Can you join Hornby and Peco track?

Are you new to the hobby of model railways? Many start with a Hornby train set but it isn't long before you'll want to expand beyond the basic supplied trackwork. Hornby produces additional add-on track packs to enable the expansion of the starter train set.  PECO, a British-based company in Devon, produces a wide range of trackwork in various scales, including the OO scale track which is the scale used in Hornby's main range. One question often asked is... Can you, join or use Hornby and PECO's trackwork together? Read on to find out more.

As mentioned above, Hornby's trackwork in their main range is OO scale, which should be pronounced as double O and not double zero. It is also commonly known as Code 100 trackwork. 

What is code 100? 

Code 100 refers to the height of the rail, which is 0.1 inches high. If you scaled that up alongside real-world trackwork, the rail height would be almost 30% higher than its real-life equivalent. This stems back to the early days of OO scale, with locomotives and rolling stock being fitted with larger flanged wheels. The taller rail height allowed for the clearance of the wheel flanges above the rail chairs on the trackwork.

Can I join Hornby track onto PECO track?

Any OO scale trackwork that is code 100 will work and should be compatible with Hornby OO scale trackwork. So the answer to the question is yes. PECO OO scale code 100 trackwork can be used and joined up together with Hornby trackwork. PECO, on their OO scale code 100 trackwork, has two ranges. These are the PECO Setrack and PECO Streamline. PECO Setrack is the equivalent of Hornby's trackwork. In fact, PECO has a Settrack track starter pack worth looking at to use with your Hornby train set.

PECO OO scale Code 75 Fine Scale Track

PECO also produces another OO scale range which is a fine-scale trackwork range, PECO Streamline code 75. This is a finer-looking and smaller rail height than the code 100 trackwork and cannot be used with Hornby track unless you use a converter mentioned below. For locomotives and rolling stock to run on PECO OO scale Streamline code 75 track, they must be fitted with fine-scale profile wheels. Most of today's current releases by Hornby, Bachmann, Heljan, Rapido Trains, Revolution trains, Dapol, etc. are fitted with finer-scale profile wheels. Thus, they will run on PECO Streamline code 75 trackwork.

Note: Older Hornby models, due to their thicker wheel flanges, will catch the rail chairs and not run smoothly on the code 75 track. However, in many cases, the wheels can be replaced with finer profile wheelsets.

Can you join code 100 track with the finer scale code 75 track?

If you are running locos & rolling stock with the fine-scale wheel profiles & want to use your existing code 100 track with fine-scale code 75 track, PECO produces a converter track for this. It allows the code 100 track to be connected to code 75. The part number for this converter is PECO SL-113. You can see an image of it below. Notice the difference in height between the two rails in the lower part of the image. This converter is great for use in fiddle yards and non-scenic sections where code 100 track can be used instead of the finer scale code 75 track.

Is PECO Code 75 better than Code 100?

This depends on lots of factors - do you have older rolling stock, do you want a finer track profile for visually improved looks, do you have Setrack pieces you want to include?  Neither is ‘better’, they are just different and achieve different objectives. 

Hornby OO scale code 100 track

Hornby's OO scale code 100 trackwork is designed around a standard geometry, as shown in the diagram below. On its curved track sections, Hornby offers radius curves in both double and single lengths, ranging from 1st to 4th. The 1st radius curve is the tightest, while the 4th radius curve is the gentlest. Additionally, there is an additional short transitional curve. This is for use on lead-in sections on pointwork such as the Y points. When planning a layout, it is advisable to use the largest radius curves that your space and plan will allow. Please note that many of today's newer model locomotives and rolling stock can only negotiate a minimum radius curve of 2nd radius.

Hornby's straight trackwork consists of three different lengths of straight track sections, a small straight filler track section, a short straight isolating track section, and a re-railer/uncoupler short track section. Hornby also produces a long semi-flexible track and a long flexible track section. These two are ideal for creating custom radius curves.

For the point work, Hornby produces the following:

• Left-hand and right-hand set of curved points
• Short straight left-hand and right-hand points
• Y-points
• Longer straight left and right-hand points, which Hornby refers to as ‘Express Points’

All Hornby points are electrically self-isolating, which simplifies wiring up a layout. Hornby also produces a crossover track section which can be seen on the left-hand side in the diagram above. All Hornby trackwork is of the wooden sleeper type (plastic moulded with a wood-like grain finish).

