I found

I have a couple hundred feet I set up on the floor occasionally.  I find the switches can be troublesome.  The points aren't very tightly fitted so can flop around a little, sometimes causing derailments.  The last time I had it set up I ran a coal train that was 108 cars and over the week or so it was up had one memorable derailment on a switch.  There were a couple other minor one or two axle types.  Overall, it works pretty well.

I used three feeders in my large dogbone shape and didn't have any conductivity problems.

Assembly and disassembly takes some care.  It's easy to get a rail on top a joiner instead of into the joiner and sometimes the little tab on the back sticks and too much force will break it off.  I lift the pieces and use my finger underneath to help the taps come apart.

I paid a fraction of retail for my used track.  If paying full price, it is expensive, especially switches.

I don't remember noise being excessive.  Trains over 100 cars tend to be loud anyway.

Paul

Bachmann HO forum

You can join the Bachmann HO forum. There are many users of Ez track, loco's and rolling stock. I have watched the forums for some years. Bachmann reps also.

Rich

Alternatives

I would suggest that you look into KATO HO UniTrack. It has a MUCH larger selection, and uses the same replaceable connectors as the N gauge KATO track. It's darn near bulletproof. It is NOT compatible with the Bachmann EZ track... but then I consider that a good thing. It's far better.

I have extensive experience with the N gauge version. It's extremely reliable, and is designed for Japanese modelers that set up and tear down their complete layout every time the run. It's VERY easy to assemble and take apart, with little opportunity for mis-alignments. It locks together very well... enough that the T-Trak modular system relies on the track connectors for module connections.

It's not cheap... but considering the reliability and ruggedness of the track you'll need far fewer replacement parts in the long run, It's well worth a few added dollars to only have to buy a double crossover once, for example.  Even at the KATO list price, it's still a good buy for what you're getting, and there are a number of on-line suppliers that sell for less than MSRP.

Thanks for the comments

Thanks for the comments. Regarding KATO N-gauge UniTrack, I acquired a second-hand batch 30 years ago and it was excellent quality with flawless performance of switches and double crossovers. But lately I notice the aged plastic roadbed is somewhat vulnerable to breakage if you're not real careful with assembly and disassembly - even though my remaining supply was packed away in a box, not exposed to light.

From what I see in the SCARM track libraries, it appears the Bachmann HO E-Z track variety is at least as good as the KATO HO UniTrack offerings - maybe better.

HO track selection

Doesn't appear that SCARM is up to date on KATO track.

Single track, wooden ties:

http://www.katousa.com/HO/Unitrack/g-single.html

Single track, concrete ties, superelevated curves:

http://www.katousa.com/HO/Unitrack/g-concrete.html

Early on (like 10 years ago)

Early on (like 10 years ago) i was able to score boxes of 100 pieces of 9" straight track and curve track. I set up some track on the concrete basement floor that was probably 30' long by 15' wide with several switch tracks.  I used the bachmann dcc controller and bachmann dc controller to control switches for the turnouts. I had maybe one feeder that went to the other side of the track from where the controller was.  I only ever ran one maybe 2 locos at a time and these were ahm Rs2 and old arhearn gp type locos. So they were high current draw. I never had any issues with power on the track. The switches however i kept close to the power control area because they were prone to derailments.  The only one i had no issues with was one that came with the greatest hobby track pack which provided a manual turnout that had solid contact with the rail. Foolishly i sold that one off when i was cleaning out track last year. I have 2 of the crossovers and they are junk. Never was right out of the box, took a ton of filing and fiddling and they still dont work. In fact one of the points came completely off. It could be put back together but i eventually lost it in storage. Just my thought on it

Thanks for the comments ...

Thanks for the comments. Two people are saying they had problematic Bachmann switches, but with older versions?

Incidentally, the SCARM KATO UniTrack library was updated Feb 2016. Looks like only the super-elevated wide-radius curves are new items since then, and they are the same curve geometry as previous items.

Both the KATO UniTrack and Bachmann E-Z track appear to be somewhat expensive, not what I would choose to use myself for a new project. But the unitized track would be handy for temporary layouts.

What i hav done is used

What i hav done is used bachman straight track and curve track on y pool table to set up a small layout for the boys but instead of using bachman switches i have used an atlas switch. You you will have to support it to make it work but i have been doing it this way for over 5 months and nothing has derailed

Manual Switches for Bachmann EZ track

Can anyone recommend a manual switch for my Bachmann ez track turnouts? I looked through Caboose Industries products but they never mention Bachmann turnouts.

