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Offline kaanair  
#1 Posted : 08 June 2017 16:29:47(UTC)
kaanair

Turkey   
Joined: 01/12/2015(UTC)
Posts: 5
Location: Istanbul, Istanbul
Hello everyone,

I have small layout and can u recommend Piko A track for new stuff loco like a brand of Trix,Roco,Fleischman ? (2 rail )
No more any brand track expect Piko, where I am located online hobby stores in my country.

(I used 3 rail Marklin K track another layout and this time I would like use 2 rail for more realistic grass or etc.... )

Thank you
Offline sjlauritsen  
#2 Posted : 08 June 2017 17:49:07(UTC)
sjlauritsen

Denmark   
Joined: 18/08/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,081
Location: Denmark
My personal experience with PIKO A-track is that the built quality is not on par with the tracks from Roco or Tillig.

If I had to choose, I would choose Roco-Line track over PIKO. I find the track to be very robust, durable and the flex track is easy to use. The turnouts are well built and very durable. PIKO is not bad, but the build quality of the turnouts is as good compared to Roco. The Tillig track is also very nice, the turnouts look awesome, but the Tillig track is very much alive and can be rather flimsy to install.
Søren from Denmark
Blog: https://railway.zone/ | Danish Model Railway Forum: https://baneforum.dk/
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Offline baggio  
#3 Posted : 10 June 2017 03:03:31(UTC)
baggio

Canada   
Joined: 21/09/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,729
Location: Toronto
Originally Posted by: kaanair Go to Quoted Post
(I used 3 rail Marklin K track another layout and this time I would like use 2 rail for more realistic grass or etc.... )


Why don't you use the K track for 2 rail? It IS possible to do and if nothing else you can give it a try and see how you like it.

K track does have some issues at turnouts, especially for some 2 rail locos, but overall it works. My Piko loco did not have any problems with the K track. One Roco diesel loco would not run over the turnouts in at least one direction.

You could even use 3 rail and two rail using the same track layout, but NOT at the same time. I have done it in analogue and the digital experiment was also successful after some tinkering.

There should still be one or more threads on point in this forum that I started.

Hope this helps.

Silvano.
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Offline baggio  
#4 Posted : 10 June 2017 03:14:26(UTC)
baggio

Canada   
Joined: 21/09/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,729
Location: Toronto
You may want at this thread on point - starting at item 13 that contains pictures of my former layout.

Dual layout and K track
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Offline Goofy  
#5 Posted : 10 June 2017 07:25:52(UTC)
Goofy


Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC)
Posts: 8,993
I recommend Tillig Elite code 83 tracks.
Roco is good but the rail is very hard to soldering like Märklins K tracks.
Märklins K tracks is not good to use like two rail.
I have heard about Piko but never tested it.
Peco has more better quality in the rail than Tillig.
But Tillig do have more realistic turnouts.

It´s all matter of taste for the tracks.
For me i use Tillig Elite code 83 as first place and Peco second place.
There is another company name Weinert who also produce two rail tracks.
Weinert do have more advance tracks and they are really good looking!
But theirs turnouts are large!
The minimum are 333 mm in length.
H0
DCC = Digital Command Control
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Offline applor  
#6 Posted : 10 June 2017 10:51:11(UTC)
applor

Australia   
Joined: 21/05/2004(UTC)
Posts: 1,653
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
If I were doing a 2 rail layout I'd go Tilig elite or peco code75.
modelling era IIIa (1951-1955) Germany
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Offline MaerklinLife  
#7 Posted : 11 June 2017 06:22:05(UTC)
MaerklinLife


Joined: 03/02/2016(UTC)
Posts: 490
Another great thing is that you can just combine things. You do not have to choose a particular brand, just go with what you like. If the Tillig turnouts looks awesome, use them. If Tillig does not have a particular turnout, use the Roco one if they have it. It all works together.

The idea is to look at the code of the track: Code 83 is the most widely used. I suggest sticking to that running continental European with NEM wheels.

Code 75 looks great, but may cause trouble with wheel flanges not designed for it.

PIKO is code 100 (higher rail) so is the Märklin K track. Code 100 can look over sized, but PIKO makes their rail a bit thinner which gives the illusion of a smaller rail. There are code 83 to code 100 converter joiners available.

I cannot recommend the Märklin K track. It is not designed for 2-rail. It may work, but waaay better options are available.

For comparison Märklin C track is code 90. Trix C track is code 83 (like Roco and Tillig).
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Offline Goofy  
#8 Posted : 11 June 2017 09:00:35(UTC)
Goofy


Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC)
Posts: 8,993
Originally Posted by: MaerklinLife Go to Quoted Post

Code 75 looks great, but may cause trouble with wheel flanges not designed for it.

For comparison Märklin C track is code 90. Trix C track is code 83 (like Roco and Tillig).


Peco code 75 fits perfectly with NEM wheels.
Trix C rail are made of new silver but the ballast is made of plastic and are very noise.

I recommended TS to visit youtube and check Piko A-gleis.

H0
DCC = Digital Command Control
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Offline hxmiesa  
#9 Posted : 12 June 2017 09:46:38(UTC)
hxmiesa

Spain   
Joined: 15/12/2005(UTC)
Posts: 3,519
Location: Spain
@Baggio; I know your preference for the dual use of Märklin K-track, but unless you are a specialist (or a masochist, -or both), I wouldnt recommend doing that. The two wheel-standards are really quite different, and my experience with rolling stock on my layout indicates that you will never have 100% safe running when using 2-rail wheels on 3-rail track.
You can never be sure that any new stock will be compatible with your layout, until you actually try it.

