Toy train operating and collecting

I use O-27 tubular track for the O-Gauge Layout, Postwar Gilbert track for my American Flyer Layout.

With the O-27 layout, I use Lionel, Marx, K-Line, and a Japanese Brand that I can't quite think of the name of for switches. I also use O-42 for the mainlines to allow for bigger locos to be used.

NH_Chris wrote:

How about "all of the above"?  The layout I'm building now (I call it "Quick and Dirty #4") is made up of what I had laying around after getting rid of most of the Realtrax from my last layout.  It has an inner loop of Fastrack, passing siding and outer loop of Realtrax, a few Ross switches, and then a yard made up of Atlas track leading to Lionel and K-Line tubular track and switches.  I built a few Realtrax layouts, but became disenchanted after a few flaky switches that fried themselves.  I've had trouble with Fastrack similar to one earlier poster (works fine then loses conductivity at the joints), so it's on probation on this layout.  In my mind's eye, I will build my next layout will Atlas track and Ross switches.   My son's 4x8 layout is all O-27 tubular, but I am thinking of changing it over to K-Line Shadow Rail O-31 tubular, with plastic ties. NH Chris

This is probally the first time that I have heard of Fastrac having problems. The usual problem track is MTH Realtrax, switches going crazy most of the time.

I went with GarGraves because Lionel's switches around 12 years ago were terrible for 031 track. Thinking about replacing my two 027 switches with GarGraves switches, all my other track has GarGraves switches. For me GarGraves is a much better track to work with than Lionel Fastrac or MTH Realtrax.

Lee F.

I had one section of FastTrack go south apparently from something from one of our cat's (urinating or rolfing on it?)  This was a Christmas layout and the damage happened on the back side of the tree (as far away/as difficult to get to as possible).  Some kind of chemical "spill" started to attack the track, primarily from the inside.  I only noticed the "damage" when rust/oxidation began to appear on the bottom of the formed rails.   I pulled the affected section out and then disassembled it.  The entire inside plating was gone and the steel severly rusting.  This caused a significant drop in conductivity and that seems to have been why the trains behaved badly on that one section of O-36 curved track.

BTW, if you abuse the track joints you can get the pins to bend up/swell the rolled steel and that will also affect the track performance.  This damage is obvious and requires severe abuse of the joint, aka bending the track up or down a great dela more than normal assembly/disassembly would entail. Trains will "thud" when crossing a swollen joint.

To chuck and Deputy,

I don't let my cats get near my trains!  Last time one of my cats got on the layout he swatted a caboose to the floor and moved several frieght cars. So needless to say NO more cats in train area!!  The cat incident was over four years ago

Lee F.

chuck, have you considered installing byfold doors or using sheets of plastic to keep the cats out? Otherwise you need to move your layout to a cat-proof area.

Lee F.

PhilaKnight wrote:

I have a saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" and "Sometimes change is bad" So I use good old fashion Tubular Track O and O27. I have tons of it and it is still good so I never bothered to get into the others.

 Ditto the above for my layout.

Robert

http://www.robertstrains.com/