My bet is on the heat. I'm pretty sure that Lionel doesn't do extreme testing on their products. Mine is in a basement room all year, so it's not a fair comparison. Good Luck!
lionroar88 SleeperN06: My track looked pretty good as well at 6 years. I only started really having problems starting at 8 years. My track is stored in and outside shed without windows 8 to 9 months a year. Well now THAT answers a lot of questions.Is the shed climate controlled? Do you live in a high humidity area?Seriously, we're talking plastic and metal here, and the temperature extremes in a shed are going to GREATLY impact it's life.
SleeperN06: My track looked pretty good as well at 6 years. I only started really having problems starting at 8 years. My track is stored in and outside shed without windows 8 to 9 months a year.
My track looked pretty good as well at 6 years. I only started really having problems starting at 8 years. My track is stored in and outside shed without windows 8 to 9 months a year.
Well now THAT answers a lot of questions.Is the shed climate controlled? Do you live in a high humidity area?Seriously, we're talking plastic and metal here, and the temperature extremes in a shed are going to GREATLY impact it's life.
No I'm in the Desert where it only rains a few times a years and it does get hot and dry. I have the shed insulated, but it still gets around 100° inside during the heat of the day.
It did cross my mind that it could be the heat and I opened up a box the other day of a plastic snow display and discovered that the plastic snow had yellowed, but it's more like 18 to 20 years old
SleeperN06 My track looked pretty good as well at 6 years. I only started really having problems starting at 8 years. My track is stored in and outside shed without windows 8 to 9 months a year.
My FasTrack is 6 years old and looks good as new. I also have a oval of it that's 4 years old, and has been taken apart/put together at least 20 times with no problem.
I've had mine in place for nearly 5 years, and changed my layout at least 15 times. I've not experienced any of the difficulties you describe as yet. CTT has some switch reviews this month, and it seems as though Fastrack is better built with more features than any of the others; which has been my experience-bulletproof. Good Luck!
I’ve never used Super O track, but a lot of people have said the same thing. Before I bought the RealTrax for my expansion I tried to buy some on EBay and I was expensive plus I could not acquire all the pieces that I needed.
SleeperN06 I also wondered if there was s clip, but haven’t seen anything I can’t screw mine down anymore because I added 2” foam board to quiet it down and to add contour. I am planning on gluing it down so it doesn’t move, but since the pins aren’t tight anymore I’m worried about maintaining the electrical continuity. I took some of the track apart and noticed that there was some corrosion around the pins. Of course just pulling them apart and pushing them back together somewhat cleans them. If I go through all the work of pulling it all apart to clean the joints, then I might just replace it. If MTH had the exact same dimensions, I would replace it with RealTrax except the two are not the same..
I also wondered if there was s clip, but haven’t seen anything
I can’t screw mine down anymore because I added 2” foam board to quiet it down and to add contour. I am planning on gluing it down so it doesn’t move, but since the pins aren’t tight anymore I’m worried about maintaining the electrical continuity.
I took some of the track apart and noticed that there was some corrosion around the pins. Of course just pulling them apart and pushing them back together somewhat cleans them. If I go through all the work of pulling it all apart to clean the joints, then I might just replace it.
If MTH had the exact same dimensions, I would replace it with RealTrax except the two are not the same..
Truth be told when I tore out the MTH I looked to see if there was any "reproduction Super O track" To my way of thinking, this was the finest O track ever made..I cant imagine what Lionel was thinking..maybe its my ignorance..that some minor engineering tweaks would have sufficed.
I think sometimes Lionel in the past followed the tail of MTH in a kind of me too reaction. To me Realtax is junk and Fastrack is junk according to several commentators elsehwhere.. .if someone brought back Super O I would be willing create another scrap bin. I love the look of Super O..very unique..this coming from a tin plater..