Whereas changing to 3-rail wheels for 3-rail running is rather easy on all brands, making sure that your new 3-rail wheels are ISOLATED can be a problem, if you want to use the rolling stock for 2-rail running on a 3-rail track.
Changing to 3-rail wheels for 2-rail running on 3-rail tracks of the motorized stock might not even be possible.
In any event; Is this something that one would want to burden oneself with, in the future?
Best regards
Henrik Hoexbroe ("The Dane In Spain")
http://hoexbroe.tripod.com
Offline baggio  
#10 Posted : 12 June 2017 14:15:01(UTC)
baggio

Canada   
Joined: 21/09/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,729
Location: Toronto
Originally Posted by: hxmiesa Go to Quoted Post
@Baggio; I know your preference for the dual use of Märklin K-track, but unless you are a specialist (or a masochist, -or both), I wouldnt recommend doing that.

-- Personal choice -- as to my being a "masochist: LOL

The two wheel-standards are really quite different, and my experience with rolling stock on my layout indicates that you will never have 100% safe running when using 2-rail wheels on 3-rail track.

-- You need to distinguish between tracks. K track CAN be used for dual running of trains - with some limitations. The advantage is that you can run both sets of trains on one layout. That is a huge advantage. More on point below.

You can never be sure that any new stock will be compatible with your layout, until you actually try it.

-- Again, you need to look at what track you are using.

Whereas changing to 3-rail wheels for 3-rail running is rather easy on all brands, making sure that your new 3-rail wheels are ISOLATED can be a problem, if you want to use the rolling stock for 2-rail running on a 3-rail track.

-- Normally, the problem is running Marklin wagons on a 2 rail set up not the other way around. I understand that in some more complicated layouts , however, those involving sensors, the switch is not so smooth and you do need to change the two rail wheels to 3 rail to run on a Marklin layout. My layout is simple, so I don't have to worry about that.

-- If I use C track, as I normally do, there has never been a problem in running 2 rail wagons with original wheels.

-- If I use K track, at some turnouts, there may be the occasional problem with wagons, I do not remember with certainty. I do remember one diesel 2 rail loco having major problems on a K turnout. The little 30000 had some issues there, too.

Changing to 3-rail wheels for 2-rail running on 3-rail tracks of the motorized stock might not even be possible.

-- I am not sure why you say that. Please explain.

In any event; Is this something that one would want to burden oneself with, in the future?


-- Absolutely. As I said above, if one has a K track layout and is willing to put up with some of its quirks and limitations, the reward will be the ability to use both systems without having to have two layouts - this is HUGE if one does not have a lot of space.

-- Personally I no longer use K track, because I hate the way it comes apart and the difficulty of assembling it. BUT, for someone who does not have such a concern, using K track may be the answer.

-- Regards.
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Offline hxmiesa  
#11 Posted : 13 June 2017 15:04:50(UTC)
hxmiesa

Spain   
Joined: 15/12/2005(UTC)
Posts: 3,519
Location: Spain
Originally Posted by: baggio Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: hxmiesa Go to Quoted Post

Changing to 3-rail wheels for 2-rail running on 3-rail tracks of the motorized stock might not even be possible.

-- I am not sure why you say that. Please explain.

Fair enough;
Normally 3-rail wheels should not be isolated, although some of the wheels used to adapt 2-rail waggons to 3-rail are.
BUT; for motorized units, it is close to impossible to get ISOLATED replacement wheels for 3-rail. (In other words; You would have to rely on the loco being able to work on 3-rail track with 2-rail wheels, with practically no posibility to adapt it (easily))

Capisci? ;-)
Best regards
Henrik Hoexbroe ("The Dane In Spain")
http://hoexbroe.tripod.com
Offline baggio  
#12 Posted : 13 June 2017 18:58:04(UTC)
baggio

Canada   
Joined: 21/09/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,729
Location: Toronto
Originally Posted by: hxmiesa Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: baggio Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: hxmiesa Go to Quoted Post

Changing to 3-rail wheels for 2-rail running on 3-rail tracks of the motorized stock might not even be possible.

-- I am not sure why you say that. Please explain.

Fair enough;
Normally 3-rail wheels should not be isolated, although some of the wheels used to adapt 2-rail waggons to 3-rail are.
BUT; for motorized units, it is close to impossible to get ISOLATED replacement wheels for 3-rail. (In other words; You would have to rely on the loco being able to work on 3-rail track with 2-rail wheels, with practically no posibility to adapt it (easily))

Capisci? ;-)


Not really. My personal experience has been to have Marklin wheels exchanged on Marklin wagons that do not draw current and put them on the 2 rail portion of my layout and have had no problems with that.

With locos, once you convert a 2 rail loco to a Marklin loco there are no problems - and if there are this is news to me - but I doubt there are.

With respect to special circumstances where you need isolated wheels in order to be recognized by some sensor or signal, that may be different but I have never done it. In this case, I wonder if mixing Marklin wagons with original wheels with 2 rail wheels would resolve the problem. Perhaps by putting the Marklin wagons either as a first wagon or as the last wagon or both.

Entiende lo que digo, senor? LOL
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