
shortly before Xmas 2011 I bought Kühns new tracks-Set. I’m trying to review these tracks as an ordinary model-trains-product, even though I had some influence in constructing and developing these tracks.
On the first glimpse the Kühn-Tracks look exactly like the well known H0-‘RocoLine-without-roadbed’. It’s obvious, this happened on purpose. You don’t have to invent the wheel twice. Look, how similar Kühns BR 103 and his tracks look to Rocos products. One point goes to Kühn: The connections to the last crossties are lowered so they will vanish beneath the ballast.
The rail-profile is only 1,8mm ‘high’ and 0,7mm thin (Tillig TT and most of the N-gauge run on 2,0/2,1mm), so it looks very fine and much more alike the (European) prototype. In my opinion Tilligs TT-tracks have a kind of an H0-feeling, ‘fat’ as they are. But that’s a different story.
Kühns geometry is very modern, easy going - and very similar to the geometry by märklins C-Track, but more intelligent in the turnout-affairs. It’s even economical, in many ways: You don’t need all the different short mini-tracks. The turn-outs are sold separately (from Juni 1012 on) around ten euros. Right now you only can buy the ‘super starter set’ (a slightely oversized name for a package with a track-oval and three turnouts…) for 50 Euros at http://www.modelleisenbahn-cms.de/kuehn ... /index.php. I adapted a lot of layout-plans by minitrix, Fleischmann, märklin and the alba-publisher to show how cool the geometry works. Maybe there are more to come.

Oh yes, the turn outs. Some people found problems while driving through the branch line; my ‘blanket’-waggon sometimes suddenly decides to prefer the straight way (bad boy!). This happens because Kühn constructed the guide rail too low – well, well. But most times it works. And it isn’t all gold at Tilligs track, hm?
The frog can be energized; unfortuneately only the rails, not the frogs bottom (...sounds strange, doesn't it? the frogs bottom can be energized. Mhkay...). RocoLine does it better in H0, they follow the NEM and all wheels slighty touch the frogs bottom (again), so they get power all the way through. But with Kühn it's but better than nothing: Short locomotives can get power here; a test with a 'Köf' will follow.
The turn-outs don’t need a ‘motor’ for trying out and ‘playing’; a small spring makes the switch blades rest – just exactly like the turnouts by british Peco and german Piko do. A nice, cheap idea. But Kühns turnouts blades are made of the profiles, which looks great. Piko & peco use folded plates, which is e.g. in the case of Pikos 55220 weak somehow, you can spread them without any effort, and it looks cheap. Why 20°-turn-outs? Because at märklins H0 C- and K-Track, Roco H0 geoLine, Tillig TT and minitrix N these ‘short’ turn-outs are the best-sellers. That’s why. Maybe longer turnouts will come; it may be a question of ability and ambition, too.
For the use of an electric motor take the springs out, and cut away all the unwanted plastic-stuff. The turnouts are delivered with four ‘edges’, here the Roco-N-motors can take place. They easily can be pulled away for motors ‘underneath’; one more thing we know from RocoLine. Some further details are found on this PDF; you don’t need to speak german, the pictures show everything. http://www.modelleisenbahn-cms.de/kuehn ... /index.php
What I don’t like is the rail-joiners quality. Yes, they work, but it feels as if they are a bit weak. I will change mine against Rocos N-22213 (now available at Fleischmann N). That works.
To sum up, I like these new tracks. Now TT-Trains look better than ever (except on TT-filigran for high-end-connoisseurs), even on a ‘play’-layout. It’s like TT growing up. It feels now similar to H0, only ‘less big’, which is quite comfortable in these times of small flats (talking about Germany). That’s the way I wanted it to be. I’m curious about this products future - and where this all leads to. If theres one thing for shure about TT it is the changing.

