Historical Perspective Needed -----------Lionel FasTrack

[trigtrax]

Mike, I have two stories for you on Fastrack.. Bob Grubba told me he originally worked on it but it had shaped rails similar to your Favorite Super O when he was at Lionel.

Sorry, I don't know his name, but the owner of S-Helper told me that the track was based on his . (at the time he was in the Purple Hall one aisle over from me) According to him he had some contact with Lionel about it to use his supplier but that didn't happen. He seemed a bit annoyed that Lionel took his idea elsewhere.

I realize, these two stories conflict a bit. But that's the nature of "O-Gauge". I'm sure you'll have fun sorting it all out [:D]

[FJ and G]

From an outsider's perspective, Lionel saw MTH's success with its RealTrax roadbed and decided to get in on some of the action with track that is user friendly. Appears they succeeded, although many speculated that the new track was supposed have a resemblence to Super O (that heard from an insider). At the highest levels, the decision was made for Fasttrack.

[lionelsuperotrack]

QUOTE: Originally posted by lionelsoni

Here is a link to the patent:

http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,796,509.PN.&OS=PN/6,796,509&RS=PN/6,796,509

Thanks for this wonderful link. What is there to learn from this!! Incredible. I own one of the original Super O patents and will play with this sight to learn more.

Thank you very much.

Mike

[lionelsuperotrack]

Brainel027 - Interesting perspective you provide. One would think the time is right to get to the bottom of this and get the whole story. I am banging on some doors and should be able to get the story. Thanks for your thoughts.

Mike

[brianel027]

Well, from an outsider's perspective, FasTrack was developed under the Maddox watch at Lionel. The connection between FasTrack and Bachmann's E-Z Track is pretty obvious also considering that Maddox had previously been with Bachmann. E-Z Track had totally changed the concept of the ready-to-run HO train set under the CHRISTmas tree. Traditional HO track was more than a small pain to set up on the floor or on carpeting. E-Z track changed all that.

I don't doubt for one minute that some of these thoughts went into the thinking process of FasTrack. I'm sure samples of E-Z track were looked at, as well as the MTH's RealTrax. Given the animoisity and competition between these two O guage makers, I'm sure Lionel wasn't going to let another company have the "easiest track system to assemble."

I've always felt personally that simple improvements could have been made to the existing 027 line of track. Just as others have wished that Super 'O' track had been reintroduced instead. But a new product line always seems to get more attention. And for all it's supposed faults, FasTrack seems to be a hit: Either Lionel is tightly limiting quantities made or it is selling much better than expected. And from my conversations the latter seems to be the case here.

[lionelsoni]

Here is a link to the patent:

http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,796,509.PN.&OS=PN/6,796,509&RS=PN/6,796,509

[Anonymous]

US Patent No. 6,796,509

[lionelsuperotrack]

Am looking to put together the History (however recent it may be) of FasTrack. When it was first conceived, by whom, first attempts, prototypes and all facts related to it that would not be found in Lionel Catalogues. A letter has been sent to Lionel to see what they are willing to share but oh so frequently there are those with some great insight online.

Your contributions are appreciated.

Very best, Mike

Lionel_FasTrack_System Yahoo Group
( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lionel_FasTrack_System/ )