Fastrack vs. Tubular. I know, I know...

[phillyreading]

mpzpw3,

Fastrac would be great for what you want with one or two exceptions, the 2037 may have derailmenty problems when used with Fastrac switches, I highly recommend that you try the 2037 locomotive on a layout with Fastrac switches before giving it to your nephew.  Some post war locomotives have deep wheel flanges on the steam locomotives, also if using post war electric operated knuckle couplers the contact shoe may hang up at the switch. 

Lee F.

[Jumijo]

FasTrack is tubular taken to the next level.

Jim 

[Anonymous]

Chucks point regarding hanging an oval on the wall is a good one, and even for a die-hard tubular guy like myself - it seems the right choice for this circumstance. The cost is gonna be a lot more, but it is much easier to set up and run on the fly so to speak.

Besides, at that age, kids eat worms and drink from mud puddles. I wouldn't be too worried about the "FasTrack give you cooties" thing for a few more years.

 

dont forget ...............eating paint chips and elmers glue..........

 

I agree this is a condition for the plastic stuff, would not want to mess moms carpet up. thats not good

[chuck]

It seems a lot of people here buy MTH sets and don't want the track.

There are a number of good reasons for this

I've used both.  You can not hang a loop of Real Trax on the wall unless you get the under the track locon pieces.  The solid rail is quieter BUT the electrical connectors are really poor and the track often seperates from the electrcial connectors between the pieces.  The track is often harder to put together and take apart than tubular. 

[jwse30]

I own one oval of fastrack and about 100 pounds of tubular.

I'd recommend sticking with the roadbed included system, as it keeps dirt, grease, and oil off the carpet better than tubular. It's also more modern, which may keep a 10 year old's attention better than 100 year old technology.

Regardless of track type, I would encourage a carpet beneath it of a set size. This helps a novice realize that a layout has to have boundries, and a kid to realize that if I can't have everything I want, I need to prioritize.

Not knowing what your nephew's shop stocks and going by what's readily available here, I'd be more likely to recommend MTH's RealTrax than Fasttracks. It seems a lot of people here buy MTH sets and don't want the track. They then resell the track for next to nothing. I've never tried pricing the two track systems against each other as far as switches or any other non starter set pieces, so it may be a wash.

All that said, a 2037 looks nicest to me on O27 tubular hauling far undersized cars (6014s, 6112, and SP cabeese), but I'm not the guy playing with this train. 

 

J White

 

[dwiemer]

I have a good size permanent layout in Fastrack.  With a little weathering, it looks pretty good.  As for your nephew's needs, I think it will serve him well.  Less chance of the old cuts to the hand from trying to put track together/take apart.  It will also be less likely that he will get carpet in the gears of the 2037 on Fastrack.  If you keep it on the simple side, you can develop a reasonable size layout with a couple of manual switches, he can have some sidings for more interest.

Dennis

[Frank53]

Chucks point regarding hanging an oval on the wall is a good one, and even for a die-hard tubular guy like myself - it seems the right choice for this circumstance. The cost is gonna be a lot more, but it is much easier to set up and run on the fly so to speak.

Besides, at that age, kids eat worms and drink from mud puddles. I wouldn't be too worried about the "FasTrack give you cooties" thing for a few more years.

[chuck]

This is what FastTrack was meant for.  It can be assembled and disassembed without any real problems.  I used to keep an oval hanging on the wall (the interlocking sections are that good) and just set it down on the carpet.  You can take things one step further by using quick connect plugs for your power feeds and leave the lugged connectors on the track and and the transformer.

[mpzpw3]

After reading the recent threads about fastrack vs. tubular, I have question pertaining to a certain situation that wasn't really addressed in these threads.

My 10 year old nephew has taken a great interest in my layout. I gave him a copy of the latest Lionel and K-Lionel catalogs, and I guess he has been bitten by the bug badly! He told me he preferred steam, so last week I purchased an old 2037 train set with 7 cars. I have a spare 1033 transformer, so I'm almost ready to go with his Christmas present.

Here's where things get tricky. He wants to be able to change his track plan often. Mom doesn't want a permanent layout in the house. His train set will have to run on the carpet in his room. My experience with tubular (which I use), is that it doesn't like to be taken apart and re-assembled all that often, especially by a kid on carpet. Fastrack seems like it would be better suited for this purpose. He can purchase more sections in a store near him, whereas with tubular he would have to get it while visiting me, which is quite a drive for them.

Personally, I don't care much for fastrack. I'm not a plastic roadbed sort of guy, and I almost cringe at the thought of a postwar 2037 running on it, not to mention the price. That's my opinion, not his, and it will be his train set. I'm leaning towards fastrack on this one. I didn't see this issue addressed on the other threads. If it was, I'm sorry to beat a dead horse, but would like a few opinions on this situation, since I'm a little biased, and don't want my bias to interfere with his fun.