Just starting in N Gauge after many years in G Gauage. Building a shelf railroad with loops on each end (bit like a dog bone). notice the T-Trak clubs are using Kato Unitrack. What is the difference between Kato Unitrack and Bachman EzTrack. Looks the same to me .... any different in price, quality, do they connect together?
Kato Unitrack is WAY better IMHO. I had $2,000 or so worth of Unitrack before I moved to HO from n scale, 30 turnouts, 4 double crossovers, all remotes, never had a problem. Well, actually I did not care for the #4 turnouts. Some larger locos had ocasional issues with them. Bachmann Eazy Track suffers from QC issues. Bachmann is making some wonderful steam locos these days. Kato makes fine locos of all kinds. I hope this helps :D
Links for pricing, just one store I deal with;
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/N-Scale-E-Z-Track-s/2104.htm
This place is a world of n scale help;
http://www.nscale.net/forums/forum.php
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/N-Scale-Unitrack-s/2105.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=2105&show=300&page=1
What did you do with all the Kato Unitrack ?????? Shame you didn't go to G Gauge we could have done a swop :)
I built my first layout using Unitrack and it was pretty much bullet-proof. I also have some HO Bachmann track got with a Thomas train to use with the grandkids. Not so impressed with the Bachmann track. (The Thomas set came with steel track and I also bought some nickel silver track. Neither was the quality of the Unitrack.)
Richard
Backman can be fine (after a lot of work), Kato is ussually fine right out of the box, worth the extra funds in my opinion.
One thing to keep in mind is with Kato Unitrack, the gray part represents ballast. It will look better with a touch of weathering (powdered charcoal, black chalk, or a dark wash). However, the gray part of the Bachmann track is meant to be the roadbed under the track. The gray part is smooth plastic. They expect you to lay the track, then add ballast over it.
In any case go with Kato Unitrack! It is very reliable and the Unijoiner system does not only take care of a good match between sections, but also ensures good electrical connectivity.
Although the roadbed resembles ballasting, you can improve the looks by painting the track and re-ballasting it. I did that with my previous N scale layout and while it is a little tedious, the result is worth the effort:
Hi cockney123
Bachmann EZ track just like Bachmann G track bin job.
The Kato Uni track is a high quality product but I personaly would not use it.
I don't like the molded base it looks too toy train to me, I prefer the good old fashioned sleepered track layed on cork and ballasted with a suitable ballast.
Ez track and Uni track as far as I am aware will not join to gether two entirely different methods of conecting the base together.
Two of my "N" gauge friends are using the Kato track and they swear its the best .and they are building a large layouts so it is worth concidering
regards John
I started with N scale EZ track. Admittedly I had ripples from the Woodland Scenics paper backed grass matt I put down on my 30x60" particle board base. I flipped the board over painted it green and sold the Bachmann track and bought the Kato M1 oval. I am much happier with the quality of this track and set. I am going to repurchase the Bachmann DCC locomotive. I returned the original due to poor packaging. It began lurching only a couple days after purchasing it. I returned my Bachmann DCC controller and am going to get Digitrax Zephyr in it's place. So in 2023 track choice is still relevant. I'm sure the question is elsewhere but which do you think is better NCE Power cab or Digitrax Zephyr or some other?
Zak1966I flipped the board over painted it green and sold the Bachmann track and bought the Kato M1 oval. I am much happier with the quality of this track and set.
Yes, Kato Unitrack is a much better product.
You should probably start a new thread for your DCC question.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Why not micro-engineering track?
As I returned to model railroading I wanted something simple to test out my older equipment. Since much of my older locomotives were Kato (boxed for over 20 years) and was of the opinion that everything Barfman was junk I bought a selection of Kato track to put together a test layout. It was nice since the sections snap together with no need to do much fastening down on a temporary setup.
Recently I expanded some and placed everything on the floor so I can run longer trains on the wider curves. Also to help visualize the grades I picked up some bridge sections and did a dog bone with one leg passing over the other. The selection of Kato bridges is limited and I really liked the appearance of a certain Tomix bridge so I ordered two of them from Japan. Naturally it took some adapting to get Kato-Tomix connected but with the help of my 3d printer and an Exacto blade that was completed and here comes the point of my post. The bullet train I was running (DC only) was rather noisy, not really a problem since I also run Lionel where wheels on steel make a racket. However when I added the two Tomix 24inch arch bridges I noticed a serious drop in the noise level as the bullet trains moved from the Kato bridges and across that Tomix section. I'm not about to scrap all my Kato track and switch to Tomix but I'm curious if anyone else has noticed the noise differences. Bullet trains are something new to me but they distract the grandkids from the detailed (more fragile) sections I saved from my older switching layout.
Once I work out some more details the regular layout will be built with MicroEngineering code 70 which I used on on my previous layout.
Mike in NC,
Zak1966I'm sure the question is elsewhere but which do you think is better NCE Power cab or Digitrax Zephyr or some other?
You are crossing the line into religion. I have the Power Cab, I like the ergonomics of the hammerhead and the expandability of the system. I would not say you made a terrible mistake and wasted money if you choose the Digitrax.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley