Fastrak 6-12062 Flasher & Gate substitute

Two comments...

Re the FT gates/flashers, there's two generations of them.   The first generation developed a bunch of problems.  Some were customer-induced.... manually trying to make the gates actuate, damaging gears, etc..   Lionel redesigned the mechanism and, after a long hiatus, re-issued the product.  UNFORTUNATELY, they did so keeping the same product number, so there is virtually nothing visible with which to discriminate between the two generations.....IMHO a very dumb situation.

We (LHS) have had vastly fewer complaints about the 2nd generation.   In fact, the only 'complaints' that come to mind re this revised product have to do with proper hooking up of the accessory.  And that's mostly understanding the role and proper position of the two 'trigger' tracks...the 5" pieces with one outer rail gapped.  Keeping track (pun intended) of those two essential pieces, if periodically tearing down and re-setting up the layout is your thing, and their orientation and position relative to the 'trigger' rail of the gates/crossing assembly is absolutely essential....but easily forgotten or disregarded.  It's all in the instruction book....but, hey, who ever reads that....if you can remember where you put it????

One of the other things we (LHS) did was require a brief instruction on proper set-up with the customer.  Show the three main pieces, describe their inter-related features and positions,.....offer additional insulated track pieces (10") at that time if they want the activation region extended...remind them to identify and keep the 5' gapped pieces separated from other regular 5' pieces when storing, and show them how to ensure that the gates are properly lowered to the DOWN position before re-packing the item in the foam cradle, etc., etc..  We ask, too, whether they, the buyer, will be the one hooking it up (are we wasting our breath?) or will this be a gift (i.e., someone else's 'problem' to deal with?).  If the latter, we encourage them to remind the ultimate user to READ THE INSTRUCIONS.

So far, so good.  I wouldn't hesitate to use the latest generation product!  But, read on...

Re MTH's 30-11012 gates....assuming those are the ones to which you refer....they have their own issues.  They, too, will not tolerate manual override or abuse of the gate mechanism.  The up/down limit contacts may need 'tweaking' initially or from time-to-time....the instruction book does not cover this, and the adjustment screws are very sensitive and NOT designed for repeated adjustment over and over again.

Lastly, and more frequently in my experience, the small plastic gear on the motor drive shaft has the ubiquitous plastic-gear-overstressed-when-pressed-onto-a-metal-shaft-over-time-resulting-in-splitting problem.  When it works, it works well and is fun to watch....a viewer-magnet, so to speak.  But when it doesn't work?.........

Here, again, the part number has never changed, even though I'm told by an MTH technician that design changes/improvements have been made over time. 

Neither the Lionel nor MTH device is very...or at all...serviceable.  Once past the warranty period, if a problem develops, you're pretty well done with the accessory except as a static, non-working piece of scenery.  There is really no maintenance that the customer can do (except periodic dusting....gently!) to avoid problems or extend life.  They are what they are....very cool, but fussy-fragile.

Just MHO....since you asked.

KD