What track?

Hi Joe, You ask some good questions. My first choice for advice would be if you have a local train shop or model railroad club or individual hobbyists  to visit so you can view track in person and see what appeals to you. For forum help here it would be most helpful if we knew the size of space you want to use and the amount of tracks you'd like to start with. Also helpful to know where you plan to get your track as local availability of different brands varies a lot....DaveB

The best questions are often the most asked

Joe,

Yes, this question has probably been asked 1000 times already but that's because it's both common and a very good question to ask.

You can certainly join together different brands of track provided they are the same code (rail height).  The main exception to that is sectional track with roadbed sections, those joints are all unique to each brand.  The only way to mix, say Kato with EZ track is with an adapter of some kind or a modification of the track.  Peco is another exception because some of their track offerings have a double web on the rail, one resting on top of the ties and the other one buried within the ties.

However, that leads into another part of your question.  While you can mix different brands together, it is best to pick one and generally stick with it.  Tie spacing, tie plate thickness, spike heads, plastic color and shine can all be different.  That doesn't make different brands incompatible, it just might look weird.

You can also use different rail heights provided you shim the joints with thin pieces of brass or styrene.  In HO scale it's not uncommon to use code 83 for the main line with code 70 for secondary track and code 55 for short spurs.  I wouldn't recommend that when just starting out but it's certainly possible.

The features of different turnouts are worth considering as well and is probably a good place to start since the turnouts will be the most expensive pieces of track you'll buy.  Go with a good brand like Walthers for the turnouts and then use Atlas or Micro Engineering for flex track.

The very best track is usually the track you build for yourself.  That takes a lot of time and practice so it's not a beginner's skill, but if that's something you want to try out then go for it.

Whatever brand or brands you

Whatever brand or brands you choose, for your first layout I would suggest code 100 for HO. Its typically bombproof and in my humble opinion is perfect for beginners. Your first layout will likely be a 'chainsaw' layout anyway. Build your skills with something more forgiving than say code 70 or 55 and step up when you are ready to take on something more. And if you start with say Atlas code 100 you will find it much less expensive than say Peco code 70.

not microengineering

Six months ago I would have agreed with the recommendation of Microengineering, but recently there is news that the company is shutting down and "for sale". It remains to be seen (last I heard anyway) whether anyone will buy the company and continue production. Until that's resolved, I wouldn't start using a product line that might soon disappear from store shelves.

Track

There are several considerations:

How complete is the range of components?

How expensive are they?

How available are they?

How well do they function?

How easy are they to use?

Will the components meet my needs?

Two contenders are Atlas code 83 and Peco.  Both offer a wide range of components, both are pretty easy to find.  Peco is higher in cost, but tends to be regarded as more reliable.

Kato UniTrak is very easy to use and very reliable, but much more limiting in what the trackplan looks like, they aren't as flexible and its more on the higher end of the spectrum in cost.

Micro engineering has a more limited selection, is harder to find in stores and is more difficult to use, but is probably some of the best looking track out there.

Personally unless your particular goals lend themselves to setting the track up and taking it down all the time, I would go with Atlas code 83 or Peco.  If you are going to be setting teh track up and down and reconfiguring the track plan all the time, then Kato UniTrak is better.

Yes and no

You can join together different brands but I would recommend a beginner stick with all the same brand at first unless they are willing to spend a little bit of extra time making the joints between the different brands. It takes me like less than ten seconds with a hot soldering iron and a fine pair of needle nose pliers to line up the different rail profiles but I've been doing this for over fifty years now and that assumes you are soldering most of your rail joints. I doubt a beginner will be doing that at first when they are just experimenting. This isn't my picture but it's been posted here many times and illustrates the difference in the end profile of the different brands of track...

This is subjective.

As MichaelT just pointed out, the rails are different, as are the ties. Hence, I will agree with all that say "start with one brand" until you are comfortable with your choice. As for turnouts, I use and know that PECO are the best. (Naturally, that's an opinion). But you can use the PECO turnouts with ME track - for instance. But if you start with Atlas, the PECO are going to look better and make the Atlas not so appealing. What I did years ago was to buy one each of all the flex track available (including Model Power). And that isn't too terribly expensive. But since turnouts are the major expense, choosing them is a high priority. One last note: Ties are for the most part, shiny. And do need to be dulled down. I simply laid them on a newspaper outside, sprayed them dull brown - wiping the rail heads before dried. And after laying, was able to touch up with paint or pens. Happy Rails to you! And Merry Christmas to all!

