Track suggestions

[Barkmi4]

Morning all,

We’ve finally moved and I’m now looking to buy some new track.  
To date I only have Lego track, a few pieces of ‘Wilko’ track (thrown in with a marketplace buy), and 1 pack of Felph track from Amazon.  I wouldn’t recommend either.

I’ve purchased some trixbrix straights from Amazon which should turn up tomorrow.  It costs a bit more but there’s no shipping costs.

With being in the U.K., shipping from both trixbrix and Bricktracks is expensive. Techbrick isn’t much better as their prices are inflated.

Ultimately I think I’ll order from both companies.  Trixbrix offer geometry that you can’t get elsewhere which is very appealing, and Bricktracks offer wheel-sets and injection moulded r104 switches.  That said, I’ll inevitably have some 3d printed parts so I’m not too worried about having 3d printed r104 switches.

I’ve discounted FX as I have no 9V equipment.  Whilst it is appealing to have metal rails, at the moment switches and DCC motors aren’t available, and the cost is just too high in comparison.  I won’t be running at shows, and a few sets of rechargeable batteries is a far more cost effective way for me to enjoy the hobby.

For now, I don’t plan on building a set layout.  Tracks will be placed on the floor and different layouts created dependant on time/space/mood.  I’m fortunate enough to have 2 empty rooms currently, both approx 3m x 3.8m, connected by a 4m landing.  

I’ll likely use R104 switches on any mainlines. But, I have a few questions I’d like advise on/to hear others experience;

Those in the U.K., where do you order from (post brexit) and why? 
Those in the U.K., in what quantities do you order in (financially) to minimise shipping/import tax?  Trixbrix states that for orders over £135 20% will be refunded to pay the courier VAT on delivery.  The flat ~£19 delivery charge seems high.  Equally shipping from BrickTracks is high (circa 17%), and I’ve no idea if import tax will be payable on delivery too, and the relevant thresholds.  Has anyone found cheaper ways of sourcing these parts?  I know H.A. Bricks are the European distributer, but their prices are inflated and their shipping is also steep (€45 euro for 4 switches).

Those that have both Bricktracks and trixbrix R104 switches, which do you prefer? Any observations? I noted the Bricktracks has both a turn in and turn out curve, whereas trixbrix has a single type of ballast curve suggesting minor differences in switch geometry..?

Any arguments not to use R104 switches on mainline (I.e. not yard spaces)?

And the big one, what radius curves would you suggest using?
I’d probably start with the focus of having parallel tracks and expanding from there. Part of me is inclined to get R56 and build out.  R56 is more cost effective but I’ve no idea if these are much better than r40? The other side of me thinks R104 - I don’t really have a reason other than if switches are made using this they should be gentle enough to take at full speed.  But then do you build out or in?  Very interested to hear opinions.  I’m not particularly bothered about mimicking real world, more interested in something usable and enjoyable.

Any thoughts on numbers and types of switches to purchase and have a play around with? Noting the shipping costs I’d like to make a large order, just unsure on what to actually buy.  I really like the look of the double slip switches and triple switches.  It goes without saying I’ll need a number of standard switches too - but no idea how many to make a playable layout.

Thanks for reading and any input in advance.

[koraldon]

Not familiar with the switchs, but I’m very happy with my trixbrix injection molded straights S32 and curved R56

[Moz]

Ask me again on Monday night, I have a Fedex delivery from TrixBrix scheduled for Monday. Assuming the floods don't stop that happening. They've stopped me cutting plywood for new tables to put my new track on, since I have to do that outside (or in the kitchen, which might lead to me not being allowed in the house for a while...)

I've seen the 3D printed 4D Bricks stuff in a youtube review and it did not impress me. There's an Oz guy printing it here so I'm sure I'll see some at meetings once I start looking for it. But the general rough look and the need to hand-sand it to make it run properly, plus some of the switches in Alex's review not working makes me a bit dubious.

This review:

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Moz

[Ts__]

I have many tracks/switches from Trixbrix from 3D printer in use and also many tracks/switches from Brick Tracks in injection molding technology and therefore allow me to compare them ;-)

Trixbrix 3D printing:
+ high variety of different radii/switch types.
+ sleepers for turnouts follow the radius (better optic)
- 3D printing surface, clamping force of the studs and counter studs
- motorization of turnouts more complex (linear movement), but feasible
- Geometry: more different special elements for rail yards needed (R104RC, RC1, RC2)

Trixbrix injection molding (only a selection of curves/straights)
+ Quality better than from Brick Tracks (accuracy of fit)

Brick Tracks injection molding:
+ surface, clamping force of studs and counter studs
+ Geometry: Brick Tracks gets by with fewer special elements for rail yards, curve R104B and the 1/10 intermediate piece is enough
+ Motorization with indicator easier (rotary movement)
- fit accuracy. You can't build the turnouts and the 1/2 straights completely underneath, in one place a stud doesn't fit from below into the tracks and you have to use tiles there.
- sleepers at turnouts do not follow the radius (worse optics)
- Turnouts are easily destructible (construction weakness), so handle with care. Especially with motorization

Conclusion for me:
- I prefer injection molding over 3D printing.
- for switches I prefer to use the ones from Brick Tracks (even if they are not perfect). Better surface, direction indicator easier to build
- for straight lines/curves I find the injection molded tracks from TrixBrix better

 

Background: 1x Y-Switch from TrixBricks, motorized

Foreground: 2x Switch from Brick Tracks, motorized

 

 

9x Switch from Brick Tracks, not motorized:

 

I can contribute less to the topic of import tax. In the EU, this is not a problem or issue through TrixBrix from Poland and HA-Bricks from Holland. GB has unfortunately chosen a special path.

Regarding the curve radius: in my case, all switches/curves are designed for at least R104. I don't see the point in building switches with R104 and then using R56 curves. The reason for R104 are my long wagons/locomotives in scale approx. 1:45. This looks bad on R40 and not every locomotive of mine can still run on R40.

Thomas

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Ts__

[Matt Dawson]

It's a complex one.

Bricktracks
For me, I use HA Bricks for my Bricktracks imports - closer to the UK than Bricktracks HQ, and just as reliable. I've placed either two or three from HA (both track and wheels/axles etc) and both have arrived in a very respectable time scale, including the dreaded import analysis. Unless it's something specific only Bricktracks (or a US reseller of BrickTracks can offer, e.g. Brickmania) then I would 100% use HA Bricks. 

TrixBrix
What few pieces I do buy I generally buy from Techbrick. The faff of ordering from TrixBrix isn't worth it. If the cost difference seems to be an issue, try emailing Techbrick and explain what you want to order and see if they can offer a discount.

Others
One thing I would say is you're no longer limited to the R40 and R104 turnouts - Bricktracks designed an R56 turnout available via OKBrickWorks which provides a nice medium between the two, and similar to the (upcoming) "P64" 9V turnout from FX Bricks.

With regards to finish, Bricktracks > Trixbrix (moulded) > Trixbrix (printed) or OKBrickWorks (printed). TrixBrix quality can be very hit-and-miss, regardless of injection or 3d printed; OKBrickWorks have upgraded their printers to PLA(?) over the last year so are a lot better now with minimal layer lines. 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Matt Dawson

[Barkmi4]

Thanks for the responses.  On a related note Bricktracks has ~17% discount on for 4th July celebrations if anyone is interested.

The trixbrix double straights arrived today and I’m very impressed.  The double length is great for assembly of layouts too.

I think I’d rather injection moulded switches over 3D printing.  By the time you’ve bought the same from trixbrix as you get in a BT set it’s about the same product cost.  R104 seems the best option for switches as R40 is too tight, and any in-between (56, 68, 72) are frankly more money - I have the space so r104 seems like the no brainer.  
I think I’ll order 2 switch packs and some wheels/axles from HA.  The shipping is actually a lot cheaper for 2/3 switches over 4.  

Still not sure what radius tracks to go for though, so interested to hear thoughts.  Noted Thomas’ comment about R104 being roughly in line with 1:45 scale.

Does anyone in the U.K. have experience placing an (import) order over £135 post brexit? Do you have to pay 20% VAT + 2% customs + processing fee?  Best I can make out that’s how it works.  Supposedly it’s £8 fee with Royal Mail and more with other couriers.  
Trying to work out if it’s better to keep below the threshold and pay more in shipping, or less in shipping and more in tax.  

Thanks again

[Moz]

 

5 hours ago, Barkmi4 said:

not sure what radius tracks to go for though, so interested to hear thoughts.

For me it's about space. R104 is ~1.8m diameter which really constrains what I can build since my layout has to be at least semi-portable. I'm in the process of switching over to tables 3 modules x 1 (~2.3x0.8m) which will hopefully be a good compromise between irritatingly small and unmanageably large. (making a 5 x 3 module table with a 3x1 hole in the middle).  Way too much time in BlueBrick plotting layouts, and the TrixBrix order is an R72 oval plus bits to give me a layout that fits my current 2.4m x 1.2m table, while hopefully letting me run 1:45 scale trains without too many issues. My current layout really struggles once a wagon gets more than about 40 studs long. 

Top layout is pure Lego, and the obvious gap is a section of flex track. Bottom layout has light grey TrixBrix parts. Both fit on 2.4 x 1.2m sheet of timber (4x8 feet) and have two loops plus some storage. The Lego track is kind of ok for a locomotive with one or two 40+ stud long cars, but more than that I get derailments. I have been tempted to get the router out and cut a (1.2m less 16 stud) circle then run flex track round it, but a sketch using cardboard says flex track isn't great for that (albeit I only have about 20 flex segments so that's 1/4 of a circle).

[zephyr1934]

17 hours ago, Barkmi4 said:

Still not sure what radius tracks to go for though, so interested to hear thoughts.  Noted Thomas’ comment about R104 being roughly in line with 1:45 scale.

Get bluebrick, map out the spaces you plan to build in, and then start playing with layout ideas to figure out what you want in terms of track

Only go 9v if you plan on using track power. Otherwise, not worth the cost nor the limited number off track configurations available.

For curves, the right radii depends on what sort of trains you build, how you want to run them, the space you have, and cost. The longer your train cars are the more you are going to want/need wider radii. Probably the majority of layouts have single or double track mainlines, so you will probably want to pick two radii to focus on (but if you want 3 or 4 main tracks, never mind). What is nice about two neighboring radii is that the adjacent tracks start and end their curves at the same location. Odds are, you'll either want as tight as possible (R40+R56) or as large as possible (R104+R120), but I wound up with R72+R88 for my 9v loops just because R72 was the first radii available. Now that I have it, I like it much better than wider radii for this space because my room is 12 ft x 12 ft. Larger curves would have given me almost no straight segments between the curves. For bigger spaces I like R104+R120 because most trains look so much better on them. But if you are mostly building small, e.g., two axle cars and 0-6-0 steamers, then the large radius curves are probably too big for your needs. At any rate, I could see an argument for R88+R104 because you can have your outer track branch off to leave the loop from a curve. If you are focusing on running rather than switching (and are not ballasting the track) you might want to break up your straight segments with 22.5° bends (equivalent to two R40 curves) to make it more visually interesting.

While R40 switches are tight, they also save a lot of space, I really like the R40 yard offering from TrixBrix.

I think the standard 16 long straight is around $1.50 in the US from Lego these days, which is a pretty good price.

R40 switches from Lego are probably the cheapest switch option, but they work best for making a parallel siding.  You can also modify or buy modified lego switches to make crossovers or continuous curves. MODing them yourself is probably cheaper than TrixBrix options, but you trade your time for saving money. On the plus side, you have injection molded parts.

Personally, I think injection molded looks better than 3D printed if both are available, but 3D printed gives you unusual geometries that are amazing.

 

17 hours ago, Barkmi4 said:

The trixbrix double straights arrived today and I’m very impressed.  The double length is great for assembly of layouts too.

Someone recently showed me a TrixBrix injection molded double straight on a baseplate and said the length was off by a few mm. If you are planning on ballasting you might want to test the double longs to make sure there are no problems. Presumably someone here in this forum has more experience and could comment on whether they've had any problems with these parts.

 

 

[Ts__]

4 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

Someone recently showed me a TrixBrix injection molded double straight on a baseplate and said the length was off by a few mm. If you are planning on ballasting you might want to test the double longs to make sure there are no problems.

The TrixBrix double straight fits into the grid with a little more push. Not perfect, but also no problem.

In my picture above are tens of these double straight with substructure installed.

Thomas

[Moz]

I have my TrixBrix order! So of course I had a little break from work to put it together :)

First impressions are that the injection moulded sections click together slightly more strongly than Lego does, and they're as nice as Lego - smooth, fit well, and the trains run very happily on them. A double 60337 "fast train" will do full speed loops of the R72 oval without any problems at all. It goes over but doesn't like the R40 crossover any more than it likes Lego's R40 switches. The Emerald Express shown is also fine with it. As expected the R72 loop just barely fits a 1.2m wide board, it's technically 1.22 from memory.

But the free gift of a double length straight track is slightly oversize compared to a Lego baseplate. It's only the width of an "O" on a Lego stud, but enough to make it hard to attach to a baseplate. The link below has a photo, including a composite showing the offset between attached at not attached (I over-saturated the unattached image to make it more obvious). But without a tripod and ideally a macro lens it's a bit fuzzy, sorry.

The 3D printed crossover and switches are clean enough for 3D prints, they work, but they're fragile. The "firmer click together" with TrixBrix injection moulded parts means you need to be careful not to bend or break the little tabs that overlap to make the rails. At least the one I mishandled bent rather than breaking. I would be willing to pay a bit more to get injection moulded parts.

Bigger image and baseplate shots here: https://imgur.com/a/2izDZAO  (sorry, handheld photos with cellphone so they're not as clear as they could be)

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Moz
more details

[Barkmi4]

Personally I’d say the length difference is around a hair’s width, or less than 1/10th of a mm.  My rule has 0.5mm markers on it, and any difference, at least to my eye, is well below that.  Few photos linked; https://www.flickr.com/gp/193389511@N06/h3i8Y4  When I’ve placed my rule on the ends of the track and held up to light I can just about see light coming through where the end of the Lego rails meet the rule.

I think I’ll go for 104, 88 and maybe some 72’s.

At some point in the distant future I might make a layout and ballast, but for now money is going on track and parts.  I have 3 built, and 3 unbuilt BR MK1 carriages 42 long by 7 wide, which are pretty heavy, with the rolling resistance of square wheels (BlueBrixx wheels/axels - avoid!).  Desperate for some bearing wheel sets for these.  As you can imagine they struggle on R40.  Planning on building a 3 set of 53ft well cars, and 5 set of 40ft well cars too, so wide radius will be a must.

I like the geometry offered by trixbrix.  Double slip, Y, triple switches.  I can see me using the R40 yard switches at some point too.  Some great work by Matzzo - geometry corner gets me very excited.. https://mattzobricks.com/lego-track-planning/track-geometry .

Thanks for all input.  If anyone has experience on the below that would be appreciated too.

On 7/2/2022 at 10:06 PM, Barkmi4 said:

Does anyone in the U.K. have experience placing an (import) order over £135 post brexit? Do you have to pay 20% VAT + 2% customs + processing fee?  Best I can make out that’s how it works.  Supposedly it’s £8 fee with Royal Mail and more with other couriers.  
Trying to work out if it’s better to keep below the threshold and pay more in shipping, or less in shipping and more in tax.  

Thanks again

 

[Polarlicht]

I ordered some Trixbrix stuff yesterday. I can't wait to try this stuff out. They look really good from what i have seen in videos and such.

Would love to have bigger curves than the standard R40, but space is a big issue there.

Also their narrow gauge tracks, with all sorts of shapes, look awesome as well...

This is what i ordered in standard gauge

Right Switch R40 | €12.00 2 pcs.
Left Switch R40 | €12.00 2 pcs.
Triple Switch R40 | €18.00 2 pcs.
Right Switch Curved 45 deg. R40 | €15.00 2 pcs.
Left Switch Curved 45 deg. R40 | €15.00 2 pcs.
Curved Track R40 (half) | €2.00 3 pcs.
Crossing 90 deg. Long 2x | €15.00 1 pcs.
Crossing 90 deg. Short 2x | €12.00 1 pcs.
Double Straight Track Set - 10 pcs | €23.00 1 pcs.
Half-Length Straight Track Set - 10 pcs | €15.00 1 pcs.
Straight Track 1/10 | €1.00 2 pcs.
Straight Track 1/16 | €1.00 2 pcs.
Straight Track 2/16 | €1.00 2 pcs.
Straight Track 3/16 | €1.00 2 pcs.
Straight Track (quarter) | €1.50 2 pcs.
Buffer Stop | €3.00 5 pcs.
Curved Cross Track R40 | €6.00 1 pcs.
Wye Switch R40 | €16.40 1 pcs.
Double Slip Switch R40 | €21.00 1 pcs.