Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
I have had Atlas Custom Line turnouts on my layout since 1988 and only one has failed(out of 43). The current Mark IV is what most of them are, and they are rock solid. A little filing on the tip of the points and a mill file to the frog to get rid of the 'blackner' is all I do. I have just started on the branch line and I am using Atlas code 83 trackage as well. BTW, Atlas now has a #8 code 100 turnout.
If I was building a new layout, I would use the Atlas code 83 from the start. I have seen several layouts with it and they are now 7-8 years old - run fine!
Jim Bernier
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
You might want to check out the thread titled "An open letter to Atlas" in the general disc. section. Lot's of guys are checking in there to tell of their Atlas experience.
FWIW, I have always used Atlas track products and have no intention of changing at this point.
Capt. Grimek wrote:Thanks Blue Hills I'll recheck that thread. (I read some of it a few days back about locomotives).Have you been using Atlas for many years? I put my old partially build layout in the oft flooded damp dank cellar through an environmental test :-0 for 18 yrs. and the switches (Mark IIIs) seem to move fine. Thanks.
Admitted the thread I mentioned wanders a bit but I thought I recalled some members chiming in regarding Atlas track products. I thought that may have been a place to pose your question as well?
Atlas is mainly what I have used for trackage over the years. I did have some other track that came in sets but the track/turnouts I have purchased have always been Atlas. My first layout, (a 4'X8') was built when I was twelve or so. That would have been about 1975. I was away from the hobby in the late eighties but returned in the mid 90's to build my second layout, (a T 12'X6'X4'W) and used much of my original track. Sadly that layout came to disaster when I moved and had no place to put the 3 layout modules...they ended up getting snowed/rained on, which pretty much destroyed the scenery. I managed to slavage some track & turnouts from the mess. Now I am starting to build my sons first layout and I will use some of the turnouts from the destroyed layout for that. They seem to operate flawlessly in spite of what they were through. So my experiences with Atlas have been positive.
I can't comment on the filing of turnouts other than to say I have read that most if not all commercial turnouts require some fine tuning to be perfect. I have yet to file a turnout myself but then maybe I'm not as picky as I should be.
For the money Atlas works just fine for me.
Just my
Hi,
I just purchased a bunch of Atlas #8 code 100 turnouts. What a headache they have become from day one. Number one, the loco is jarred quite a bit (sort of like going over a speed bump) when it goes over the notch in the rail. Number two, the loco drops down when it goes over the frog. And number three, once you get your loco over the switch points it is hit or miss if the current will flow into the loco. I remember back in the 70's they made a much better product with none of these problems.
I wouldn't hit my dog with these switches.
Thanks, Hansel
Hansel wrote: Number two, the loco drops down when it goes over the frog.
Number two, the loco drops down when it goes over the frog.
LOL. I purchased a large number of Atlas code 83 #6 turnouts about 5 years ago. The problem back then was that the frog was set too high and one needed to grind the frog surface down a bit so that the engine did not ride up on the frog and loose contact with the rails.
Now is sounds like Atlas is setting the frog too low.
There is a reason why Atlas turnouts are the lowest price on the market (by as much as 50%). You get what you pay for. The manufacturer has transferred the fine tuning work from the factory to the end user. You can get them to work but you have to do the work
-John
rustyrails wrote: Hansel wrote: Number two, the loco drops down when it goes over the frog. LOL. I purchased a large number of Atlas code 83 #6 turnouts about 5 years ago. The problem back then was that the frog was set too high and one needed to grind the frog surface down a bit so that the engine did not ride up on the frog and loose contact with the rails.
The frog is still too high AND it has a pit. They do need some owner tweaking. I feel the weak point on my code 83's is the throw bar. The way the point rails connect to it aren't the greatest. I've seen people put pieces of .010 styrene between the rail and the throw to keep it from over throwing. I had some old code 100's that worked fine for over 8 years. My new code 83's have been down for over 2 years and other than one that I messed up, they are working fine.
P.S.-Stay away from their crossing tracks. REALLY loud and bumpy. Try and use Walthers/Shinoharas. They are worth the extra $$$!
I have not been using Atlas since 1988, but I can tell you that i have wasted over a ton of big bucks and many months of hard work trying to use Peco and handlaid turnouts because of all the negative feedback on this forum and others about how bad Atlas turnouts are.
I am now using Atlas code 83 flex with Atlas #8 mark 4 turnouts (I have a few Walthers code 83 in the mix) and I am a very happy camper. My layout is only 40 x 15 and I only have 20 turnouts on the mainline but turnouts are no longer a headache for me.
My lesson learned for code 83, pick a supplier of flex track that you like and buy their turnouts. Atlas, Peco and ME rail are different and do not join seamlessly. While the Walthers do work well with Atlas flelx, there is a about .020" difference in tie height that you have to deal with.
Go to the train shows where the fellows have modular railroads that they tear apart and put back together and you'll find ~80% or more of them use Atlas code 100 with Peco Code 100 turnouts, which, unlike code 83 are quite compatilble.
More details of my trials and tribulations on my BLOG
If I were to start over today, I'd use code 100 with peco and never look back. It just works and looks fine if you do a little detailing and ballast work.
Just my 2 cents
Joe Daddy
joe-daddy wrote:Go to the train shows where the fellows have modular railroads that they tear apart and put back together and you'll find ~80% or more of them use Atlas code 100 with Peco Code 100 turnouts, which, unlike code 83 are quite compatilble.
I went to a show and saw a modular that used Peco C83. It seemed to run fine but I hated the way it looked. (that's just personal preference) It's funny because they say it's made to North American track standards, but I thought it looked really European. That show was the reason I went with Atlas.