Just dont try to shove the foot long cars through the small 4's the offsetting will tear the couplers apart and derail one or both. Just a fact of the hobby.
I use a very tiny screw driver to work the track sections apart instead of tearing them apart.
Falls, the thing I really liked about Unitrack was the ability to adjust the track plan on the fly, no problem...make changes, check out how they look and operate, and change 'em again real quick if I didn't like it. It's similiar to you in your need to move it around. It's exceptionally adaptable.
And I agree, operationally, not a hitch in moving any cars around. I have some Front Runner cars, the kind with the 48" trailer on them...and they're notorious for derailing, especially on no.4 turnouts. I've had nary a problem with them on Unitrack, nor the Unitrack No 4s. It's a very smooth and tight sectional track.
Flextrack isnt an option in my situation. The room has a 1 inch drop to one wall which creates a uneven grade. Benchwork will compenstate for it. Kato is used because I will add on a new train/workshop in the future and it will then be necessary to migrate the track to it's final location.
Besides the quality is good enough that I can haul 25 cars forwards and backwards at any speed without derailments.
Falls, can't wait to see your layout when you get it done! We need to see some nicely detailed Unitrack layouts to get people off our backs. I too am getting a bit ambitious with Unitrack. I'm ballasting the edges and weathering the track with and India ink wash, both of which take it up a notch. Just think it will be extremely tough if not impossible to ever get it up to hand ballasted track level of look, which is Ok for me because I've decided to be ambitious but not a perfectionist...I'm balancing priorities.
But to that point of the compromise that one does inevitably make with Unitrack...if nothing else the switches - working with Uni switches, as great as they are operationally - they just look kinda clunky compared to hand laid switches. And Falls, if you ballast over the entire track..the question I have is why not just go with flextrack? The downside of Uni is that you generally have a lot more points on contact that electrical current needs to go through, despite how effective the Uni connections generally are. And if you ballast over the track, it will be tough to work the ties in.
Yards, you can work with...I'm just raising the yard level to the height of the plastic ballast and filling the area with cinders and such...just the rails need to show in a yard anyway.
One thing that a poster said on a different thread on the forum just a few minutes ago, that I do disagree with, Unitrack doesn't look half bad, but it does indeed look a lot more than half good. Too many people just slam it without giving it it's due, and it's a great option for those with different priorities.
LGBFan123 wrote: I have a modest business of model railroad layout building and I have chosen to go with Kato Unitrack for the track product. My layouts from design had to be portable and movable, so I opted for a roadbed/track instead of flex and ballasting. I have tried and tested many different track brands, but the Uni-joiner wins by a far margin. It is a real plug-and-play system. Note: the rails are Code 83 in HO which have a beautiful low profile and the roadbed has painted ballast relief which , to my eyes, looks as good as Marklin's C track but much less expensive.If you go with the Unitrack, remember, you still need a sub-roadbed system. I recommend none other than Vinylbed brand roadbed products. Check out there site...www.vinylbed.com , they must cut to order so it takes a couple weeks to get the product but it is much superior to cork or foam. Cork is inexpensive and looks good (under the kato unitrack you want a beveled sub roadbed material) but cork will crack and crumble in the long run. The other material is Woodland Scenics black foam--this works good too, but the black color is very unpleasing to the eye. Also, foam isn't as friendly to many fasteners (glues, adhesives,etc.) so... In comes Vinylbed, you can use a glue gun to mount it, you dont need to make a split down the middle like with foam (a BIG pain in the ***!) and the look is quite nice--but if you dont like the look--you can paint it with any latex paint! So, there you have it--my "roadbed trade secrets" that have took me to the four corners of the earth to unravel and years of frustration with the popular methods! Warm Regards, Tom P. Metzgermetzgertrains@yahoo.com
I have a modest business of model railroad layout building and I have chosen to go with Kato Unitrack for the track product. My layouts from design had to be portable and movable, so I opted for a roadbed/track instead of flex and ballasting. I have tried and tested many different track brands, but the Uni-joiner wins by a far margin. It is a real plug-and-play system.
Note: the rails are Code 83 in HO which have a beautiful low profile and the roadbed has painted ballast relief which , to my eyes, looks as good as Marklin's C track but much less expensive.
If you go with the Unitrack, remember, you still need a sub-roadbed system. I recommend none other than Vinylbed brand roadbed products. Check out there site...www.vinylbed.com , they must cut to order so it takes a couple weeks to get the product but it is much superior to cork or foam.
Cork is inexpensive and looks good (under the kato unitrack you want a beveled sub roadbed material) but cork will crack and crumble in the long run. The other material is Woodland Scenics black foam--this works good too, but the black color is very unpleasing to the eye. Also, foam isn't as friendly to many fasteners (glues, adhesives,etc.)
so... In comes Vinylbed, you can use a glue gun to mount it, you dont need to make a split down the middle like with foam (a BIG pain in the ***!) and the look is quite nice--but if you dont like the look--you can paint it with any latex paint!
