Fastrack Newbie Here

Two possibilities come immediately to mind. Check the underside of the curved Fastrack where the diameter is listed,  and make sure they are all the same 048 label.  Secondly make sure you have the right number of curved track for a full circle (12).  Make sure they are all the same length and that somehow you don't have a mixture of full curves and less than full curves.  Easiest way to do this is make a pile of six and see if they look identical in curvature and length.

The straight track should be irrelevant as long as you have an equal number on each side of the oval, and they are all the same length.

Thanks for the quick reply! Indeed they are all O-48 full curves and there are 12. All straight track is the same length. This is why I'm feeling crazy.

@Dan C. posted:

Thanks for the quick reply! Indeed they are all O-48 full curves and there are 12. All straight track is the same length. This is why I'm feeling crazy.

I used the free program SCARM using six Fastrak 048 curves on each end and 4 10" Fastrak straights on the top and bottom and it works:

John

I essentially have three 10” straights on the top and bottom with six O48 full curves on either side. But I still can’t get it to line up. It’s bizarre. There’s always a section buckling like I’m trying to squeeze in too much.

@Dan C. posted:

I essentially have three 10” straights on the top and bottom with six O48 full curves on either side. But I still can’t get it to line up. It’s bizarre. There’s always a section buckling like I’m trying to squeeze in too much.

Are you talking about the last joint?  If so:

1. Assemble one curved end and the top and bottom together.

2. Assemble the other end

3. Attach that last entire curved end section a little at a time at the top and bottom to the rest.  Ease the whole curved section in a little at a time.

John

Take a picture of what you are talking about. Without any straights does it make a circle? Are all the straights the same length? Have you played with SCARM software to get the idea of how it should work? Sorry you're having difficulty.

Are the metal rail ends flush with the roadbed?  I had this same issue on a short piece of Fastrack and it drove me nuts until I recognized that the metal rails were not assembled correctly   See pics below, the RED shows the end which overlaps the roadbed and does not allow the track pieces to snap together.  First check the piece giving the problem.  Not sure about curved sections.

So I checked everything that was mentioned above and the track seems fine, but it will not all go together without buckling. I get some sections in, others pop out or aren’t flush. Maybe I have bad track?

@Dan C. posted:

So I checked everything that was mentioned above and the track seems fine, but it will not all go together without buckling. I get some sections in, others pop out or aren’t flush. Maybe I have bad track?

Try folding the rug back and place all of the track on the wood flooring. I suspect the rug/floor transitions are causing your fitment problems.

@Dan C. posted:

So I checked everything that was mentioned above and the track seems fine, but it will not all go together without buckling. I get some sections in, others pop out or aren’t flush. Maybe I have bad track?

Dan,

Try what Training Wheels suggested, but what I would do is to take TEN 24" x 24" foam tiles (maybe you have them in your kids room already) and lay the track on that.  Nice and flat and quiet too.

John

I work with Fastrack, have been for years as it was the best choice for a holiday train show which I did each year. I cannot figure out why this is happening. The only time it happens to me is when I am creating more than a simple oval and need to get those perfect short pieces for everything to fit properly. There IS the chance that the rug to floor is creating the issue as Training wheels suggested. BTW other than it not looking perfect, your train will still run across those short gaps in the joints. I have a couple myself which I plan on disguising with a little ballast.

Mikki

You all are being super helpful, thank you! I'm going to try and roll the carpet away and give it a more level attempt, though the carpet is pretty low pile. Hopefully that helps. I also purchased clips to keep the track together and hopefully that will help. If it's still funky I will come back and let you all know. I'm used to K-line super snap, but decided to steer away from that as it's getting increasingly hard to get.

Update: It's working! I set it up entirely on the hard floor and it stays together much better. I'm not sure why I didn't just try that- I assumed the snapping part of the Fastrack was more robust. It's still great, I'll just wait for the reinforcing clips to put it on anything different. I feel extremely silly. I should have just tried it this way before assuming I had bad track. Thank you all for your patience.

Just an alternative and not knowing what clips you purchased, I've used mini binger clips to hold the track together.  Just keep in mind that they are metal and are conductive.  I only installed them at the center rail.  Glad to hear things are working out.

Dan, there are many YouTube videos on working with Fastrack, some by Lionel and some by other model railroaders. SOME of them have been helpful for me, but don't hesitate to ask here. This group and a quilters group that I am on are the places that I feel safest even when I ask what I consider to be a "dumb" question. The "rudest" comment that you will get here will be to tell you that there were already multiple posts on the issue and to use the "search link" which we all know doesn't always address the issue.

Mikki