Not so fast

If you can find it, MicroEngineering track is still the best, and whether the company keeps going or not doesn’t make this excellent track lose its great look, not even a little.

Plus there’s some rustling in wind that ME track in some form will remain an option. Can’t say much more right now, but the signs are encouraging.

The last thing we need to do is start putting any nails into a coffin that does not yet contain a corpse. ME needs all the business it can get right now, not fear mongering. The last thing we need to do is start rumors about ME track being gone and then make it come true because we stop buying their product.

Agreed

I wouldn't count ME out just yet.  Someone is sure to buy the rights, plans, tools, and whatever else is needed to make the track and continue on. There are a few reliable ways to make a profit in model trains and ready to use track is one of them.

I hope the bridges don't go away

I pretty much stick with a combo of Atlas code 83 and Atlas and Peco turnouts. I never cared much for ME turnouts when I was in N-scale so haven't tried much of their HO stuff besides bridge track but I'm a big time fan and user of their bridge kits. Those are what I'd really miss if they were gone.

If you can find it ...

Opinions vary but I find that MicroEngineering (ME) track is hard to work with for even experienced track layers like me (on my 4th layout) - while flexible, it is difficult to massage into a smooth curve.  Probably not a good recommendation for a beginner or novice.

As for fear mongering, that's not the goal but rather to recommend a product that is accessible and available, and has a better chance of availability and enduring. Many here recommend sticking with a single brand of track for a layout but ME is already hard to find enough turnouts or flex track, especially turnouts during the past year or so.

There are alternatives such as Peco flex track which is much easier to bend/form into a smooth flow curve and the spike detail is very fine and when weathered, I'd wager it would be very difficult to tell the difference from ME track. Peco is widely available and the company is going strong.  ME is iffy righty now and if you want to stick with a brand that you can actually find and buy the track, and track that is easier to lay, Peco is a better bet.  Also, Atlas code 83 has a decent looking track and is very easy to bend and lay, although the molded spike detail isn't as fine, once you paint and weather the track, it should look pretty good.

Agreed

I totally agree with JimF. I shied away from Atlas because of those spikes and the way it flops around, difficult to keep absolutely straight. I shied away from ME because of 2 reasons. One the difficulty in curves. Two - the lack of turnout choices. PECO does make a quality product with a decent number of turnouts. And pretty soon, better turnouts. I just wish they'd hurry up with code 83. And that's why I agree. As for ME. I also agree that if you want it, get it - while you can. And as for ME being a quality company - yes it is. No one can deny that. I also mentioned that you can use ME flex with PECO turnouts. Not a difficult thing to match. (Don't ME only make #6? So a #5 PECO is a good choice - should you so desire.)

Additional idea

And for those who might wish to deviate from "one brand". Use ME in the foreground and other where it don't show so much. I seem to remember some who used Atlas in their hidden track and ME or PECO where visible. Looking at the comparison shown above, it appears that the PECO and ME rails are close enough. The tie height is easily accounted for. Just use a shim.

I always liked ME track, but

I always liked ME track, but never their turnouts, as I'm picky when it comes to wheel drop and found their frogs to be be a hit and miss in regards to quality.

I would just point out that

I would just point out that most of this discussion has centered around Code 83. All of the discussion of the different brands, their quality and their interoperability, but as someone up thread pointed out, you are a new modeler, you may benefit from using code 100 on this 1st layout. And if that's the case, then a lot of this discussion falls away.

In code 100, you've got Atlas and Peco as your biggest providers. Then Bachmann and I think Kato. 

Here are the questions I would ask first

What is the size of layout you are building.

What are your budget constraints? compared to the sized layout you want to build

How comfortable are you with the construction requirements? Bending and forming curves, soldering etc etc.

Do you have access to a Local Hobby shop and/or local club or swap meets/train shows?

The correct track for your first layout is highly dependent on these 4 things.

You can go to a swap meet and pick up atlas code 100 sectional track and snap switches for pennies.

You can drop hundreds with an online retailer for code 83 flex and excellent turnouts.

You can use sectional track for pennies and combine it with quality peco turnouts if you are comfortable with the soldering involved. 

Layout size, layout budget, access to resources and confidence with the construction techniques are key to answering this question.