So, there you have it--my "roadbed trade secrets" that have took me to the four corners of the earth to unravel and years of frustration with the popular methods!
Warm Regards,
Tom P. Metzger
metzgertrains@yahoo.com
Tom, that Vinylbed site is interesting, took a look and they seem to have great products. Though with Unitrack, the "optional" subroadbed vinyl seems like overkill. I think you can accomplish the same drainage ditch look using thin foam where necessary, or additional ballast spread (I mix Kato ballast with WS fine gray ballast and a bit of cinders to make the extra ballast go farther with the $ - the Kato ballast is $$$!!!)...and not everywhere on a track plan do you need a constant drainage ditch look. I find no noise issues with Unitrack using foam. And since Unitrack lays a little high as it is, adding the second vinyl subroadbed may just augment that.
If I was hand laying track (which I might in the future), I think I would use the Vinylbed roadbed, it looks great indeed...but one of the major points of Unitrack for most people is not to have to mess too much with separate roadbed laying and the sort. If you're going to go to that level of detailing extra drainage, why not go all the way and make the track look ever more realistic by laying flex track and ballasting? After all, you're going to have to ballast and/or scenic the extra subroadbed anyway. For as much as I'm a Unitrack fan, it's clear that it doesn't touch hand ballasted track for realism. At least I've never seen a Unitrack layout that looked as realistic as a good job of hand laid, hand ballasted track. And this, again, from a Unitrack user and fan.
Make a loop and all need to mirrior each half of that loop to match.
Now if you branched from this loop into a mine... there is no worry about getting it all to fit.
The biggest challenge for me was creating a wye. The result was a monstor and it will be incorperated at a later day. I was thinking of Andy's Draco layout article in MR from years ago (Anyone still have the month and year of that issue?) and I was able to replicate that wye with the kato.
The number 4's I use are electric but they are power routing. At this time I simply insulate the frog RAILS... the inner two rails to each route. Then I set up feeder tracks on all three routes around the turnout and voila! live power for DCC.
The problem then becomes one of placing the insulating joiners far enough from the FROG itself so that if there is going to be a problem the loco can have about a foot to stop.
I may end up buying nothing but number 6's because those 86 foot high cube boxcars bring me to tears when they attempt to cross a 4. I may go either way and restrict the big stuff to the big switches to the industry that serves them.
Power Distribution Blocks is the key to the entire thing and makes it all work electrically.
Remember to mark the underside of your 9 inch feeder track wire plate with which side is blue wire and white wire. You will need to remember to keep all the rails in phase in DCC.
After testing out different types of track for my new layout, I'm going with Kato. I'm impressed with the rail - it's code 83 of course, but it's very narrow; much narrower than Atlas 83 for example. It must be getting close to Proto:87 scale rail !! I've been weathering the track with a brush using NeoLube from the MicroMark catalogue, it's a electronics lubricant (which conducts electricity by the way) that dries to a nice dark gray flat finish. I clean the tops of the rails with a bright boy or something similar so just the tops are shiny. Then I paint about 25% of the ties brown and 25% a dark gray/brown (I think it's Floquil "rail tie brown", but it looks more gray than brown on the ties).
I'm using no.6 turnouts, you can choose whether you want them to be power-routing or not.
I do agree with the earlier post about "N-scale envy". When I moved into this new house in 2006 I looked into moving from HO to N and was amazed at the N scale track and accessories (like buildings with full interiors) that Kato has on their website.
conagher wrote: I have built many HO layouts over the years always using Atlas. My issue with Unitrack has always been it's seemingly too tall roadbed. And with great reluctance, my last small layout (4x8) was built using Unitrack because so many of my friends say they love the conductivity and ease of use---so I figured what-the-heck 'cause the stuff does look good.To eliminate the preception of the roadbed being too tall, I used a hotwire formed to remove about 1/4" of foam beneath the roadbed...I'm using an extruded foam table top...all the way around the layout where ever the track sits. Once I had the right shape, moving the hotwire through the foam was easy and quick.After placing the Unitrack in the newly-formed "trough", I then applied ground cover right up against the Unitrack roadbed. In my opinion, it looks prototypical now....and I love the Unitrack's performance. I'm now a Unitrack fan.
I have built many HO layouts over the years always using Atlas. My issue with Unitrack has always been it's seemingly too tall roadbed. And with great reluctance, my last small layout (4x8) was built using Unitrack because so many of my friends say they love the conductivity and ease of use---so I figured what-the-heck 'cause the stuff does look good.
