Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
QUOTE: Originally posted by jaabat I don't think tubular track is going to go away any time soon. Too many people use it and many, many layouts have it. That being said, I think FasTrack is a quantum leap forward in terms of ease of use and conductivity. It snaps together easily and stays together. It also looks much better, and the plastic ballast can be painted for an even more realistic appearance. Jim
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
QUOTE: Originally posted by ben10ben At one time, I heard it said that Lionel made 3 miles of tubular track each year. This a year or two before fastrack came out.
Rob
ben10ben If nothing else, other people, like K-line(assuming that they aren't bought by Lionel), will continue to make tubular.
Well, that all came & went.
Has RMT released any of the former K-Line Shadow Rail yet?
to the forum. There are "pros" and "cons" for both the Fastrack and Tubular. I'm a "tubular" guy. I like the old toy-train look and, beside that, the price ain't bad
As noted, I agree that the tubular track will be available for quite awhile. Go with what you like and have fun.
Tubular track is cheap. I mean really cheap if you buy it used. It will apparently last forever if it is not stored where it will rust. It is easy to cut to fit. I don' t think you can easily cut fastrack. I have a whole box of cut sections of O-31 track which I find to be very useful.
BB
I am staying with tubular track! Very easy to work with and affordable.
I have tried Fastrac and was not impressed with it, so I traded the Fastrac(and a couple other things) at a train show for an MTH engine. The problem I had with Fastrac is that it got dirty way too quickly, and I was using an interurban set (K-Line's # K-2703) of passenger cars on it.
Lee F.
I also run tubular, both Lionel and Marx with a bit of Sakai. I did have quite a bit of Atlas 0, but got rid of it all recently to get more tubular and other postwar items.
Sakai ? Never heard of it. I google Sakai, an old Japanese track from the 1950s ?
I use good old tubular track, with O-22 switches. I like the look of gargraves and Ross Switches, but I had so much tubular track I did not want to make the switch. Besides, that what Lionel is all about. Sorry to the fast track guys but I don't like the look of it. Look too plastic. I was surprised when I was in Mizell trains trains in Denver and asked about why he did not carry gargraves track. He said that he does not see people buy it anymore, that most people have gone to fast track. Caboose Hobbies in Denver does not carry gargraves either. But most of the the big railroad layouts featured in the photo spreads in CTT use gargraves trach with Ross Switches.
jaabatI don't think tubular track is going to go away any time soon. Too many people use it and many, many layouts have it. That being said, I think FasTrack is a quantum leap forward in terms of ease of use and conductivity. It snaps together easily and stays together. It also looks much better, and the plastic ballast can be painted for an even more realistic appearance.
I agree with this 100%. I used to have a Super O layout, and liked it for most of the reasons given above. But alas, Super O is no longer in production, and I find FasTrack a worthy replacement. It's not cheap, but I am completely satisfied with it and will continue to use it.
As for tubular track, I agree that it's not going anywhere in our lifetimes. A lot of people like it (many of them testifying here on this thread), it's relatively cheap and it's a known technology. I still keep tubular track around to run my prewar Lionel, which doesn't get along at all well with FasTrack switches.
Also have to be careful with some post war rolling stock and the shoe pick-ups for uncoupling, with a UCS track, if so equipped. They might get snagged on Fastrac or ripped off.
My main gripes with Fastrac is that you need special fitter pieces, one and a half or one and eigth inch long, if you do anything near fancy with a layout design and these cost the same price as a full ten inch section of Fastrac. I priced a pair of switches for Fastrac at my local hobby shop, over $120.00 a pair!! For the same money I can buy at least three pairs of post war 022 switches.
Another thing about tubular track is that Bachmann is now selling O gauge tubular & 027 track in the Williams line.
Rob got a little behind on his reading but is catching up.
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Yea I noticed that too. It seems there have been a few threads recently that have risen from the dead.
DJSpanky Holy Thread Resurrection!!!! You do realize that the original post was in 2005?
Holy Thread Resurrection!!!!
You do realize that the original post was in 2005?
The only info I've been able to find is that Sakia, a Japanese firm produced 0 gauge trains and 027 profile track in the early to mid '30's. I have a bunch of their track and switches. The switches look like 0 gauge 022 switches.
The track seems to be quite sturdy. You can identify it by the fact there are no markings and the tabs holding the rails in place are all smooth, no crimps. Every once in a while, on the bottom of an insulator will be stamped "Japan" .
Recently on the bay was a Sakai steamer and tender up for auction. The first time I had seen any Sakai trains and it was a beauty. The winning bid was just over $200 and had I the money I would have bid also.
They also manufactured some HO.
steve24944 Sakai ? Never heard of it. I google Sakai, an old Japanese track from the 1950s ?
Sakai was like a combo of Marx & Lionel - the switches were like 1121 rails and a Marx mechanism.
Some examples of Sakai:
Are those your trains? They look great! I can't see the couplers, but I can see how somebody who doesn't know any better could confuse them with Marx.
The steamer that was recently on the bay had a bullet nose and was blue along with the tender. I seem to remember that the pickup shoe was similar to Marx.
These pics are from the web - eBay, etc.
Some of us came on board after 2005 so we didn't have the opportunity to welcome Doug when the post was written. ( Better late than never! )
Interesting....2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011....."Tubular" lives on.
Interesting how this started out as a 2005 question about fast track + tubular track to now in 2011 talking about old 1950 trains from Japan
lol! You started it.
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