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
wallyworld Earl, Do they make track clips for this stuff? Still curious about this topic. Bruce
Earl,
Do they make track clips for this stuff? Still curious about this topic.
Bruce
Bruce,
Track clips are not necessary for FasTrack. The FasTrack has built in connections that hold the track together very securely. In fact, it is often difficult to get it apart. The seams in the track roadbed are almost invisible. I have never had FasTrack inadvertently come apart.
Earl
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EIS2 SleeperN06: Mine is 8 years old and is looking pretty shabby. I removed the screws to quiet it down and now it’s not staying together anymore. I’m not sure glue is the answer or if I should just replace the whole thing. I don't understand why "it’s not staying together anymore". I have some original FasTrack from several years ago and I have had it on the layout for a long time and I have changed the layout numerous times. I have never screwed the FasTrack down because it stays together without the need for screws. The rust and poor electrical connections reported in subsequent posts will have no effect on the ability of the FasTrack to remain together. I also have used FasTrack under the Christmas tree for several years and I have had no requirement to add additional electrical feeds to the track. One set of feeder wires is all I have ever needed and I haven't experienced any engine slowdowns due to poor electrical connections. The track remained solidly connected with no need for any track maintenance. Earl
SleeperN06: Mine is 8 years old and is looking pretty shabby. I removed the screws to quiet it down and now it’s not staying together anymore. I’m not sure glue is the answer or if I should just replace the whole thing.
Mine is 8 years old and is looking pretty shabby. I removed the screws to quiet it down and now it’s not staying together anymore. I’m not sure glue is the answer or if I should just replace the whole thing.
I don't understand why "it’s not staying together anymore". I have some original FasTrack from several years ago and I have had it on the layout for a long time and I have changed the layout numerous times. I have never screwed the FasTrack down because it stays together without the need for screws. The rust and poor electrical connections reported in subsequent posts will have no effect on the ability of the FasTrack to remain together.
I also have used FasTrack under the Christmas tree for several years and I have had no requirement to add additional electrical feeds to the track. One set of feeder wires is all I have ever needed and I haven't experienced any engine slowdowns due to poor electrical connections. The track remained solidly connected with no need for any track maintenance.
SleeperN06 Mine is 8 years old and is looking pretty shabby. I removed the screws to quiet it down and now it’s not staying together anymore. I’m not sure glue is the answer or if I should just replace the whole thing.
That is the one thing I really like about the MTH track. It has large copper surfaces to solder on to. It’s easier for me to solder on a wire then crimp a connector on FasTrack. I don’t know how many times I broke off one of those little terminals trying to push on a connector.
I just solder about 5 ft of track together which is about all I can maneuver and then drop down a feeder.
SleeperN06 I have a box of 027 that the plating is almost gone and it’s rusted pretty bad. I keep thinking that I might be able to clean it with a wire brush and use for something temporary on the outside patio for the grand kids, but it’s probably going to go in the trash.As far as that bin full of RealTrak, mine almost end up the same way until I started soldering pieces together at the connectors to a point where I can still mange it and then drop down wires on each end. The pins where always bending and got old fast, but works pretty good with the wires. Plus I can run a bus wire around to catch all the drop down feeders
I have a box of 027 that the plating is almost gone and it’s rusted pretty bad. I keep thinking that I might be able to clean it with a wire brush and use for something temporary on the outside patio for the grand kids, but it’s probably going to go in the trash.As far as that bin full of RealTrak, mine almost end up the same way until I started soldering pieces together at the connectors to a point where I can still mange it and then drop down wires on each end. The pins where always bending and got old fast, but works pretty good with the wires. Plus I can run a bus wire around to catch all the drop down feeders
I should have known better when connecting the Real track became a formidable challenge at times. Some slid together like puzzle pieces and most were demonic.I turn it upside down to find the dead spots which meant repeating this misery several times. Around that time, the electronics in my MTH engines decided that a BCR was not good enough for them. I thought to myself I have surrounded myself with a lot of unreliable, expensive @#%*&%! junk... I thought this was to relieve stress!!!
