Bachmann EZ track for British applications

[Chops]

I don't know if this something broadly available in the UK, but in the US it comes in both O and HO, the latter being my interest. It comes in two varieties: steel rail in a black plastic roadbed, or nickel silver in a gray plastic roadbed. Sturdy clips fasten the roadbed sections tightly together and the plastic roadbed allows the track to be set upon carpet or baseboard whilst providing an exceptionally even rail surface and no kinks in the geometry.

North American modellers tend to turn their collective noses up at it, although for the determined sort one can ballast it over as well as any other foam or cork roadbed. As my experimentation with abundant and cheap surplus Atlas Code 100 sectional track revealed that OO flanges, tended to ride upon the miniature rail crampons, ride up and over flangeways in diamonds and turnouts, and even when using 1/87 British range stock. All in all, incompatabilities were rife between British model trains and North American range sectional track.

Years before, I don't know about now, Fleischmann made a beautiful sectional track embedded into a weather ballast roadbed- and it cost at least four times as much as any other sectional track, at the time, so scrub that idea whilst trying to feed a family of five plus assorted pet butterflies, rabbits, dogs, and cats.

To the point, I recently assisted a friend with building his HO layout, and owing to medical issues, he relies upon the relative reliability and simplicity of Bachmann EZ track. We banged out a rather nice pair of mainlines and one inner branch line within about five hours time, using no track plan, just applying what we had in inventory and along the lines he envisioned.

Testing it with a couple of North American range pieces, it was soon evident that even on such a large space- 8 x 12 feet (1.4 x 3.7 metres) the stuff was remarkably derailment free and reliable. It was surprising to see something of this size work right straight out of the box. No bus wires were used, either. That sort of voltage drop appears to be mostly an AC thing.

As I had tried, years before, using North American Atlas track for British rail without success, it was assumed that this EZ track would be no better. Yet, curiosity got the better of me, and I ran a Mallard with a rake of five, and then a vintage Electra with its pizza cutter flanges. To my astonishment, not only did these pieces run, they functioned superbly better in every aspect of speed control and trackability than they ever did on British OO track, and did not complain whatsoever when run through diamonds and #4 turnouts.

Here is a mercifully brief video of that test, in this case I had graduated to trying out a Hornby Peckett with three axle coaches, a Rapido Tram, and a Dapol DMU. After this video was shot, a set of face to face #4 turnouts were placed to communicate from the outer to inner tracks. Anyone who has tried this knows that face to face #4's is an invitation for stalling and derailments. Again, the tiny Peckett pushed right through and the three axle coaches right behind without any trouble at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOKBGlP3hPo

I had been planning for a smallish expansion of Henley, using only British code 100 sectional track, and having discovered that everything functions better on EZ track, all the plans for expansion have been scrapped and we will move forward using exclusively Bachmann EZ track.

[Bufferstop]

I think you will find that most UK RTR wheelsets are much closer to NMRA profile than was previously the case. Especially as most of it now comes from the the same far eastern factories as do USA models. The difference is in UK produced track which still makes allowance for 30-40 year old standards.

[RAF96]

RP25 is the standard profile in use these days, very unlike the pizza cutter wheel flanges of yore.

[Bigmet]

...I had been planning for a smallish expansion of Henley, using only British code 100 sectional track, and having discovered that everything functions better on EZ track, all the plans for expansion have been scrapped and we will move forward using exclusively Bachmann EZ track.

Hardly surprising. UK OO 'set track' (=sectional track) has its origins in dated European HO, and has gone essentially unchanged ever since. Very limited choice of radii and points compared even to European HO set track systems of circa 1960, let alone the present; and although I wasn't there to see it, same probably true if compared to American HO track since the same date.

No sign of any impetus for change in the UK either, those that don't like it have moved on to:
RTL systems of flexitrack type (long dominated by Peco in the UK);
superior set track systems from HO brands;
building their own track using kit supplies from various outfits over the decades.

[Chops]

Interesting back story. Certainly, some of my newer pieces have a much more delicate flange, unlike the flanges of my beloved Tri-Ang and old Hornby. In fact, the flanges are so big, I am designing a fitting on my plow so that I may use them to cut furrows to plant potatoes in the coming spring. Or, perhaps, that Electra, I could just grab her betwix the pantographs and slice up my next Domino's with extra, extra thick crust.

I had, at one point, tried in vain to use Atlas Code 100 track with British stock. The old Atlas stuff is pennies on the dollar- people bin it routinely. Miserable failure, even with the finer, RP 25 sort of flanges. Tried filing out frogs to no end, didn't make a bit of difference what I did to it. Thus,
I had always assumed EZ track would never, ever work with any age of Britannia. When the Electra came to life, and actually behaved herself, for once, I could have been knocked over with a feather. Simply could not believe my eyes; every thing British I own worked so much better on it.

Very limited choices for track work, but then I have to admit I am a bit limited anyways, so it all works out.

[Bufferstop]

That sort of voltage drop appears to be mostly an AC thing.

It's there alright but not so apparent when using DC control. Driving a train with a DC controller involves a highly sophisticated feedback loop, the Mk1 eyeball. If there's a bit of extra resistance, the eyeball spots the train slowing and passes it to the brain, which before you've had chance to think about it, orders the hand to move the regulator. Almost identical in fact to the loop involved using the right foot to control an automobile. The best a DCC chip can do is monitor the back EMF across the motor, and adjust the cut off point of the AC waveform. I don't know what the clock speed of the DCC processor is, but I bet muscle memory beats it.

[Chops]

Useful info. Ergo, one extra bus wire to a distant sector might do the trick.