ME code 83 #6 turnouts

[Anonymous]

So I am looking for a substitue to Walthers #6's as they are on infinite backorder. I purchased a Micro Engineering #6 to see how it would blend with the rest of the stuff (Walthers #5's and #8s with Atlas track) The ME turnout is a thing of beauty, however the rail does not match the other code 83 track (both Atlas and Walthers match seemlessly) The ME is thinner (in width) and not as tall, you can see and feel the difference, so did I get a code 70 rail in a code 83 box? or is ME 83 just off from the others?

[tstage]

knukonceptz,

I would assume that the ridge is quite noticable then. I've noticed very slight ridges with mating tracks, even among the same manufacturer. If the rail is thinner then you may have inadvertently gotten the Code 70 my mistake. Do any hobby shops in your area carry the Walhers/Shinohara turnouts?

Tom

[Anonymous]

Try these guys. If they wont ship, I can pick them up for you and ship them to you if you want. This is the biggest LHS for trains on the planet.

http://www.caboosehobbies.com/

[Anonymous]

I'll post a few pics later, it has to be code 70 as the rail heads are even thinner. Walthers thenselves is out of the DCC friendly version, I need quite a few. I would go with the ME in a heart beat as I do like them better (although their price is not so pocket friendly) Hopefully it is just a error in packing and their code 83 will match others.

thanks

[wp8thsub]

You probably did get ME code 83 rail, unless you're seeing a truly huge bump at the joints. It doesn't exactly match either Walthers or Atlas, neither of which always matches the other for that matter, as I found on a friend's layout where he's using Atlas flex with Walthers turnouts.

ME rail is much closer to scale profile than Walthers or especially Atlas; the web and head are narrower. If you want to verify the size of the rail, try some calipers or even a metric ruler. You should be able to tell close enough which code of rail you have.

I haven't used any of the new ME "DCC friendly" turnouts, but had 16 of the earlier ones on my last layout. I was initially impressed by their appearance and by the smooth operation through the frogs, but the warm fuzzy feeling didn't last. I found these turnouts required far more maintenance attention than handlaid or Walthers/Shinohara, and had problems with point assemblies disintegrating and frog castings coming loose from the ties. One of the code 70 ME turnouts I bought actually had two pieces of code 83 for closure rails, a fact I didn't discover until after the thing was installed in the middle of a yard ladder, so you may want to check all of the rails in yours to ensure they're the same size.

Before I got too excited about using more ME turnouts, I'd want to see serious improvement in quality control. I don't think their flextrack is made by exactly same people who do the turnouts, and I've never noted quality problems with the hundreds of feet of it I've purchased over the years.