042 track can be had in 027-size rail allowing for concentric loops. if you equipment is short and you are willing to do a little searching, you can also find matching-height Marx 034 and have THREE concentric loops.
Welcome back to the hobby. Fast track is too noisey and limited in radius selection. Tubular is good and inexpensive and comes in many radiuses and you can cut it to fit. I also like non rusting MTH Real Trax but like all plastic roadbbed it is noisey. It has optional rubber plug in pads which help. I have not tried Atlas but usually ties without plastic roadbed are less noisey. Kline had a nice tie only tubular track but unfortunately they are out of business.
I actually got started in American Flyer in 1948 (Christmas Gift). Idrifted from toy trains to "scale" and returned via Lionel and Williams By Bachman. I personally like the tubular track. Part of it is cost, but I feel there is more flexibility there.
I would say to use MTH RealTrax.
It combines FasTrack with the radius of tubular track.
Hi! Been a lot of changes in the last ten years, not the least of these, are the prices. Tubular track is more economical than the Real Trax, Gargraves and Fastrak and there is still a lot of it available. Of course, it all depends on the "look" you want. If you are concerned with the noise, Homasote on top of the plywood works well. If you can "stretch" your space, I would suggest 5x9. Lastly, I did consider, at one point, going the Mianne route but it was beyond my budget. Whatever you decide, take your time and keep us updated.
Just as a note-I recently used Sievers benchwork for a portion of my scale On30 logging layout and found the product to be excellent. Service and attention to detail by Sievers was also top notch. Granted, it all comes at a premium but I was more than satisfied.
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