Hi: After 15 -20 years of being out of N Gauge modeling I am getting back into it. I thought I would be able to dust off my old layout, update it, and with the exception of switching over to dcc be ready to roll. I can only tell you that after sitting for 15+ years, acctually hanging in the garage, the track and ties are so brittle that they just about crumble at the touch of a hand, the cork road bed just flakes off, and even some wireing for the turnouts just falls out at the touch of a finger.
So the decision was made, lets start over. New layout design, slightly bigger board (going to 10 1/2' x 5' - old board was 4' x 8'), and wiring from the getgo for dcc.
My question is about turnouts. I want to get an idea of the current feelings toward Peco turnouts vs Atlas??. I was told that the Peco N gauge turnouts are a fairly new product for them (HO gauge has been around along time) so I am wondering what the concensus is on the quality of the Peco N gauge turnouts vs Atlas.
I also was interested in feedback on their switch machine that plugs into the bottom of the turnout. I want to have mostly automated turnouts. My club uses tortoise switch machines and while they seem to work very well, can be a challenge to mount, especially when you have a support in the way. The Peco switch machines are much less expensive and from the pics in the literature look to be a lot easier to install.
Lastly on the Peco turnouts, they have "Insulfrog" and "Electro-frog" style turnouts. The literature seems to indicate that the insulfrog are easier to install but that the electo-frog might be better in dcc but required more involved wiring. I would like to know what some of you may have found in using these two styles in a dcc layout.
Dwight77
So the decision was made, lets start over. New layout design, slightly bigger board (going to 10 1/2' x 5' - old board was 4' x 8'), and wiring from the getgo for dcc.
My question is about turnouts. I want to get an idea of the current feelings toward Peco turnouts vs Atlas??. I was told that the Peco N gauge turnouts are a fairly new product for them (HO gauge has been around along time) so I am wondering what the concensus is on the quality of the Peco N gauge turnouts vs Atlas.
I also was interested in feedback on their switch machine that plugs into the bottom of the turnout. I want to have mostly automated turnouts. My club uses tortoise switch machines and while they seem to work very well, can be a challenge to mount, especially when you have a support in the way. The Peco switch machines are much less expensive and from the pics in the literature look to be a lot easier to install.
Lastly on the Peco turnouts, they have "Insulfrog" and "Electro-frog" style turnouts. The literature seems to indicate that the insulfrog are easier to install but that the electo-frog might be better in dcc but required more involved wiring. I would like to know what some of you may have found in using these two styles in a dcc layout.
Dwight77