To eliminate the preception of the roadbed being too tall, I used a hotwire formed to remove about 1/4" of foam beneath the roadbed...I'm using an extruded foam table top...all the way around the layout where ever the track sits. Once I had the right shape, moving the hotwire through the foam was easy and quick.
After placing the Unitrack in the newly-formed "trough", I then applied ground cover right up against the Unitrack roadbed. In my opinion, it looks prototypical now....and I love the Unitrack's performance. I'm now a Unitrack fan.
Bulk up the scenery around the track and literally bury it. Unitrack yard and industry tracks on my road will be buried up to the rails themselves. The mains are allowed some ballast showing with good repair. Lessor tracks will be halfway in between.
A dallop of scenic material here and there and no problem.
I buy my track each month as I need them. They are hideously expensive but are so worth it because derailments are easily traced to operator error, train placement errors or out of gauge wheels.
It's that simple.
As noted earlier in this thread I changed from Atlas Trutrack to Unitrack and I did need some #4's on a couple of sidings. When I researched I found that the manual #4 can be changed to non-power routing and yes it is true. You just change a couple of screws on the back of the switch. I needed some to be powered and so ordered the switch machines. While they are side mounts they look fine.
CN Charlie
I use Unitrack with DCC. My Kato number 6's accomodate anything out in the market today except some of the most largest brass engines with humongous rigid wheelbases 4-12-2's and similar.
The Kato number 4's are power routing but I defeat them with additional feeders and careful following seperating the blue rail from the white and keeping everything just so.
I am up to 28", 31 and some 34" radius because I run big stuff and that is what they need.
I am very early in benchwork, finished with the structures.. except for a few more and will continually add to the layout until I reach my maximum for the space and operations I want to do.
I throw the switches with a Digitax DS64 in DCC.
I dont have much track pernamently down yet but so far 12x7 or so is the space to start followed by a possible 12x22 expansion in the future followed by a final expansion. I dont see any reason to quit using Kato track at this time.
The ballasting takes weathering rather well.
LGBFan123 wrote: gm68 wrote:Here's the deal: I'm going HO, and I've decided, in spite of the limitations, to use sectional track. I really like Unitrack. What I appreciate right away, is that the basic set has almost 22" radius curves. I'm willing to go 5' by 9' to create at least one full loop of mainline that is broad enough for bigger steam locos(Berkshire, FEF, maybe even a 2-10-2). Shame that they don't prepackage track kits in HO the way they do in N! I'd like to hear your ideas, and see what you've done with your Unitrack. I'm getting anxious to start running trains! The Kato Unitrack is superb quality--the plastic is high tech, very flexible unlike Bachmann's EZ track in that it is not brittle. The rub with Kato HO line is that they haven't expanded it as much as the Kato N track line. Still, despite the limited sectional pieces offered , the HO track once put down will serve for years (perhaps decades) trouble-free. Kato brand is in a class of its own for the "all in one roadbed/track" product because of their superior Uni-joiner rail joiner. This beats all the competition for conductivity between joints and for mechanical reliability. I would like to see Kato come out with curved turnouts, additional small curve "make up" pieces,etc. Such a professional system deserves more choices.I have a modest business of model railroad layout building and I have chosen to go with Kato Unitrack for the track product. My layouts from design had to be portable and movable, so I opted for a roadbed/track instead of flex and ballasting. I have tried and tested many different track brands, but the Uni-joiner wins by a far margin. It is a real plug-and-play system. Note: the rails are Code 83 in HO which have a beautiful low profile and the roadbed has painted ballast relief which , to my eyes, looks as good as Marklin's C track but much less expensive.If you go with the Unitrack, remember, you still need a sub-roadbed system. I recommend none other than Vinylbed brand roadbed products. Check out there site...www.vinylbed.com , they must cut to order so it takes a couple weeks to get the product but it is much superior to cork or foam. Cork is inexpensive and looks good (under the kato unitrack you want a beveled sub roadbed material) but cork will crack and crumble in the long run. The other material is Woodland Scenics black foam--this works good too, but the black color is very unpleasing to the eye. Also, foam isn't as friendly to many fasteners (glues, adhesives,etc.) so... In comes Vinylbed, you can use a glue gun to mount it, you dont need to make a split down the middle like with foam (a BIG pain in the ***!) and the look is quite nice--but if you dont like the look--you can paint it with any latex paint! So, there you have it--my "roadbed trade secrets" that have took me to the four corners of the earth to unravel and years of frustration with the popular methods! Warm Regards, Tom P. Metzgermetzgertrains@yahoo.com Say, I'm going to contact you via email for some business, I think...
gm68 wrote:Here's the deal: I'm going HO, and I've decided, in spite of the limitations, to use sectional track. I really like Unitrack. What I appreciate right away, is that the basic set has almost 22" radius curves. I'm willing to go 5' by 9' to create at least one full loop of mainline that is broad enough for bigger steam locos(Berkshire, FEF, maybe even a 2-10-2). Shame that they don't prepackage track kits in HO the way they do in N! I'd like to hear your ideas, and see what you've done with your Unitrack. I'm getting anxious to start running trains!
