Newsflash!
Newer tips have been added to the tips section. Check them out!
This page contains my own personal information and tips about Kato's Unitrack - how to buy it, use it and improve it. This page reflects my own opinion only. It is NOT an official site for Unitrack. I am in no way related with Kato. Just a happy Unitrack user, putting some info on the net to help others on their way to happiness with Unitrack.
Newsflash!
Newer tips have been added to the tips section. Check them out!
My model railroading activity concentrates primarily on N scale, currently building a (relatively) small layout. I have chosen to use N scale Unitrack. Being unable to find much info on Unitrack on the net, and seeing several posts on the Usenet asking questions on Unitrack, I decided to build a page, in a hall of my museum, devoted to Unitrack and my experiences with it.
This page concentrates on tips for the use of this system. You can find where and how to buy Unitrack. You can find tips on how to maximize your enjoyment of this brand of track. Last, but not least, you can find some Unitrack resources I have discovered on the Web since this page was created.
On another page you can find about Unitrack. You can discover why using pre-ballasted track can add to your enjoyment. You can see how Unitrack compares to other brands of pre-ballasted track.
Buying Unitrack
Mail Order: Some mail order outfits
offer up to 20-25% off Walthers prices. That would save you about
$8 per switch which isn't bad.
Discount Train in Florida seems to have even better prices. Check them out. (I have never ordered from them, but I have heard good reports.)
Also, check in the Unitrack Web resources section of this page for some dealers advertising on the Internet.
Buy Used: Since Unitrack is
such a commodity, and since it tends to survive layouts, it can be
bought used. I have seen bundles of N scale Unitrack sold in the New Jersey
Greenberg shows by at least one certain vendor, really cheap. I have
personally purchased (through an auction house) a #6 Unitrack double slip in
N scale for a mere $16. A brand new one goes for $65! Even though it
is used, it has never given me any problems whatsoever. Unitrack
reliability!
Through the Internet: The Internet
of course, is a great resource in finding people who sell things.
The greatest source is ebay, the online auction site. To find out what Unitracks lots are being offered on ebay right now, click here for N scale and here for HO. Just don't outbid me. :-)
Alternatively, the James Reeves auction house has Unitrack on auction sometimes. (Here is where I bought my first crossover switch for $16!)
Unitrack Tips
To disconnect track pieces, rock them gently from side to side - NEVER up and down. Believe me, I have learned the hard way!
To weather the track, use diluted India ink. It comes in various colors. Using a wash with balck ink will help disguise the fact that coloration may vary from piece to piece.
To interface with other track brands, simply remove the Unijoiners and replace them with regular Atlas joiners. I discovered that Unitrack mates very well with Atlas track. You can bring the Atlas track at the level of the Unitrack roadbed by laying it on strips of 1/8" wood.
Track feeders can be made using Atlas pre-soldered joiner-feeders. Simply replace the Unijoiners with them. Since the Atlas joiners will not hold track together, you can tack the Unitrack pieces down on both sides of the Atlas joiners. Alternatively, you can use the Atlas feeders in a staggered manner: replace the left Unijoiner in one joint, and the right Unijoiner in the next joint. That should provide relative stability.
Speaking of tacking the track down, Kato has provided for holes on the roadbed, through which you can pass nails. All you have to do is open the holes up. Unfortunately, the holes fit BETWEEN the ties, which make the tracknails stick out like sore thumbs! I suggest drilling your own holes on the ties nearest to the factory "holes."
I have also successfully tacked Unitrack on Homasote by using LOW-HEAT hot glue. You can find that in craft stores. (Make sure you use the low heat type, made primarily for kids. I have no idea what regular hot glue will do to the plastic roadbed.) It took awhile for me to rip the track off last time I changed my layout plans! :-)
Unitrack has been used by at least one NTRAK club. From what I understand, they did not follow NTRAK standards to the letter. They used the location of the first track from NTRAK standard, but the 2nd track is spaced
back according to Kato's standard spacing. The branch line is set
to NTRAK branch line specs. Makes sense to me.
Also, they did not space the ends as per NTRAK specs either. They use Kato expansion tracks between the modules. I hope to get more info soon.
Applying scenery around Unitrack switches requires care, so as not to get the soupy mess into the mechanism. It can seep from underneath, so perhaps some form of preparation of the underside is in order.
Whatever the case, use the scenery goop very carefully, applying it with Q-tips and using it very lightly. Apply the landscape material immediately so it will absorb the goop before it has a chance to seep into the switch mechanisms. You may have to do this literally an inch at a time. (Thanks Darrell Weber for the tip.)
Securing the electrical contact of the little plug underneath the turnouts can be accomplished by inserting the plug, winding the wire around the proper slot (if you exit at the side) and then applying a small quantity of dry epoxy. This comes as a clay-like substance that requires kneading with the fingers. I knead a small quantity, shape into a ball, and apply it to the small gap, behind the plug, so it keeps the plug in place. I then flatten the epoxy with my fingers, so it is flush with the turnout bottom. The epoxy works wonders in keeping the joint permanent while I manipulate the track.
When I ripped the track off, I discovered that the epoxy comes off easily by prying it off gently with a screwdriver.
Questions? Contact me.
Unitrack Resources on the Web
The Kato USA homepage, of course. Not much product information yet, but you can find their new releases. Maybe some day they will have their entire catalog online. And maybe they will offer N scale Unitrack flextrack.
The online catalog from Walthers. You can find product availability (and prices) here.
The California Model Trains store maintains pages on HO scale and on N scale Unitrack with photographs. Two pages on N scale! (I have no relationship with this store.)
This page is always under construction. Please visit us again soon.
There have been Feel free to send email to the museum curator:
© 1996-97 karayan. To send me email, click here.
There are online lists offered by dealers. Check Discount Train & Hobby as an example. Another unofficial page. Not much at this point, but I bookmarked it here. Maybe it will expand?
RR-Track, a sectional track layout design program, has libraries for N scale and HO scale Unitrack, with the available track pieces arranged in nice tables. (I have not used this program and have no connection to it.) I welcome any Unitrack trackplans you build for inclusion on these pages.
Have you found any other links? Feel free to submit them!
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