Torture Test of Bachmann EZ Track, North American Range
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:38 pm
I might have posted this over in the "International" forum, but the issue here is that I have found this stuff, that has been around for years, works exceptionally well with all my cherished British OO, whether pizza cutters or finely crafted Rapido or Hornby. As far as set track goes, it probably gets the brush off as it has a shiny plastic roadbed and is not as flexible as other set tracks. The stuff is a boon to blokes like me who aren't particularly gifted at laying set track and the tedious art of ballasting. One imagines that the plastic roadbed can be ballasted well enough, and Bachmann does advertise that fact.
I've been a model train enthusiast since the age of 4, and of British range since the age of 6, whilst living in Shiplake for a year, absorbing the fascinations of Britain, which are everywhere (stick a spade in the ground and one risks turning up a priceless artifact). So, I've done my share of troubleshooting set track issues, and tried my best to utilized best practices. Bah, humbug. I enjoy running trains not constantly fixing them. So, this EZ track is a good fit with my large ambitions and rather limited skills. Also, as I get older, it is getting just a little harder, so this EZ track, well, makes it easy. I can do easy.
Having run my expensive British range stuff (HO International) on the EZ set track with surprisingly strong results, it was desired to run the cheapest, most low end North American stuff I own (which is all of it, low end) with its plastic wheels and outdated couplers, as if there were any track defects they would certainly spring off the rails. We ran this old junk for five hours continuously, and had one derailment issue that was soon traced to an overly tight king pin holding the bolster too tightly, not allowing for swivel. That was repaired in about one minute.
Five continuous hours of running, the normally finnicky North American locomotives, particularly the electric E60, ran solidly through all speed ranges without so much as a murmur. The air was perfumed with cooked gear grease and ozone. The cheapo freight wagons wobbled and bobbled but never, ever derailed upon the EZ track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG4KMmOX1UU
I've been a model train enthusiast since the age of 4, and of British range since the age of 6, whilst living in Shiplake for a year, absorbing the fascinations of Britain, which are everywhere (stick a spade in the ground and one risks turning up a priceless artifact). So, I've done my share of troubleshooting set track issues, and tried my best to utilized best practices. Bah, humbug. I enjoy running trains not constantly fixing them. So, this EZ track is a good fit with my large ambitions and rather limited skills. Also, as I get older, it is getting just a little harder, so this EZ track, well, makes it easy. I can do easy.
Having run my expensive British range stuff (HO International) on the EZ set track with surprisingly strong results, it was desired to run the cheapest, most low end North American stuff I own (which is all of it, low end) with its plastic wheels and outdated couplers, as if there were any track defects they would certainly spring off the rails. We ran this old junk for five hours continuously, and had one derailment issue that was soon traced to an overly tight king pin holding the bolster too tightly, not allowing for swivel. That was repaired in about one minute.
Five continuous hours of running, the normally finnicky North American locomotives, particularly the electric E60, ran solidly through all speed ranges without so much as a murmur. The air was perfumed with cooked gear grease and ozone. The cheapo freight wagons wobbled and bobbled but never, ever derailed upon the EZ track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG4KMmOX1UU
