Great Flextrack Battles: Peco vs Microtrains

I bought some MicroTrains Z flex track several years ago for a project that never got off the ground and never opened the box. I remember being surprised when it arrived as the lengths were quite short (12.5 inches, about 30cm) so I figured it might be a bit useless for its intended use.

So I bought some Peco for Wassen. If you've used their N scale stuff before this will be familiar in operation even though it comes in two-foot sections so is a little shorter than the N lengths.

MicroTrains (L) and Peco (R)

Looking at the track now that I've used them both, I guess the MT looks finer and more prototypical with its sleepers. The Peco looks like N track with the rails closer together. I'm not really expecting Z track to look too perfect when viewed up close.

Chunkadelic

Peco

I used the Peco first, working my way up from the base level to Wattinger curve, and across the middle Meienreuss viaduct. I like that the track is long so you don't need many joins which often put funny kinks in flex. The long lengths also flow nicely - you can pin the ends and let the track find a nice smooth curve.

It has trackpin holes cast into the sleepers, but they don't go right through from the bottom to the top. I guess this is to avoid unsightly holes in your sleepers. The downside is that you have to remember to punch these through with a pin or small drill from below before you start placing it down.

You need to buy rail joiners.

MicroTrains

The wee foot-long sections of MT track were deployed in the right hand spiral after the supply of Peco was exhausted.

Despite my concerns about these shorties, I was pleasantly surprised how good they were in this application. While the Peco sleepers don't grip the track tightly (so its springy, flexible and flows well),  the MT in contrast needs to be forced into shape with more effort, but it stays in shape once bent. This makes it quite good for tight curves as its not constantly trying to unwind itself back into a straight. I bent each piece into a fairly tight curve, chopped off excess rail length, soldered them up and then eased out the curve to the required radius.

The track has trackpin holes and comes with just enough rail joiners as long as you don't cut the track or lose any.


In Summary

Horses for courses - I prefer the MT in curves and like its look overall, but I do like the Peco is less tight applications for its length and springiness. The rails and rail joiners from both manufacturers seem to mate up ok.

Strangely, the MT sectional track has a gray plastic fake-ballast base, so using MT flex with it requires shimming. Same goes for using either with Rokuhan. I haven't used any Marklin track yet.

Peco - 24 inches long, lists at 110 USD for a box of 12. Seems to be available for about $13 NZD a section. Ironhorse hobbies had some in stock.

Microtrains - 12.5 inches long, 10 bits in a pack lists 55$ USD

Peco for smooth swirls, Microtrains for tight curls