OK for around the Christmas tree...

Or a test loop to break in trains. 

If you must use track with plastic ballast, I'd suggest the Code 83 from Atlas or Kato.

I'm a bit biased though as my experience over 50 years with anything that says Bachmann on it, including recent spectrum geared On30 locomotives, all of which had drive train failures after a few minutes of running, has been: NOT great.

There is no comparison to anything with Kato on it, which over 30 years personal experience in N and HO I have never encountered anything from Kato that wasn't excellent.

Thought it would be useful

for gaming, if nothing else. Turned out too uneconomical. May as well shell out for proper MR track if you want to build a layout.

E-Z Track with Caboose Industries Ground Throw

You would probably have to (largely) gut the innards installed on the underside of a Bachmann E-Z track turnout and then fashion your own connection to use a Caboose Industries ground throw. 

E-Z Track Switching Layout

Bachmann E-Z track (HO) has pros and cons, just like every other brand of HO scale track I have used over the years. Right now I'm building a switching layout using E-Z track. Yup, I enjoy a good challenge, lol. Despite some limitations using set track with proprietary plastic roadbed, thus far I have not resorted to augmenting the build with Peco code 100 turnouts or flex track. Yes, I ran into some issues with the two E-Z track #6 crossovers that were purchased @15 years ago. After a good amount of filing and a bit of soldering, both are now at least serviceable. The E-Z track #5 turnouts purchased @3-5 years ago have worked well so far without modification. BTW, a parallel track can be created by connecting a 33.25" 12 degree curved piece to the diverging route of the #5 turnout. Then connect a 2.25" straight (included with the #5 turnout) and 4.5" straight to the straight route. For reasons unknown, I don't recall having seen more than a handful of E-Z track model railroaders using this arrangement. The other issue with Bachmann E-Z track is the long-term durability of the connector tabs that join sections of the plastic roadbed. I have broken a few tabs off, but it's not a deal breaker. They can be glued back, if needed. 

The one thing E-Z track has arguably done better than any other HO scale track (yes, including KATO Unitrack) is enabling quick & easy setup (and take down), often on non-traditional surfaces and in non-dedicated locations. IMO Unitrack's biggest limitation is the lack of crossings -- only a 90 degree version is available in HO scale. In comparison, E-Z track has 30, 45, 60 & 90 degree crossings available. In addition, it has allowed modelers to come up with incredibly creative, if not prototypical track configurations. Have you seen YouTube videos of "Double bi-directional figure 8" or "Downward Spiral" (James Risner), or some of the multi-train/multi-level designs by barcopirata69? Quite a few of those efforts took serious planning & effort to build, more than some (okay, many) "traditional" model railroad track plans (excluding scenery, structures and wiring). 

In the end, everyone who builds a layout wants to enjoy running model trains. However, *not* everyone aspires to build and/or operate their layout exactly like a real railroad, myself included For example, I occasionally run an Athearn Hustler at, uh, interesting speeds. Waybills? Schedules? Crew changes? All are non-existent on my layout. Very prototypical, right? Despite that my model railroad -- unlike many real railroads -- has *never* filed for bankruptcy, lol. To each their own. 

Worked for a "fold up" layout...

Dear Ace,

Can't speak to a "bedroom sized" example, have a horrible feeling that it could be a rather expensive way to go,
but the NS (grey ballast) version of EZ-track certainly worked for me when I was tasked a few years ago to build a fold-up layout for a neighbour's son and his grandad...
(That's an old Tyco trainset controller providing both "traction power",
and "Aux Power" to throw the turnouts via the B'mann-supplied turnout-switches.
The blue wire is 8-core LAN networking cable, which provided a stealth routing of both "track power" and "turnout power" accross the "section fold/gap").

IIRC I was not particularly impressed with the geometry of the (curved-route) turnouts,
esp the pressed-metal swtchrails, as they seemed to be iffy with RP25 wheels on some test 50' HO box and tankcars,

but to run the 44-ton-repowered Tyco steam loco shown,
which was key to the hearts and minds of the target audience (Grandad + Grandson),
and a small selection of RP25-equipped shorty On30 equipment,
they seemed to work quite reliably...
(The "numbered angle frog" turnouts in the EZ-track range may work better for "scale" modelling missions?)

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Works fine for me.

Until I finish building my basement, I'm basically stuck with Bachmann EZ track in my 12' x 12' office. Cost about $100 on eBay for the straight track I didn't have, but it works fine for the short-term and Christmas tree layouts.