I agree taking them apart and then putting them together again sometimes was like Humpty Dumpty. If I ever recycle them, Ill take your sage advice, which makes a lot of sense...but even the thought of going through that again acts like a negative reinforcement.. I traded realism for reliability and I can live with that..in fact now I prefer it., although I would like to hear from long term users of fasttrack to keep my options open for layout 5.2 should that ever happen.
arkady I've never worn out any track of any kind. That includes 027 (ran my ovals of 027 for 12 years, and still have it in storage), GarGraves, Super-O or now FasTrack. A bit of pin loosening or discoloration here and there isn't something I'd consider cause for alarm.
I've never worn out any track of any kind. That includes 027 (ran my ovals of 027 for 12 years, and still have it in storage), GarGraves, Super-O or now FasTrack.
A bit of pin loosening or discoloration here and there isn't something I'd consider cause for alarm.
Understandable with older track that is demonstrably robust but how long have you had the fastrack? Sort of comparing apples and oranges...no offense intended.. Has it been eight years, or less that you have had fastrack? For me it was a cause when the plastic "Real" trax became a "Real" headache.I now have a large container filled with that experiment in modernism..about 20-30 pounds of scrap rail.Not cheap.
SleeperN06 You can’t see it very well in this picture, but I added a short 1 ¾” piece just before the curve last year and it shows the wear on the older track a little more. It looks almost like the older track is starting to rust or maybe tarnish. I can’t clean it off and it only gets worst if I clean it too much like its plated or something. Someone last year said that I it cannot rust and I just don’t know. Now I’m sure the brand new MTH track that I just laid probably has a lot to do with my perception of the rails, but it still doesn’t explain the looseness.
You can’t see it very well in this picture, but I added a short 1 ¾” piece just before the curve last year and it shows the wear on the older track a little more. It looks almost like the older track is starting to rust or maybe tarnish. I can’t clean it off and it only gets worst if I clean it too much like its plated or something. Someone last year said that I it cannot rust and I just don’t know.
Now I’m sure the brand new MTH track that I just laid probably has a lot to do with my perception of the rails, but it still doesn’t explain the looseness.
I would tend to think it is plated just from your description alone. Not being a metallurgist I wonder if the plating is wearing in addition to the mechanical fastening of the rails to the plastic base. UV damage seems very unlikely. Is there any fading on the plastic base? Is this in a basement? I looked at fastrack when contemplating my last layout "redo"..and I loved the look but it seemed sort of flimsy as a component..especially the folded rails looked a bit on the thin side of thickness..The folded " tubular fastrack rails seemed to be more of a u shaped cross section rather than a complete fold which caused some concern as far as rigidity..I hope there are other comments from long term users as far as wearability.. I like to keep abreast of "other options" for track in case I build another layout.
It depends if this is a trend or isolated to a one or two spots. If it's trend, it's bound to get worse and then repair becomes counter productive that takes time away from running. I would replace it.
I have quite a lot of solid rail Realtrax that I consigned to a bin in the garage. It too has a plastic base with clips ( rather than pins) that became a headache over time. I went back to traditional tubular track as it is comparatively bullet proof in comparison to plastic track.and can be sliced and diced at will. Inexpensive as well. Sometimes simpler is better when it comes to toys and wear.. toy trains specifically. Thats been my experience. BTW..Wasnt it AF that pioneered roadbed plastic track?
never heard of this befor but always been a concern of mine as I know plastic gives after a while. Yes I know the pins widen tube track also but with that you can clamp it a little and tighten it back up.
This is actually a good subject of a discussion. I'm interested in see other responses.
I did use fastrack for a carpet railroad at one point but that was just for a month have since sold most of my fastrack as plan to use gargraves with gargraves and maybe Ross switches ( if my wallet can afford it lol)
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