track

[Anonymous]

Mornin guys. Got a question for ya'll. If Gargraves and ross weren't available
what track would you use? I'm building a 22'6 x 12 x12 u shaped layout, in O gauge. Got a good friend thats been in the hobby 30 years, and he tried Atlas NS, and said he had some problems with TMCC reception, so he went with steel.Cost for me is a concern like a lot of others.I do have access to a hobby distributor where i can get Atlas O NS track and swithces and K-line at a pretty good price. The k-line switches look pretty good, I will be running some post war and modern era trains .Having a hard time decicing HELP needed
LOL .....Lenny Comeaux

[Roger Bielen]

Lenny, I'm not familiar with other than Lionel tubular and Gargraves, but when I was building my layout I found that Gargraves flextrack was the better buy on a per foot bases. You can usually find some pretty good case prices if you look at the details in many of the ads in CTT. The Ross switches are pricey but if your not looking for extreme high-rail detail take a look at the Gargraves switches, I understand the newer models have improved on some of the problems of those of several years back.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Lenny, I guess I would start with a question. Why are Gargraves and Ross out of the running from the start? On a per foot basis, they are one of the least expensive options out there. The only thing less expensive is tradirional tubular, but it has drawbacks of it's own. It seems that you have taken Atlas out of the running for cost and TMCC signal transmission. My vote is for Gargraves.

[Anonymous]

To be honest mate I dont think anyone cares and most people might not know like me

[dougdagrump]

Mornin' Lenny.
I run my trains at the San Diego Model RR Museum. Our club layout has 4 main lines three of which are the Atlas NS and inter-connected so you can move from one to another as well as one level to another. The 4th line is Atlas steel, it has no switches at all, this line is for those of us who still like the locos with magnetraction. I have never experienced any reception problems with my TMCC locos on our rails. [^] But like you said it ain't cheap.

[lionelsoni]

Get well soon, Samual, if that is your real name!

[FJ and G]

There are 3 rules of thumb for track, IMO:

1. If you intend to just run trains on carpets, then go with Fasttrack or possibly Realtrax

2. If you want to have a real toy train traditional look to your layout, then go with 027 or O tubular

3. If you want realistic track and hi-rail scenery, then go with Atlas, GG, or possibly scaletrax, which has the narrowest center rail but wide-spaced ties (a tradeoff I suppose).

[tschmidt]

I can't help you for what you're asking. I use Gargrave and Ross. I don't think I would use anything else. They are great.

Tom

[Dave Farquhar]

One thing I've noticed about Gargraves switches is that at my local shop, they're priced just slightly higher than O31 switches, let alone wider-radius stuff. So if you're buying more than a couple of switches, I think you'll make up the price pretty quickly by going with Gargraves.

If it weren't for the couple of boxes of tubular track I've accumulated, I'd go with Gargraves because the price is right, and you can bend it to any radius you want. The other thing about Gargraves is the stuff's been in production since the 1940s, so it's proven.

Since I've got tubular track coming out my ears and I'm a toy train guy anyway, that's what I'm using and probably what I'll always use. My prewar and Marx stuff has issue with current-production Ross and Gargraves switches anyway, so I'm pretty much stuck with tubular.

[jimhaleyscomet]

I use K-line 027 track and switches. I love them both and the cost is very reasonable. You can easily transition to and tubular O track if you need wider curves in places.

Jim H

[Anonymous]

I'de take a look at the Oct. 2004 issue of CTT before making a choice.The article: "Tests of 9 types of track" on page 66 has great info.

The best track from MY interpitation of the charts, is Atlas steel. It offers great traction for both traction tire and magnatraction, good signal strength, and electrical conductivity. Most types tested well, but the Atlas steel seemed to out do the others, in my own interpitation of the testing charts of the article.

[spankybird]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimhaleyscomet

I use K-line 027 track and switches. I love them both and the cost is very reasonable. You can easily transition to and tubular O track if you need wider curves in places.

Jim H

So do I. This also limits how much I will spend on an engine, as I will only by engines that I can run. So if it won't run on my layout, I don't by it.[:D]

[eZAK]

I use Gargraves!

Barring that I wuold go with Atlas Steel.