Until I finish building my

It's the turnouts I've always heard are troublesome.  How are they working for you if you have turnouts?

I needed a test track some years back so I went with the advise to use Kato Unitrack for an oval.  It wasn't all that costly.

I've used EZ track over the

I've used EZ track over the years. Both on parts of layouts, as temporary loops and for things like test tracks. It's a good product. The turnouts have improved over the years.

I would not use it for a layout, because I don't have enough turnouts available and the cost would therefore be prohibitive, but if I had the materials it would work well.

I think MR did a project layout using EZ track maybe 10 years ago.

Well done on the layout you

Well done on the layout you built for your neighbor's son & grandad. 

My experience with Bachmann E-Z track turnouts is somewhat mixed, as I mentioned in a previous post in this thread. The #6 crossovers required additional work (a lot of filing, a bit of soldering) to become serviceable. Nothing too difficult for an experienced modeler. However, considering the primary targeted market (beginners, quick deployment on non-traditional surfaces) and cost, this was rather unfortunate. The #5 turnouts have worked out of the box without further modification. I have used a #4 turnout on a test track without issue aside from aesthetics when running larger engines or rolling stock on the diverging route. BTW, the stock rail of the #4 turnout has a small notch for the point rail. Not sure why Bachmann didn't do the same with the #6 (crossover or turnouts) or #5 (turnouts and wye), at least not on the items I bought a while back. 

As for the E-Z track LH & RH remote turnouts, they're basically the counterpart of Atlas Code 100 Remote Snap Switches, complete with (tight) 18" radius curved section. 

Had it as a kid

Actually I still have it sitting in a crate under my current layout. It's OK for temporary setup, programming track, etc, but the only plastic roadbed track that is used in any serious modeling endeavor is Kato Unitrak in N scale. Either system really limits your flexibility in terms of trackwork design. Once I went to Atlas Superflex and Custom Line, I never went back. Now I'm using most ME and Fast Tracks, although I'll still use Atlas for projects where it's appropriate.

My DCC Programming Track is EZ Track

I use it for both my N scale and HO scale DCC programming track.  I've got one rerailer and several straight pieces of each scale, both connected to the programmer.  It works great.  I also have a test loop of EZ Track for breaking in engines.  No real issues with it, but Unitrack is much better overall, but more expensive.

Great for smaller layouts or test tracks

Works reasonably well.  I use this mainly to test out sound installations and freight cars after assembly and weathering.  Ignore the controller, it's fully equipped with Digitrax DCC and a laptop running DecoderPro now.  Think I used 22" for the outer loop and 18" radius for the inner.  Many of my six axles hate the 18" inner track but I try to tune them to run so feel they would handle about any layout after I get finished with them.  The switches.....not so good...... 

I'm determined to build a HO

I'm determined to build a HO switching layout using only sectional track with plastic roadbed from a single vendor. Call it a proof of concept project, lol. It would be way too easy to build using flex track and the Walthers (Shinohara) turnouts & crossings I have accumulated over the years. After many revisions in AnyRail, I finally came up with a plan that could be built entirely using Bachmann E-Z track. FWIW, I have included my thoughts about several Bachmann E-Z track turnouts in earlier posts in this thread. 

Hopefully Unitrack is working well for you. IMO it's a very good product. I enjoy working with N scale Kato Unitrack. Unfortunately, Kato's HO scale offerings are limited compared with N scale. My plan calls for a 30 degree crossing, which Kato does not offer in HO scale. C'mon, Kato, help out HO scale modelers -- and I'm not talking about more Metra car offerings. 

< < chuckle

It warms the cockles of my heart to see HO modelers begging for something we have in N scale.

You might want to check and see if Tomix has  an HO line of track,..  Their N scale line is even bigger than Kato's

Fair enough, lol. I'm not

Fair enough, lol. I'm not even asking for Kato to offer a HO double crossover or turntable...just a few more varieties of crossings and, perhaps, an HO version of Santa Fe El Capitan. N scalers get all the love from Kato. Even Kato-branded flexible track & conversion adapter. 

Thanks for mentioning Tomix. I don't think Tomix makes HO scale track. Many years ago, I looked into Tomix for N scale but it was hard to find a US seller that stocked most (if not all) of their offerings. Even when something was listed for purchase, it was almost always a special order item. Ironically, when I stopped by a few model train stores overseas the past @5 years, Tomix was relatively easy to find while Kato N scale was hardly stocked.