For example, I just laid track on a 14'x20" switching layout that uses nothing but track and turnouts from a save bin I've been keeping for over 20 years. It's mostly Atlas code 100 sectional and flex. It's got Shinohara and Peco turnouts (managed to avoid the Atlas ones). Didn't spend one additional penny on this. But, I've been model railroading for years. I KNOW how to make those pieces work together reliably. 

Perhaps you're building a 4x8. You don't mind spending some money on the layout, but not an infinite amount and you're worried about track laying.

I would direct you to the Bachmann EZ-track product. It's easy to lay. Not cheap, but cheaper than Kato Unitrak, but still has everything you need for that first layout. If that's too expensive, I'd tell you to use Atlas snap-track and spend your money on their slightly better switches. I'd tell you further to stalk any clubs or swap meets for cheap sources of track. 

If you are confident with construction and you have the money. I'd move to code 83 and I'd suggest you find some examples of each product to decide for yourself.

I think there's some consensus out there that Peco Code 83 switches are the most reliable prebuilt switches (certainly not unanimous, but I'd say consensus) You could start there and choose your track to fit. 

Lastly, if you have money, but no construction chops, I'd go Kato Unitrak. It's a great product, lots of availability to make most any plan. 

A couple of thoughts regarding sectional track and first layouts

As previously posted, sectional code 100 Nickel-Silver HO track can be found pretty cheaply at shows.  While a lot of old hands may shy away in favor of other rail sizes (code 83, code 70) or flextrack, there are some advantages to sectional track.

1: standard radius of 18 inches or greater can provide smooth curves for those beginning layouts, and  using some care to avoid forcing the fit can prevent kinks within those curves.  Kinks in curves are one of the banes of flextrack for first-timers (and old hands as well).

2: straight track will stay straight, and this is a mixed blessing.  You won't have any gently undulating curves in your tangent (straight) lengths of track.

3: soldering shorter pieces of track together to make larger pieces for electrical continuity works as well on sectional track as flextrack.  And the lower cost of sectional track and the greater number of joints will let you practice more. (Kind of another mixed blessing there, but roll with it...)

4: if you need a shorter section of straight or curved track, it can be cut just like flextrack, and again, practicing cutting and filing rail ends on used sectional track is cheaper than practicing on new flextrack.

5: you can always add either more sectional track or flextrack as space, finances, and time permit.  If you haven't ballasted your track until you've gotten things operating and debugged, you can even swap out as much or all of the sectional track as you wish later.

6: as with any track, get an NMRA gauge and check each piece along its entire length before installing it in your layout.

Janet N.

ME track

  "I actually prefer the

I found the same thing when building my previous N scale layout . I ended up using ME for the curves and saving the Atlas for the straights, which was opposite of what I'd initially planned. I found the ME held it's curve so was easier to glue down in a fair curve.If one was nailing the track down it might not matter as much. ...DaveB

ME track holding the curve

I like that ME track holds the curve too.  I like to solder feeders to the bottom of the rail before layout track, being able to pre-curve the ME track on a test fit and then flip it over without having it all straighten out again makes that much easier.

I still believe a novice

I still believe a novice would get frustrated with ME track.  Sure, it's not that hard to bend, but you gotta keep massaging it over and over to get a smooth flowing curve and also tweak the ties so they are even and fairly parallel.

Since I lay track on the centerline, I find Atlas springy track very easy to form and tack down.  In fact I use it as part of the "bent stick method" to mark out easement centerlines.  If holding a curve is part of the picture, Peco is much easier to form and somewhat holds it's shape, a best of both worlds flex track.

Considerations for Garfield

I think we all need to also consider that Joe Garfield might not be wanting to use flex track at all.  He didn't explicitly say which style of track he wants to use but most beginners navigate toward sectional track.  If that's the case, the last page and a half of discussion is irrelevant.

So Joe, if you read this could you please verify.  Is it flextrack you are wanting advice on (long flexible pieces) or sectional track?  That might help us all get to the bottom of your questions.

Hey, my post was in the last

Hey, my post was in the last page and a half and I addressed that very concern. I think all this discussion on flex track is putting the cart before the horse.

Yoho

Sorry, I didn't see yours at first.  But you're right, a lot of this is putting the cart before the horse.

Atlas

If you are in the USA and building in HO or N, start with Atlas Code 83.  There are lots of pieces available and it's as easy to get as anything else.  Ignore the negative nickies who will tell you can't possibly do something. Study the books and videos mentioned. They will give you plenty of ideas.