PECO SL-300f N Scale, Code 55 Wood Tie Flex Track

[glakedylan]

Greetings! I hope your holiday season will be blessed.

I have a question about the PECO SL-300F N Scale, Code 55 Wood Tie Flex Track. Are the Code 80 rails sunken into the ties? I'm particularly concerned about compatibility with older trains with larger wheel flanges.

I prefer using the PECO track over Kato, but the ability to accommodate larger flanges is crucial for me.

Thanks!

Gary L Lake Dillensnyder
PRR Schuylkill Division

[randgust]

Short answer, yes, sunk into ties.   It's a double rail base, one is at the Code55 level, the second rail base is at the C80 level and sunk in the plastic.

You don't have either spikes or tie plates on the inside rail (gage side), nothing to hit with flanges.

I love the stuff.   It's incredibly rugged.   You can gripe about the ties and spacing, but you won't break the rail off either.   And I've mated it up with C80 by putting a joiner on the bottom base, and if you grind off the bottom base you can mate it with other C55.

No tie slop like Atlas C80 either.   Stays where you put it.

I use it everywhere I can, including my Ttrak modules between Kato ends.   I paint mine though, spray the track light aircraft gray, weather the ties with tie stain, paint the rail dark or roof brown.   

[robert3985]

Peco55 N-scale track is Code83 (Eighty Three).  It's not Code80.  I assume it's that way because it has something to do with Peco's excellent HO scale Code83 track products...or maybe they wanted that additional 0.003" to be sunk into the ties for extra holding capability.

Yeah, it IS a bit nit-picky, but...let's tell it like it really is...it's Code83

As far as compatibility with older flange sizes...it definitely WILL accommodate old, way oversized, pizza-cutter flanges without any spikehead interference. 

In my experience, Micro Engineering Code55 flex will also accommodate older pizza-cutters without interference, but, I have not run EVERY old Eastern European manufactured engine and car ever made on it.  I use original Kadee (now Micro Trains), 3-piece, metal axle, rib-backed pizza cutter wheelsets in various original Kadee N-scale truck frames with talgo Rapido couplers mounted on them to test for flange clearance.

Interestingly, these old pizza-cutters will also run without any interference on hand-laid PCB Code40 trackage, but definitely NOT on ME Code40 flex.

Here are the spec's:

(1) - Kadee original 3-piece, metal axle, rib-backed wheelsets have pizza cutter flanges that are .035" deep
(2) - Atlas55 flex flange clearance from top of the railhead to top of the blobs (supposedly representing spikeheads) is .033", meaning that original Kadee pizza-cutters won't roll on Atlas55 track because the flange clearance is .002" too shallow.
(3) - Micro Engineering Code55 flex flange clearance from top of railhead to top of spikeheads is .0365", giving .0015" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(4) - Peco55 flex flange clearance from top of railhead to the top of the inside little rectangles (supposedly representing spikeheads) is .045", giving .010" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(5) - Micro Engineering Code40 rail (actually .043" high) soldered to PCB ties every fifth tie with wood or Styrene ties between the PCB ties, has a flange clearance of .043", giving .008" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(6) - Kato Unitrack Code80 "rails" flange clearance is .050", giving .015" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.

If you have older engines with pizza-cutter flanges, I would take your digital calipers and measure the flange height of all the wheelsets on these engines, just to make sure you don't have some ancient model that has huge flanges that are over .044" tall if you want to go with Peco55.  I strongly suspect you won't find any wheelsets with grossly oversized flanges that won't run on it. 

When I decided to build two six-foot Ntrak modules using Rail Craft (now Micro Engineering) Code70 flex for the mainlines, and Rail Craft Code55 flex for sidings, and a large industrial spur, I wanted to make sure that when buckled up with other Ntrak modules from various parts of the country, that anything would be able to run on my modules without flange interference problems, so I had the local members bring their most egregious large-flanged Eastern European, British and Japanese models to see if there was going to be any problems on my 6' test module I cobbled together...and they all ran just fine...no flange interference at all.

Several years later, when I decided to built my Echo Junction/Echo Canyon modules to the club's new, non-Ntrak standards, I used Rail Craft Code55 flex for the mainlines, and hand-laid Code40 for the Branchline yard and Branchline main, and I was surprised that the same club members' extra-large flanged models would run without any problems on hand-laid Code40.

Note that I used Rail Craft Code55 flex and early Micro Engineering Code55 flex on these modules, and that sometime after I had purchased all of my Code55 flex for my future layout, Micro Engineering's injection tool (mold) wore out, and they made another, with taller spikeheads unfortunately.  Still, my measurements were done using the new ME Code55 with the taller spikeheads, and my older Kadee pizza-cutter test-trucks, even with only .0015" of flange clearance, roll just fine on the new ME Code55 flex...but won't roll at all on Atlas55.

Hope this takes any guesswork or unverified assumptions out of the decision-making equation.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Point353]

(1) - Kadee original 3-piece, metal axle, rib-backed wheelsets have pizza cutter flanges that are .035" deep
(2) - Atlas55 flex flange clearance from top of the railhead to top of the blobs (supposedly representing spikeheads) is .033", meaning that original Kadee pizza-cutters won't roll on Atlas55 track because the flange clearance is .002" too shallow.
(3) - Micro Engineering Code55 flex flange clearance from top of railhead to top of spikeheads is .0365", giving .0015" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(4) - Peco55 flex flange clearance from top of railhead to the top of the inside little rectangles (supposedly representing spikeheads) is .045", giving .010" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(5) - Micro Engineering Code40 rail (actually .043" high) soldered to PCB ties every fifth tie with wood or Styrene ties between the PCB ties, has a flange clearance of .043", giving .008" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.
(6) - Kato Unitrack Code80 "rails" flange clearance is .050", giving .015" of flange clearance for original Kadee pizza-cutters.

NMRA standards specify a maximum flange depth of 0.035" for "deep flange" wheels and 0.022" for "scale" wheels.

[woodchip]

It's the Tardis of track. Small on the outside big on the inside , you have the appearance of Code 55 but it's able to cope with older product that requires code 80 and is compatible with straight code 80 track. I measured a pieces with a non digital micrometer and it measured 0.080". Straight code 55 looks a whole bunch better but operationally the Peco is great.

[robert3985]

It's the Tardis of track. Small on the outside big on the inside , you have the appearance of Code 55 but it's able to cope with older product that requires code 80 and is compatible with straight code 80 track. I measured a pieces with a non digital micrometer and it measured 0.080". Straight code 55 looks a whole bunch better but operationally the Peco is great.

N-scale rail varies from stick to stick, from production run to production run. 

My post wasn't guessed at, but was derived from measurements I took with both my digital and my analog calipers, as well as my precision analog Mitutoyo micrometer.

Actual measurements on my three sticks of Peco55 flex and my two Peco55 turnouts, which are samples only and not used on my layout, come in between 0.085" and 0.0835".  That's using two analog 6" calipers, two digital 6" calipers and an analog micrometer.  Measurements taken at the same points on my Peco55 samples with my different calipers and with my micrometer yield the same measurements, so there's no variance between my measuring instruments.

Interestingly, the height of separate pieces of RC & ME Code40 rail yields results between 0.044" and 0.0405", so whatever process is used to produce nickle silver model railroad rail isn't consistent with either Peco or Micro Engineering.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore