Fastrak 072 & 060 6.5 x 14 Help Needed

As requested:

Hey Long Hair,

Nice layout and FAST...

I'm not sure you've worked with the FastTrack O-60 and 72 switches before in SCARM, but it doesn't automatically add the 1 - 3/8" half roadbed sections to the divergent ends of the switch.  Instead, SCARM allows the user the option of choosing either the 1/2 roadbed for most applications or instead if joining 2 switches side by side to cross from one line to an adjacent one, the 1 3/8" no roadbed.

In the physical world, the O60 and 72 switches have that little closed non-removable V roadbed piece at the divergent end that requires these half or no roadbed 1 3/8" pieces to connect with the normal width roadbed FasTrack.

Without these special pieces, you have to physically cut the normal roadbed FasTrack pieces to fit into these switches.  New in the Box, each O60 and O72 switch comes with 2x 1 3/8" Half roadbed and 1x 1 3/8" no roadbed.

Also in the for what it's worth dept., and it doesn't apply to this layout because you're using 90 degree crossovers, but when working with 22.5 degree crossovers in SCARM, the 1 3/8" various roadbed pieces need to be added for correct fitment in the physical world.  Keep up the good work!

Here's one I think meets your requirements. I tried to deviate from double mainline a little bit since you said you were tired of concentric loops

• 072 minimum on the outer loop (including switches) with a 59" passing siding
• 060 minimum on the inner loop (including switches)
• 2x 47" stub sidings with uncoupling tracks for operating accessories, car storage, etc
• reversing via figure-8 on inner loop
• 120" 048 passing siding on the inner loop (just for fun )

Black tracks are 1 3/8" isolator sections where you could remove the jumpers to separately power mainlines and sidings if you desired. Blue tracks are uncoupling sections that could be replaced with regular 5" sections or combined with adjacent sections. You could pretty easily swap the 048 passing siding for a couple more stub sidings or just remove it to save some $$$

I've attached the RailModeller Pro file and a parts list. Note that you wouldn't actually need to purchase any of the 1 3/8" sections without roadbed. I use those to represent the pieces that come with switches.

Hope this helps!

Might actually be worth cutting the roadbed strategically in this case.  Adding the 1 3/8" bits to the switches pushes the layout to the max length and increases the piece count required for fitment so much that I ran out of pieces in Scarm free and had to imply a few.  I couldn't visualize if one or two sections sans roadbed were needed in the crossovers.

One of the great things about Fastrack is that it's modular and looks pretty good with the built-in roadbed - you lose some of that if you start cutting out chunks of the roadbed, in my opinion.

Using a single 1 3/8" fitter in a crossover yields 6" center to center track spacing with Fastrack - this is what you'd get in the plan I posted. The 1 3/8" fitters are also great spots to isolate mainlines and sidings for separate power to avoid putting the entire layout on a single transformer output. Especially if you have a lot of older locos with Pullmor motors or passenger cars with incandescent lights.

Thanks Guys !!  These are look great. I like the different route options available with these plans. It will make for more interesting run sessions. The parts list will be very helpful.

I also have a 3 ft X 9 ft table parallel to my main table. The two tables are connected by a 3 x 6 section forming a U that I can use for staging/switching and/or additional accessories. It should be a simple matter of installing an additional switch in place of one of the 072 sections to run a train to the staging area. The simplicity of installing and operating CC switches are driving me to abandon my boring tubular loops because I dreaded installing modern Lionel switches with reliability issues. The wiring required for more reliable brands was more than I wanted to tackle.

"It should be a simple matter of installing an additional switch in place of one of the 072 sections to run a train to the staging area."

Almost! An 072 switch isn't exactly a drop in for an 072 curve due to the extra 1 3/8" fitter that's required. You'll need to trim the roadbed of an 072 curve to mate with the switch to avoid using the fitter and keep the rest of the plan the same. Trimming the roadbed on a single track piece isn't too bad, assuming this layout is going to be relatively permanent.

Alternatively, if you can make your table maybe 3" or 6" wider, you could expand the outer loop to accommodate the fitter (and just add a regular 1 3/8" piece to match on the other side. You might also need to tweak the inner loop to keep the 6" center to center and adjust some straight sections to get everything connected again, but this would allow you to avoid trimming any roadbed.

RailModeller Pro has a great "connect the gap" feature where it will try to figure out a combination of track pieces that will connect two sections. I've only used it for straight sections, but it works great after I manually line things up. There's also a great table (Fastrack formulas) that was published in CTT magazine that details every possible length you can create with Fastrack straight pieces from 0" - 20". I've found both of these tools immensely useful when designing layouts with Fastrack.

Great information Mike !!  Very helpful tips as to my options.  A lot of helpful information in that Fastrak Formula Table.

Don't forget to follow up and share your design and build progress! I always love seeing what other folks are doing with their layouts, especially the track plans.

Happy (model) railroading!

Here's an update with a small engine facility and a 4 track yard using those extra tables you mentioned. I squeezed in the 1 3/8" fitter so the 072 switch could be added to the outside loop. Things are a little tight - extending the main table width by even a couple inches would help a lot, but as long as you don't plan to run trains too fast and have a little space between the back of the table and any walls, you'd probably be OK.

Thanks Mike !!

Question -

Are the 1 3/8" sections with 1/2 roadbed necessary to add to the switch to complete the 22 1/2 degree curve (albeit ever so slightly  compromised because the 1 3/8" section is straight), or does the switch turnout itself curve 22 1/2 degrees and the 1 3/8" 1/2 roadbed piece is simply necessary for clearance to fit the roadbed of the next piece of track?  Perhaps it would be simpler to phrase the question like this:  "Does a curved section of 060 or 072 exactly overlay the corresponding switch, or is it longer by 1 3/8"?

@Long Hair posted:

Question -

Are the 1 3/8" sections with 1/2 roadbed necessary to add to the switch to complete the 22 1/2 degree curve No (albeit ever so slightly  compromised because the 1 3/8" section is straight), or does the switch turnout itself curve 22 1/2 degrees and the 1 3/8" 1/2 roadbed piece is simply necessary for clearance to fit the roadbed of the next piece of track?  Yes but see below  Perhaps it would be simpler to phrase the question like this:  "Does a curved section of 060 or 072 exactly overlay the corresponding switch, or is it longer by 1 3/8"?  O60 No, O72 Yes, see below...

Longhair, Good questions.  Direct answers to your questions are above in bold within the "Quote".  Here is a further explanation.

The curved section of an O72 switch without the 1 3/8" fitter piece is 22.5 degrees.  See Attached SCARM file and images for curves overlay.

The curved section of an O60 switch without the 1 3/8" fitter piece is the equivalent of a 22.5 degrees O60 curve plus a 1 3/8" straight .  See Attached SCARM file  and images for curves overlay.

I didn't know that about the 060 switches - learned something new! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, @SteveH

I'm learning that Fastrack is best for the 4x8' type user because the 036 switches drop in perfectly any which way you want.  They also come in manual.  Moving up to 048 introduces the challenge of different degrees of curve per segment, and moving up to 060 and 072 introduces the aggravation of switches that are impossible to simply drop in.  Not that it's a bad system, I'm just pointing out that as you move up, some of its benefits ("Fast") compared to other systems disappear.

Yep, the 036 and 048 switches drop in to replace the curves, but things get a little trickier with the 060 and up. I guess you can look at it in one of two ways:

• it's forcing  you to be more creative in your track plan
• it's messing things up and just irritating

Wherever you land, there are a lot of good things to be said about the Fastrack system, especially the CC switches!

Personally I like the creativity of mixing the different FT switch types.

Also of note, the O31 switches are 11 3/8" long on the straight.  On the curve, like the O36 switches they are 33.75 degrees or 45 degrees with the included 1/4 curve section attached.