The Kato Unitrack is superb quality--the plastic is high tech, very flexible unlike Bachmann's EZ track in that it is not brittle. The rub with Kato HO line is that they haven't expanded it as much as the Kato N track line. Still, despite the limited sectional pieces offered , the HO track once put down will serve for years (perhaps decades) trouble-free.
Kato brand is in a class of its own for the "all in one roadbed/track" product because of their superior Uni-joiner rail joiner. This beats all the competition for conductivity between joints and for mechanical reliability. I would like to see Kato come out with curved turnouts, additional small curve "make up" pieces,etc. Such a professional system deserves more choices.
Say, I'm going to contact you via email for some business, I think...
pavalons wrote: Hey gm68, I also will be using HO unitrack for the first time. I am just starting to lay track for an around the walls based loosely on the Red Rock Northern. My last two layouts were traditional flex track on cork and ballasted. I don't care to ballast again and with a little weathering, KATO track looks ok. KATO does now package track plan sets and you can see them here:http://www.katousa.com/HO/Unitrack/customsets.htmlHope this helps.
Hey gm68, I also will be using HO unitrack for the first time. I am just starting to lay track for an around the walls based loosely on the Red Rock Northern. My last two layouts were traditional flex track on cork and ballasted. I don't care to ballast again and with a little weathering, KATO track looks ok. KATO does now package track plan sets and you can see them here:
http://www.katousa.com/HO/Unitrack/customsets.html
Hope this helps.
The Kato HO starter sets , like the WGH set, offer a lot of track but the problem is the curves and turnouts are the #4 series. The curves are only 19 1/4" radius which, for American engines, will no do for most hobbyists these days.
That's the "other" good thing about European HO trains...you can get by with a 40" diameter oval to run the bigger engines....but Kato should really put out a starter pack that caters to the "big-guns" of America with large curves and turnout points for the models.
I did a 4x8 last year using Atlas TruTrack but after about a year of use I decided to make the plunge, ripped it all up and changed to Unitrack. I wasn't happy with the TruTrack turnouts and found I kept getting derailments, and shorts when I changed from DC block control to DCC.
I am very happy with Unitrack and if sectional is what you want, then I think it is by far the best.
If you have a 5x9 you can easily do 24 or even 26 inch radius. Just remember that Unitrack is sized in metric and if you measure in metric it is far easier to use. I speak from experience.
I can only use 22" radius in 4 feet and find that a light Mountain is ok on it but would be better on wider. I have the next size down on an inside siding that is about 19" radius and while the mountain will go around it ok, it doesn't look great. My Spectrum Consolidation looks far better.
Good luck. You won't regret going with Unitrack.
You can buy electric "switch machines" that replace the mechanism in the manual switches and therefore turns them into electric switches. It's a nice aspect about Unitrack. The electronic replacment sections cost about 10 bucks at Don's Trains on fleabay.
My advice on Unitrack is, if you haven't already purchased, stay away from the starter sets, and buy the track sections you need separately. That way you can maximize your curve radius whereever possible. Especially stay away from the starter set that has all 19" radius curve sections...how many super tight turns do you need? Try to stay with the 26, 28 and 31" radius sections for curves. It's incredibly easy to plan and work with Unitrack, and you can ammend your plan quite easily by substituting sections. Plot out a sample layout, and buy the sections separately (they come 4 to a pack). And use the no. 6 switch wherever possible too, for obvious reasons. It's a rather nice and smooth switch. By buying the sections you need, separately rather than in the "starter sets", you save some money and don't have a lot of 22" or 19" radius sections sitting around.
Plus, you may need some of the smaller straight "fitter track" sections, so I advise buy a couple of those because they are useful in making adjustments and getting things fit.
Unitrack is the best choice, IMHO, for those who don't want to mess around with major ballasting. It's a relatively quick fix in getting a layout together. You can, however, ballast the edges of Unitrack, where the plastic meets the plywood or styrofoam, and it goes a long way in making Unitrack look one step better. Add to that a light wash of india ink, and it goes up another notch in realism. Don't be reluctant to weather Unitrack towards your final stages...although it's pretty when new, like all track it will look better weathered.
Final thought from this Unitrack fellow: If you go HO in Unitrack, you'll soon have a bit of "N envy". N scale Unitrack has a lot more options and is clearly the focus of Kato. If your space is small and you like Unitrack, one point of advice would be to look at N. If you are going Unitrack, tt's better to go with N than to be planning HO with the 19" curves. Again, IMHO.