Just a few things I noticed using Bachmann EZ Track...maybe it will help someone else using it too.
All the points of the turnouts need filing to reduce the number of derailments.
All the rail ends need filing as almost all rail ends have metal burrs from fabrication/cutting during production.
Trying to glue the ballast down is a task I have yet to master. Trying to get the ballast to stick onto the plastic side of the roadbed requires a 2:1 water/glue mixture. Brushed on very liberally, I still found areas where no ballast adheared to the roadbed. I'll need to go back and touch-up those places to create a more uniform look.
The track sections snap together well, but not uniformly. Some snap better than others and leave little or no gap between joined sections. And since the rails are very hard to move, you can't really slide a rail forward to minimize the gap between track sections. I might try soldering then filing between the rails to reduce the number of derailments caused by some of my more fickle cars. (Ironically, I noticed that the more expensive the car (MicroTrains etc.)- the more prone it was to uncoupling or derailing. The really old and cheap stuff runs fine. I guess all this means I don't have my track "tuned" to the next level yet allowing the better rolling stock to work as well as possible).
Some turnouts work better than others. The Bachmann EZ Track Layout book available at most LHS gives a good suggestion about cutting off the snap connections of the turnouts so they can be removed for easy maintenance/repair. Wish I would have done that with one of mine...I can't figure out why it moves correctly but won't stay firmly in position allowing all the cars to travel over the points without derailments.
The turnout switches have no means of fixed attachment to your train board. The back of the plastic switch box is flat enough so that I used industrial velcro (available at any hardware store) and velcro'd them to the trainboard, that way I can move them when necessary.
Overall, the trains sound like they are running over pastic - which of course they are. The entire track is not as quiet as its corkbed cousin. But I'll downplay this fact because I built my whole layout on a hollow door to allow easy and light weight movement. I think the plastic roadbed transfers the sound of the running trains to the hollow door well. I imagine a solid structure like plywood would not transfer the sound/vibrations as well.
I'll stop rambling now. If there's anyone else out there with Bachmann EZ Track experience - write about it. If I haven't already noticed the same problem, I probably will soon and will need your experience. Thanks.
All the points of the turnouts need filing to reduce the number of derailments.
All the rail ends need filing as almost all rail ends have metal burrs from fabrication/cutting during production.
Trying to glue the ballast down is a task I have yet to master. Trying to get the ballast to stick onto the plastic side of the roadbed requires a 2:1 water/glue mixture. Brushed on very liberally, I still found areas where no ballast adheared to the roadbed. I'll need to go back and touch-up those places to create a more uniform look.
The track sections snap together well, but not uniformly. Some snap better than others and leave little or no gap between joined sections. And since the rails are very hard to move, you can't really slide a rail forward to minimize the gap between track sections. I might try soldering then filing between the rails to reduce the number of derailments caused by some of my more fickle cars. (Ironically, I noticed that the more expensive the car (MicroTrains etc.)- the more prone it was to uncoupling or derailing. The really old and cheap stuff runs fine. I guess all this means I don't have my track "tuned" to the next level yet allowing the better rolling stock to work as well as possible).
Some turnouts work better than others. The Bachmann EZ Track Layout book available at most LHS gives a good suggestion about cutting off the snap connections of the turnouts so they can be removed for easy maintenance/repair. Wish I would have done that with one of mine...I can't figure out why it moves correctly but won't stay firmly in position allowing all the cars to travel over the points without derailments.
The turnout switches have no means of fixed attachment to your train board. The back of the plastic switch box is flat enough so that I used industrial velcro (available at any hardware store) and velcro'd them to the trainboard, that way I can move them when necessary.
Overall, the trains sound like they are running over pastic - which of course they are. The entire track is not as quiet as its corkbed cousin. But I'll downplay this fact because I built my whole layout on a hollow door to allow easy and light weight movement. I think the plastic roadbed transfers the sound of the running trains to the hollow door well. I imagine a solid structure like plywood would not transfer the sound/vibrations as well.
I'll stop rambling now. If there's anyone else out there with Bachmann EZ Track experience - write about it. If I haven't already noticed the same problem, I probably will soon and will need your experience. Thanks.
Yeah, I do have some that I used last year to set up my Christmas display, but that's it.
