Fastrack 2005

[casconi]

I am a newby here in the forum. I am 22 and own an extensive O Gauge collection - everything form Postwar F3s to a 736 to the 50th Anniversary to TMMC and a a JLC GG-1. Currently under construction is a layout I am building. I am debating what track to use. I have gobs and gobs of tubular O track but have considered switching to Fastrack. I have read through previous posts and I'm a bit confused. I am wondering the reactions of modelers today with far more Fastrack products than last year and possilbly a way to deaden sound with more time to research. I am looking to have mulitple train operation as well as running TMCC. This layout is my first "true" attempt at making a layout. I am inexperienced in wiring and track plans. I having been working with the great Big_Boy_4005 and he has been a huge help! I am looking to see what others in the forum have to say! Any help is appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Casconi,

Are you the guy I just met up at Hobbytown? I had brown hair with glasses and had my son with me. We were discussing fastrack. If so, really a coincidence.

[jimhaleyscomet]

Advantages of Fastrack:
1. Looks cool
2. Simple (should be reliable) design.
3. Easy to assemble (easiest of them all?).
4. Slightly harder to adjust length / angles than tubular and K-line shadow track.
Disadvantages of Fastrack:
1. All tracks with built in road bed seem to be expensive (when compared to tubular 031 and 027).
2. Switches are VERY expensive (K-line tubular 027 switches are excellent and less than half the cost).
3. Fastrack is louder than MTH realtrax or K-line shadow track.
4. Fastrack minimum radius is still very large. You will need alot more room than 027 track (I think someone said it is a minimum 36" radius track).

The best track for you all depends on your requirements (cost, size, reliability, ease of use). Good luck!

[Buckeye Riveter]

[#welcome] aboard.

This last weekend I visited a great train store in Hamburg, NY and they had an experiment on the counter for anyone to try. They had taken a piece of Fastrack, three foot long and a piece of Gargraves track, same length, but sitting on a thin piece of cork (1/8" thick) to simulate the ballast. (Remember Fastrack has the plastic ballast.) They had identical hopper cars with loads on each track. One could listen to the track noise as the cars were pushed along the track. You could switch the cars from track to track and it was the same result

The Fastrack was very noisy when compared to the Gargraves and remember both of these brands are hollow rail.

After investing in trains with great sounds, it seems unwise to use Fastrack when the sounds will be compromised by the track noise. [2c] I can't believe Lionel can't make a better track. [:(]

Has anyone else seen noise experiments in a hobby store or at a club?[?]

[tschmidt]

I was considering using Fastrack when I first started but after visiting that same train store in Hamburg, NY that Buckeye spoke of I went to Gargraves. Instead of using cork I used a black foam that is even quieter. Before making the large investment in Fastrack, look into everything else.

Good luck, Tom S

[casconi]

Indeed that was me at Hobbytown! Crazy huh? I guess thats our hobby! I appreciate all of the comments so far. I do understand the sound concern but that does not bother me as much as operation. I am more interested in making multiple trains run. I saw that Lionel makes a block section track for Fastrack. Does anyone know if this method works well?

[Jumijo]

I like Fastrack. I like it alot. But due to a limited selection of smaller radius track and its price, I've opted for O27 tubular. Truth be told, I don't like the look of the tubular track at all, but it's cheap and it has the tighter radius pieces.

Jim

[cnw1995]

I am another fan of 027 tubular track. I like the lower profile - it's cheap - and it came with the train set that got me into the hobby. The noise with plastic track is not a big issue with me. I like the toy-trainey sound.

[IronHoarse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by casconi... I saw that Lionel makes a block section track for Fastrack. Does anyone know if this method works well?

Hi,
I use Fastrack and like it a lot. I have two Block power sections on my layout and they work just fine. I only have two engines but I run them together all the time, they are both TMCC. The switches work real smooth too. It is also easy to wire with the accessory power wires from Lionel. The track is easy to put together and stays together nicely with out any screws, although I use a few screws to keep it from moving around on the layout. Bottom line is if the price, noise, and 18" radius does not bother you then I think it is a good choice.

[lionelsoni]

It is the fastrack diameter that is 36 inches, not the radius. However, it is not measured in the usual way, between the outsides of the ties, but between the center rails.

[Jumijo]

The noise associated with FasTrack doesn't both me either.

Radius or diameter, whatever. It's too wide to run one loop inside another on a 4' wide table.

Jim

[daan]

The problem with any track with added roadbed (and fasttrack specially) is the possibility to make track sections in an electrical way. If you make a layout with multiple train operation you need track which is easy to chop in length and easy it divide in section by cutting the middle rail where desired. Also the possibility to solder wires to it without seeing them running across the roadbed is an advantage.
(I refer to the Märklin track, since it's alike with construction) The looks of fasttrack are great, certainly with some weathering added and easier then applying ballast to the whole layout by hand..

[Anonymous]

You know,I live in Dalton ga. there's trains all around me.I don't see what the deal is with a quiet roadbed. There's no such thing,as a quiet roadbed. I get stuck at grade crossings all the time. Hey guys! Those things make a lot of noise. I luv it. the more noise the better I say. God Bless. Easter

[csxt30]

Yes, most of the mixed freight in trains are noisey, though, sometimes you will see like a unit train go by, where they are all the same type cars and fairly new, and will really notice how much quieter they are. You may see some auto carrier trains & I think I've noticed some fairly quiet grain trains go by. Now for me on the model trains, I have a hearing problem & I just like to hear the engine sounds & horns & I may not even notice the other sounds. I use Gargraves track on homosote & it all sounds ok to me! Thanks, John

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by casconi

I saw that Lionel makes a block section track for Fastrack. Does anyone know if this method works well?

You can make your own blocks by prying the tabs up on the underside of the track and removing the pins, insert a thin peice of plastic or some other type of insulation between the two peices of track. You can also just cut the rail with a dremel tool to get the same result but that may result in the cut rail ends to "flair up" from the roadbed over time. The other method is also less obvious than an 1/8" gap in the rails.

You can add terminal drops to the underside of the track by again prying up the tabs under the track, wraping the wire around them and crimping them down again. I have used this method on my layout using DCS and get a signal of 8 to 10 everywhere (10 being the best).

On top of 1/2" foam the noise is not bad, I have noticed the traditional Lionel starter set train is louder than my heavier MTH RK engines and K-line passenger cars. but not enough to take away from any of the PS2 or Railsounds.

I would probably consider a different track system (but not rule out FasTrack) if starting over again but I kept buying small amounts of FasTrack until I got to the point of no return so another track wasn't really an option. You don't need to balast the center of the track, and if you balast the sides with a color matching balast to cover the edge it looks pretty good. Yes the switches are expensive (I have 13 now) but have had no problems with them and all trains run very smoothly over them.

[Anonymous]

I've used them and they work well. I have been running the connections from the under side of the block section back to a toggle switch to turn on and off sidings from a main line. These are much easier than cutting into track and the cost is not much more than a single piece of 5". The jumpers on the bottom come off easy as well. I'm in the process of completing the wiring for my layout (entirely Fastrack exicept for the remote sections that are O gauge since the Fastrack operating sections are not due out until later this year) and have not had any issues at all. The switches are powered separetly from the track as well as all of the uncouplers. Alot of the wiring has come by trial and error but for the most part the manuals with the track have been helpful.