Installing EZ track

[Donald Short]

I am new, very new to model railroading.  I started installing Atlas track, NCE powercab.
The trains runs ok but because of the very poor job on installing the track, the train derails a lot.  I am repping it all out and want to retract with EZ track. I would like to see a video of how to instal, glue the track, and wire to my existing table buss wire.   Any guidance and hopefully directions to a video.

[jward]

You could spend a fortune replacing your track with something else, and  possibly run into problems with that as well. Or you could go over the track you have, find out what's making the trains derail, and correct the problems. Model railroading is a learning experience, and you learn nothing if you don't find and fix problems as they arise.

Some problems will arise no matter what track system you use. What locomotives are you trying to run? What cars? What radius of curve are you trying to run these on? What surface is your track laid on? Is it flat and sturdy or is it uneven? Does your track have lateral twists in it, where one rail is higher than the other in certain spots?

Where exactly are your trains derailing? On curves? On straights? At the switches? Do you have visible kinks in your track or are the joints smooth? Are all the rails properly seated within the rail joiners?


Answering these questions will help you determine where your derailment problems lie.

[trainman203]

HO scale trains are very different than the old fashioned larger scale toy trains that used to go around Christmas trees.  They are more delicate in every aspect you can name. Nothing can stand up to the abuse and crude handling that Lionel an American Flyer Trains took it in stride.  The least little irregularity in track will derail the train.  Mechanisms have much smaller parts that can chip or break in any of multiple places very easily.  I received my first HO train set when I was 12 and it went immediately onto a plywood table. But I knew people who got similar sets who tried to set them up on carpet and they could never stay on the track, and got boxed up and put away fairly quickly. Good for me because I bought most of that stuff from them cheap.

[Yard Master]

Hi Donald,

I think the replies above have some good advice. I will say that if you are new to model railroading, E-Z Track is a great track system to get started with. We have a few E-Z Track how-to videos on our YouTube channel that show the basics of assembling E-Z Track. We also have various how-to videos for the E-Z Command DCC system that show how it interfaces with E-Z Track, and you may be able to adapt this advice to use with your NCE system.

You might find our E-Z Model Railroads book to be helpful.

Good luck!

[Ralph S]

In my opinion all of the previous responses are good.  I used to have all Atlas track, and still use them in small places on my layout.  So don't rid yourself of the track you already have.  If you do decide to move to EZ track, that track you already have will come in handy in the future.

Good luck and have the most fun of all....modeling till your hearts content.