel - On the other hand, people who use stainless steel track say they almost never need to clean it (except for the exceptions noted above). If, from the start, you feel that reducing maintenance to almost zero (say for a "display" railroad you are building for someone else) is more important than saving money on track, stainless may be your best bet. Also, since prices for good brass track have jumped up, some folks are opting to use stainless steel. In some cases, they have to start with a smaller railroad, but the maintenance for stainless is so low that they tend to stick with stainless once they've started.
Another factor you may consider is "rail profile."
Standard Gauge (US-style) or Narrow Gauge (Euro-style)
You do not have to order turnouts that match the diameter of your mainline as long as the straight leg of the turnout (not the curved leg) is on the mainline (a good practice at any rate). However, you should also know that: