Hi Pops,
I've used EZ track and I don't particularly like it. However, I model HO not N so take that into consideration. Either way, you can get good deals on EZ track if you look around. There is always plenty on eBay so long as you don't try to get it right after Christmas.
The good: It is easy to set up. The bad: it is not proportioned well and the turnouts need a lot of work. The turnouts all must be serviced from underneath, so you have to pull them to work on them. That can be a pain especially if they are part of a yard.
Also, I recommend reading my beginner's guide to layout design early on. You can get to it by clicking on the picture below.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
I recomend as a beginer you check out this site of Stephans, It will take you step by step through the prosses of building a layout! http://fsm1000.googlepages.com/modelrailroading
David
Welcome to the hobby of model trains, Pops. I would suggest that you go to your local hobby shop and purchase any of the various "how to do it" books by Kalmbach, the publisher of Model Railroader and Trains Magazine. Read and digest everything you can find on the subject of model trains.
And if there is a model railroad club in your area, you should consider joining it. You can build friendships with other club members and learn a lot of things from guys who have been in the hobby for a while.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
Welcome to the forum and to the hobby. You already have good advice. Some will say start small and learn the hobby, there are lots of parts to it. Others will say determine what you want and start with that. Give yourself one to three years to get much built.
One big decision it layout style.ie "4x8 tabletop walk around" and "around the room walk beside". Around the room tends to give better running, but you have to have the space.
READ first, and decide what you want. Keep us posted and we will give you more help than you want with each phase of development. It is called the world's greatest hobby for good reason.
Have fun
EZ-Track is fine, but it is expensive relative to flextrack, and the flex gives you infinitely more variation in curvature. I used about 50' of EZ-Track until just recently, including their #6 snap turnouts (switches). I soldered nowhere, and had everything running nicely for exactly one year. Never cleaned the track, either.
EZ-Track is quick and effective, but limits your track footprint to what the curves will allow. On the other hand, flex requires securing, and usually on a form of cork or thin foam roadbed to keep it quiet, especially on hollow doors, ping-pong tables, and flat plywood.
A hint for you. Don't spend any money until you have read and digested lots! Figure out what you want from the hobby from the advantage of learning, and save your cash for purchases that will be useful for a longer period of time. An example would be EZ-Track. Most of us lament investing in it before long. It serves us well for a while, but then it gets cast aside, money value and all, when we realize that we could have so much more.
Another hint. Negotiate now for space, aiming for about 150 ft. sq., more if the winds are right. That way, you will be able to enjoy seeing your trains running around wider curves that will look better, and on a track plan that affords variety...some fast, smooth running as well as some engine servicing and operations.
Welcome to the hobby, Pops. Yer in fer a heckuva ride!
The best thing to do with track is just go with Atlas flextrack. It is a lot more reliable than EZ track if you lay it down reasonably well, you can flex it into any size turn you want, and it is WAY cheaper than EZ track. You are correct that you can do a lot more with N scale in a given space, but N is too small for me. You have to decide what you like.
A good magazine for anybody is Model Railroader. I'm sure you must be able to subscribe from this site or maybe just buy one issue. Also, you should buy some of the Kalmbach books. They have several books for beginners which are packed full of the information you are looking for. I think you can buy them on this site too.
Good luck.
Maybe SpaceMouse will see this. I think he uses EZ track. I have used Kato Unitrack before, which is very similar, but you still have to solder that together for best results. I don't know if the EZ track is any better. Welcome aboard, by the way.