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The sections of 16.5mm gauge track compared here are manufactured by Gaugemaster, Peco and C&L using Nickel-Silver rails and plastic moulded sleepers. All four types have `wood effect' sleepers, The railchairs holding the rails onto the sleepers are incorporated into the plastic sleeper base and keep the rails held to *16.5mm gauge. The railchairs are portrayed with a varying amount of detail on the four types of flexible track compared here, other differences include sleeper spacings, gap below rails and depth of sleeper `timbers' as well as depth of rail and wheel flange clearance depth.
*16.5mm gauge. Flexible trackage in any scale will suffer from slight gauge narrowing on sections of track laid on curves, the amount of gauge narrowing that occurs on tight `minimum radius' curves is such a negligable amount that it is not normally worth worrying about. Some modelling scales employ gauge widening on curves following prototype railway engineering practice, when such exacting prototypical accuracy is required on a model railway hand built track would be assembled from individual components allowing for gauge widening to be incorporated easily, Re-gauging readymade track on curves tighter than the reccomended 3ft radius is an option on short sections, IE: gasworks, goods yards, tramway etc,. Re-gaugeing can be done reasonably easily with the aid of a sharp scalpel to carefully slice the railchairs off the sleeperbase and a few spots of cyano-acrylate or Zap-a-gap (Super Glue) to refit them using a track gauge or measuring device to ensure the correct dimentions are adhered to, I use two vernier callipers, one digital and one analogue to set track gauge as required. I would suggest trying this sort of modification out on a few scrap lengths of track before attacking curves on a layout!.
The difference in sleeper spacing is most noticeable when different types of track are laid in close proximity. I would not advise mixing track and point/crossing types on visible scenic sections due to the difference in sleeper spacings. It is common for exhibition layouts to use C&L track and SMP points & crossings on the viewed scenic sections with Peco or Gaugemaster track and points in the fiddle yard and sections hidden from view.
There are several makers of points and crossings in 16.5mm scale, I would suggest that Peco ready built points should be used to match with Peco flexible trackage in Code 100 (standard) or Code 75 (fine). If You are using Gaugemaster flexible track Peco points and crossings will be a close match.
For those of You not entirely happy with the incorrect sleeper spacings used on Gaugemaster and Peco track, points and crossings, I would reccommend C&L flexible trackage and SMP points which look much closer to full size prototype track as used in the U.K. SMP points are available pre-built as `ready to lay' units or as a kit allowing for the track to be built up to suit requirements from simple points to complex detailed points & crossings.
Most of the currently available models will run on the flexible trackage shown here British 4mm scale (OO), European, American and Japanese 3.5mm scale (HO), and various combinations of gauge and scale used to portray narrow gauge or metre gauge railways. Some of the older models have large profile wheels with deep flanges that strike the railchairs on finer trackage, EG; Early Hornby and Triang models will require wheels to be changed or reprofiled to run on Code 75 rail but will run without modification on standard Code 100 trackage. The difference in overall height between track using code 75 and code 100 rail can be made up by packing below the code 75 track to bring the rail tops up to the same level as the code 100, permanent electrical connection can be made by soldering the ends of the track together or by providing seperate current feed wires to both the code 75 and code 100 track sections. All four types of track can be joined using standard conductive or insulated track joiners except where mixing rail type (code 75 - code 100) There are now special `adaptor' rail connectors available for joining code 75 rail to code 100 rail although I have not tried them myself. (yet)
Painting the sides of the rails does seem to take a long time, especially when painting both sides of the rails, some modellers only paint the `visible' side of the track but this means that photographs taken from anywhere but the front viewing side of the layout will show unpainted shiny silver track sides which spoil the illusion. It is best to paint Both sides of all track used on visible scenic sections and the first few inches of track entering tunnels.
The type of paint and methods used vary greatly, I would advise using a thinned enamel or celulose paint for portable layouts, these paints will require a sprinkling of talcum powder onto the paint while still wet to produce a matt finish once dried, By not treating some track with talc a gloss finish can be retained where the track needs to look wet (near water columns) or oily (fuelling depot, sheds and workshops). Layouts that will remain in a fixed location can be painted with acrylic paints which dry to a matt finish thus obviating the need to apply talcum powder. It is easiest to paint the sleepers first followed by painting the sides of the running rails with a basic track colour, this gives a finner appearance to the rails making the track fit in better with it's surroundings. The basic effect is further enhanced by adding darker patches around pointwork, crossings and other track equipment. It is best to examine photographs of prototype trackwork before and during the painting process for better realism. (Note: try to use images from the period You are trying to portray as track colouration varies widely dependant on its location and use. The colour and condition of mainline track varies (often greatly) from less frequently used branch lines, sidings and yards. There are a number of products available specifically for painting and detailing trackwork. There is no reason why the railchairs (and railchair fixing bolts) cannot be painted for that little bit extra detail. I have painted individual railchairs on some of the 9mm gauge track on my British N Stoneybridge West layout to good effect, although I did decide to reserve the addition of railchair fixing bolts for 4mm or larger scales only ;-)
NOTES
The observations, advice and recommendations on this page are entirely my own views on available 16.5mm gauge flexible track and are published here as a simple guide to help prospective layout buildiers and modellers decide on which track best suits their own particular needs.
Special thanks to Paul Mays of Motorail Books for allowing me to mess up his counter to photograph the different types of track for this page.
Copyright Notes
