fastrack problem

I use fastrack and have never had this problem. 

Where do they come apart? Straights or curves?

 Sometimes when I have track slightly out of alignment there will be tiny gaps between sections but they never come apart. 

it happens on both the straights and the curves.  like today with in about 3 hours I had 3 places on a straight part of my track come apart.  it seems like no sooner I get one fixed the next one came apart.  like I said it is driving me nuts.  it is also not only this layout but my last one also that has this problem. 

Usually the plastic locking tabs do a good job of holding the track together. I suppose you could try slightly pinching the rail ends tighter to have better grip. 

And of course you can screw the track down. 

What surface is your track laid on? Carpet or bare plywood?

Check your track geometry.

On carpet, 5/32 Binder Clips on the bottom work well to keep track sections together.

I have never had this happen to me and I have built many layouts with the Fastrack.  The only thing I can think of is the geometry where you are trying to make the connection is not correct (i.e. you have a 5" where there should be a 4.5" somewhere in an oval and you are forcing the closure so it loosens up for example).  It could also happen with smaller curves like the O72 1/4 curve which is 22 degrees mixed up with a a O36 1/2 curve which look similar and are close in size.  That would alter the geometry just enough to cause problems on a long run.

Fastrack is not very forgiving if the geometry isn't correct or close.  You can get away with things on long runs, but you may get stress gaps since it's "forced".

Double check the tracks used are what you think they are, or use RRTrack and confirm that they should fit without any forcing.

My FasTrack is just held together by the tabs on the FasTrack.  I never screw down the track and I also have never had the track come apart in years of running.  It takes quite a bit of effort just to pull them apart.  If the tabs are not missing, maybe you received some defective track.  Do the pieces 'snap' together?

Please keep us posted on what you find.

Earl Staley

i have checked my track geometry.  even if i make a oval it comes apart.  all the tabs are there and when i put it together there is no click.  any other ideas?  if not i am going to try to glue them together.  

Ditto here, and I have been using the stuff pretty much since it was first introduced (way back when it had a black center rail).

Fastrack does not come apart easily. I have used it quite a bit on floor layouts and it has always been a problem to take the track apart. Are you sure that you are snapping it together properly?

i am fairly sure i am doing it right.  you put one end to the other and push thill there is no gap between the two.  have i missed something?  

This sounds very unusual. Like others have said, FasTrack does not normally tend to come apart easily, even when you want it to!

I have been using FasTrack for years, and never yet had any separate on its own. I do have a few screws holding mine in place, but this is more to prevent the whole layout from 'creeping' than anything else.

Is it possible that you could post a photo or two to illustrate where you are having problems? Oftentimes a picture can be worth a thousand words with problems such as this.

Like everyone else here I can't think of any reason this would happen except, as they said, that the geometry is bad.   When you set up the track to you have to apply any pressure or tension at all to pull or push the track into position?  In other words, it you just lay the track down without connection does it natural "want" to be where you want it to be, or do you have to pull a bit to get it to fit?  If that is not it, then it is not acting like Fastrack: Did you buy this track new?  Has it perhaps been modified by cutting off the end clasping tabs? 

As Nicole suggested, if you can provide us with photos of the track, that might be helpful. One photo from the top and, most importantly, a photo from the bottom (use two adjacent sections that are not fitting properly for each photo).

i bought most of the track new but none of it has been modified.  it does not take much to take the track apart and put it together but that is for me i do not know how strong you guys and gales are but i know my fastback does not take much to take it apart.  i will try to post a pic of it in a little bit.  i will also check my track geometry once more.  

I've been using it for 8 years (layout as well as floor), and I never had this problem.

I concur with the forced geometry.

I have only encountered separation when the pieces were too large or short. Make an 036 return loop with an 036 switch. You need two 10" and a 6" piece on the straight return. The 5" is too short and a 5" + 1 3/4" seemed a little long, a 5" + 1 3/8" too short, pushing\pulling the curves apart and added too many connections, so I made a 6".

Do you use any screws to keep them in place? It should solve your problem.

Weren't there some FasTrack that was made a little incorrectly where the pieces would not completely close? Something about the plastic being a little too long to mate properly with the next piece. There also were some short (1 3/8 or 1 3/4) pieces that were made incorrectly where the long rail was on the wrong side.

So is there a gap that you cannot close when it's together?

I had the same issue. When I started replacing my o72 curves with 084 the problem started going away. like you I also made my own 6 in section to insure fit at one location and used other 4in section at another location in the freight yard. 

just finished driving me self insane ( i know not a long bridge for me some days)  lol.  it was track geometry.  when it put one side together i must have had a drink which was too strong.  i fixed most of it now i have to go get a few pieces to make the rest of it work.  but i did notice a few of the pieces which keep coming open do not hold for long so i replaced them with new ones.  so far so good.  

I've got some FasTrack that can come apart is paired together.  Run a K-Line Big Boy for an hour on a carpet layout and the track walks and will separate.  I also have some track that when snapped it doesn't lay flat, so when you put it on a flat surface it'll come apart under the weight of a locomotive.  FT is good stuff but isn't perfect.  I'd try swapping out one of the pieces that is coming apart and see if mated to a different piece it stops doing it.

To be fair, I have found some of my fastrack pieces have become slightly "warped" over time. Plastic roadbed + metal rails + hot garage... yeah, it happens.

But for the most part I have been able to gently bend those few pieces back to flat.

IMO, Fast track is bullet proof. It helps to screw it down,although not many are required.

I have been using it for about 4-5 years, with no issues.

well that explanes it some of my track did warped i thought it was just me.  ok i feel a little bit better now.  

I'm glad you got it resolved. 

The only long term issues I'm personally aware of using fastrack is I have a few pieces where the grey ballast has started to get a "greenish/grey" tint to it.  Not sure if from sunlight or florescent lighting, or from some rogue batch that may have caused the plastic to look slightly different, but it's not a big deal and it's only on a few pieces out of 100s.

A few of mine have turned yellowish gray. It definitely from the sunlight. Those that did turn yellow, its only on the side that received sunlight.

Direct sunlight is not good for (most) plastic train items.  Ditto for fluorescent lighting (depending on the tubes used).

Trainz has a few sets of "odd size" track which I think they sell at a reasonable price. I bought a group. Now I have a supply  4-1/2; 5; 1-3/8; and 1-3/4  straights. for a long time I was always going out to by 1 or 2 of a size..That gets old..