PECO OO scale code 100 Settrack

Like Hornby', PECO OO scale code 100 Settrack is designed to be used with starter train sets too. Similar to Hornby, PECO's curved trackwork includes half-length, single-length, and double-lengths. They are available in the following radii: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th radius. The 1st radius is the tightest curve, whilst the 4th radius is the gentlest curve. PECO produces an additional special radius curve track section for use with Y points as well.

On the straight track sections, PECO produces Standard Straight, Double Straight, Long Straight, Short Straight, Special Short Straight, and Isolating Standard Straight. For flexible trackwork, PECO OO scale code 100 Streamline flexible track covers this. We'll cover the PECO OO scale code 100 Streamline track further down the page.

PECO OO scale Code 100 Settrack pointwork, like Hornby's, is also electrically self-isolating and is fully compatible with Hornby trackwork. The PECO OO scale Code 100 Settrack pointwork includes:

• Left-hand and right-hand straight points ( featuring a second radius on their curved rail sections, making them slightly less tight than Hornby's standard points. 
• Left and right-hand curved points. They have a slightly gentler radius than Hornby as they are designed with 2nd and 3rd radii.
• Medium radius Y points.
• Crossover track  

PECO OO scale code 100 Streamline 

Further to the above, PECO also produces an OO scale code 100 Streamline range. This range is fully compatible with Hornby's OO scale trackwork. It offers a wider variety of pointwork and, instead of a range of straight track sections, it provides a flexible straight track that comes in lengths of 36 inches (914.4mm). You can use track cutters to cut the flexible track to shorter lengths as needed. The flexible straight track includes both wooden sleeper and concrete sleeper types. Additionally, available are short and long crossover track sections.

The points in the PECO Code 100 Streamline range include the Electrofrog type, which involves a bit more wiring but helps eliminate electrical dead spots for better running. For those of you who want to keep wiring simple, there is also the Insulfrog type, which are electrically self-isolating points, just like Hornby's pointwork.  

The code 100 streamline points range includes the following:

• Left & right-hand straight points in short, medium, and large radius.
• Y points in both small & large radii.
• Three waypoints (A handy space saver this one) in a medium radius.
• Left & right-hand double radius curved points.
• Double & single slip points (These are points on a crossover, again a handy space-saving feature).
• Left & right-hand catch points.

Can I use Hornby rail Joiners with PECO trackwork?

Yes, both Hornby and PECO rail joiners work perfectly with each other. Hornby's rail joiners will work with any code 100 trackwork, such as PECO Settrack and PECO code 100 Streamline track.

What about track pins, will Hornby track pins work on PECO track?

Again, yes. Hornby track pins will work with the PECO track and vice versa. My personal choice is the PECO track pins as they are slightly thicker and more robust than Hornby's.

Is PECO track better than Hornby?

PECO has a much wider range of CODE 100 trackwork, and both the Setrack and Streamline ranges are fully compatible. Hornby track is often included with the Starter sets, so you can purchase a complete layout (track 7 rolling stock) in one box. 

In Conclusion

Hornby train sets are a great way to start the hobby of model railways. As modelling skills grow, you can expand your layout to a larger bigger one. In addition to Hornby's own add-on track packs, it is worth considering PECO's as well. PECO has the advantage of offering a wider range of pointwork which provides more options when planning a layout. 

When it comes to securing the track to the baseboard, use track pins. PECO track pins are recommended over Hornby's due to them being a bit thicker and don't bend so easily. However, some modellers don't like using track pins & prefer to glue their tracks down instead of using track pins. Either method works very well, however, the pinning method allows for easier track removal which is handy if making changes to the track work in the future.

It is advisable to purchase and keep an extra pack or two of rail joiners as spares in case any rail joiners need replacing plus for any future trackwork alterations.

For track laying, also consider adding track laying tools to your modelling layout building tool kit. Tools such as curved/straight track templates, and double track spacer tools, are handy for working with flexi track. For installing the track pins, small jewellers twist drill with a suitable-sized drill bit fitted to make the hole in the sleeper & baseboard for the track pins. A pin pusher tool to push the track pins into place or use a pair of thin-nosed pliers. For cutting track work, look at track cutters by Xueron or use a razor saw or rotary tool fitted with a cutting disk.

Happy modelling