Track Centres - Hornby vs P*co

[Plot62]

Hi All,

This is my first post on the forum, although I've been a member for a couple of years since I retired and decided to get back into my boyhood hobby.

 

I'm at the stage of laying permanent track and wanted to put something to the forum before I get into it.

It concerns track centres. I know that Hornby and P*co state 67mm & 50mm respectively as the preferred track centres for their individual products. However I would prefer to use what I consider the best of either of the track options which would mean mixing the two manufacturers kit in the same layout, and in particular I am considering using P*co elctro-frog points.

From an engineering perspective I don't hold too many doubts that this can be done and is done regularly by model railway builders.

If I assume that coming off a set of P*co points that the track centres will be 50mm which would appear to be fine on a straight section of track. However where the track is curved would I need to open up the track centres to 67mm to avoid collisions or can I assume that at 50mm this should be safe enough bearing in mind that I will be using flex-track for the majority of curves.

Kind regards,
Neil

[Rog RJ]

Depends what stock you are running.  If there is a lot of overhang from coaches and locos then wider spacing will be required than short stock with little overhang.  If you want to stay on the safe side stick to the 67mm spacing for all stock.

[Buz]

Hi Plot62

Best not to mix brands use one or the other brand.

Peco also make a handy little gauge which gives the set track spacing which is as far as I am aware this is the same as Hornby both being to British std geometry.

The gauge also gives the six foot way gauge on the other side for those that are using flex track and whish to have a more accurate center to center measurement and lastly at the end is a gauge for platform placement.

An all round handy device if you can find the little blighter when you want it, get a few of them they like hiding at the bottom of the hobby tool box or under things on the train table when your working on it.

Peco set-track and streamline flex track can be used on the same layout make sure they are both code 100 track as Peco does a number of different rail heights for its flex track and points to go with it

The set track is code 100 as is Hornby track.

As always check your trains get round with clipping each other before final fixing of track not to mention having a good play after testing to make sure it all works as intended and some weird moves as well just to make sure.

I was not as thorough as i should have been and did not pick up a missing track feed so can't run direct fiddle yard to loco not a big issue but an annoying one.

regards John

[walkingthedog]

There is absolutely no problem  with mixing the track. I mainly use Peco (no need  to put P*co), but do have several pieces of Hornby. 

[2e0dtoeric]

I also use mixed track components, mostly Peco points and flexi, but with Hornby set-track here and there, (to use up odd bits of straights!)

Track centres isn't that critical, unless you have really tight curves - which isn't ideal with flexi-track. Larger sweeping curves are better.

Hornby centres are aimed at little pudgy clumsy fingers, which also fits for us older folk who's eyesight can be deteriorating, too!

[Chrissaf]

I have done exactly as you want to achieve with no issues. It is totally doable as long as you keep to using the PECO Code 100 track products and not other PECO Code track such as Code 75 & Code 83.

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You are correct. The only PECO Code 100 points that have 'Electrofrog' options have 50mm standard track spacing. But if you add a PECO ST-202 short straight track piece between the facing points in a cross-over, you then get 67mm spacing. The down side to this is that the overall length of the cross-over increases by a proportion of the length of the added ST-202 straight piece. The ST-202 is Code 100 track.

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All PECO Set Track products have exactly the same geometry as Hornby. That is to say 67mm spacing. PECO Set Track products start with the PECO ST product code

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Everything you want to know about Hornby vs Peco track products has been published on this forum before by me and the information based upon my own personal experience of using PECO Electrofrog points on a layout based upon 67mm track centre spacing.

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My previous posts can be viewed here:

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Hornby vs Peco Track (Compatibility)

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/another-b2b-question/?p=1

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Peco ST Code 100 Track Parts

https://peco-uk.com/collections/peco/setrack+100

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Peco SL & SL-E Code 100 Track Parts

https://peco-uk.com/collections/peco/100+oo-ho-16-5mm

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Peco SL & SL-E Code 83 Track parts

https://peco-uk.com/collections/peco/oo-ho-16-5mm+83

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Peco SL & SL-E Code 75 Track Parts

https://peco-uk.com/collections/peco/oo-ho-16-5mm+75

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However where the track is curved would I need to open up the track centres to 67mm to avoid collisions or can I assume that at 50mm this should be safe enough

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PECO recommend that when using 50mm spacing, that the realistic minimum radius should be 24" (600mm). PECO do support 18" as an absolute minimum, but 24" is considered the minimum for minimal ongoing rolling stock issues. At 600mm, this is a more sedate radius than Hornby's largest 4th radius at 571mm. It follows then, that if you wanted to maintain a 50mm spacing throughout the layout, the curves would need to be much gentler than Hornby and need a base board significantly more than 4 foot wide.

 

TIP: As this is your very first post, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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[Sultan]

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You can adjust the spacing to suit the geometry of teh track.  On straight track  you can use 50mm centres and then open up to 67mm on the curves as I have done here where the radius on the inner track is just 600mm.  Experiment by pinning the track and passing rolling stock to see if they will touch each other.  Th eworts offenders are usually Mk3 coaches but some diesels and some steam locos have big overhangs too.

[81F]

 Just a note on the PECO track gauage the 50mm spacing is intended for use with their streamline trach which is supposed to give the correct "6 foot way" between running rails. However, I remember reading that it might be advisable to open out ther space between tracks on curves.

 

Although the curves on my mainline are a nominal 3' I do use a bit of a transition when leading into them which I used to gradually ease out the gap.

 

As to mixing track, I have kept to PECO points because of the very small insulated frogs but I do have a few lengths of straight Hormby which wase a vain attempt at getting the operating mailcoach raps to work. I also have a few set track points on my colliery branch but these are so arranged that their geometry does not affect the streamline points or visa versa.

 

 

[Plot62]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all of your comments and guidance, they are and will be very helpful over the coming winter months when I'm hermited in my shed sortin g and testing my intended layout. 

Cheers,

Neil

[81F]

 I probably should have mentioned that the standard 6 foot between the tracks did vary for example former broad gauge lines on the GWR sometimes had widergaps as rails furthest from the platforms were moved when the tracks were narrowed.