We moved from a house where my Marklin layout covered 12x4 feet to a home where I am able to almost double the total layout area.

This weekend I started to lay out my C-track for the 1st level and it went amazingly fast.

Unlike any other track I have worked with in HO, O or HOm gauge, Marklin C track is phenomenally well-engineered and is so easy put down and connect.

The geometry and engineering makes everything fit even if there is a rudimentary plan of your layout.

It just blows me away and makes me so happy to decided on going the Marklin route about 10 years ago instead of using other manufacturers.

Great job, Marklin!

Larry

Hi Larry,

Yes - I agree as well. I made a small review of C track a year ago, and it just has so many advantages.

https://www.marklin-user...k-review.aspx#post344376

It's a well engineered piece of German technology.

Brgds -Lasse

Hi Larry,

Not bad, sounds like there is a lot more room for those great C-tracks to work with!

Enjoy!

I have this problem only with old pieces of C track (10+ years old), tracks from the last 10 years are not brittle and last very long (new recipe of plastics used).

These are minor details common to most track types. Have you ever tried to solder a wire to a fishplate for 2 rail track, or tried to insulate two adjacent tracks using m track?

I think the red insulators are an elegant solution, and my 50+ year old fingers have no trouble with them.

The red insulator can be a bit fiddle, but there is trick to get them on. Sometimes the metal tabs are a bit wide to slide into the narrow opening of the insulator. So just bend the metal tabs slightly togther using a plier and they will more easily slide into the opening.

I disagree regarding soldering. I think it's much easier soldering on C tracks than on M or K tracks.

When doing the contact tracks it can pay off to try several tracks to find the best suitable where there is natural gap between the rails, else you may have to resort to dremel to ensure the outer rail does not touch the adjacent rail.

Brgds - Lasse

C track is great as long as it is new.

Unfortunately I started buying C track in 1997 shortly after it was introduced and I was working in Asia on a project. Each trip to Singapore resulted in more boxes of C track being purchased for my "future retirement project". Earlier this year I also bought a large local Maerklin collection containing C track in boxes that had never been opened.

As luck would have it the first 2 pieces I clicked together had little grey parts flying off. A few more tests had the same result. Not believing what I was seeing lead me to this forum in the first place to see if others had the same problem. Wouldn't you know it, but it was a common known problem of poor plastic in the 1996-early 2000 era and all my rows of white boxes have track from 1996 or 1998. So having approximately $1,500 worth of this "miracle track" makes me feel lucky when I can assemble 2 pieces that don't have the locking clips break off. I don't dare take them apart.

On eBay purchases it also warrants asking the seller to identify the year the track was made, since a few purchases of "brand new" C track have arrived with the 1996 date stamp on the bottom and the same breakage.

So enjoy it while it is new and hopefully 10 years down the road we won't be complaining about the C track that was manufactured in 2010.

I for the most part have stopped buying C track and have reverted back to K. At least that way I can also benefit from flextrack!

Cheers
Peter