fasttrack vs old tubulartrack pole.

Fastrack is very popular with a lot of people for a lot of different reasons.

 

I use it for temporary layouts. (Like at Christmas)  I prefer O- tubular for a

permanent layout.  My reasons are, because I have a lot of operating cars

and accessories that as of yet will not work with Fastrack.

Im stuck with both but fasttrack is so loud compared to tubular even on carpet its loud because of the fake gravel

I prefer FasTrack, too. It fits together tightly and conducts electricity well. The one-piece base keeps carpet fibers and other foreign objects from working up between ties and rails and getting into axles and gears. Curves are slightly wider (36" and up vs. 31" and up for tubular track) so trains run better. And switches operate smoothly.

 

Use transition sections for tubular track for operating cars and accessories.

I would think the only reason some might consider tubular "O" gauge track over Lionel FasTrack is relating to having tracks reflect the post-war period of trains.  If it is just a matter between the two types of track then I would go with FasTrack.

 

Yes, FasTrack has plastic roadbed and in some cases it is louder than other track which does not have this feature but most complaints due to the noise are over reacting.  I have FasTrack on1/2 in Homosote and some lay their on 2-3 in foam board.  This deadens most of sound from the track itself. 

 

Also train noise, if just a locomotive running on the track to those more modern with Railsounds or Proto sounds far drown out the sounds made by any track.  As far as accessories go, on my FasTrack layout, I transition to tubular O when necessary.  When ballasted you can't hardly tell the difference anyway.

 

FasTrack is easier to put together, great connection, easy to wire, switches are the best and it looks good.

 

TEX

Steve

Patrick K,

    I use FasTrack & RealTrax, however I transition in and out of old 711 type Lionel switches with my FasTrack mainly because they run my Tin Plate trains correctly.  I also transition in and out of the old Operating Track, for my different Tin Plate and post war operating rolling stock.  On the Christmas layout in the formal living room, I use the thicker indoor/outdoor carpet with additional Green Christmas type layout carpet on top, to obsorb 80% of all the sound of both the FasTrack & the RealTrax while running.   Set up in this manner sound is not a problem for either FasTrack or RealTrax.  On the large DCS Gameroom/Office layout, we used bare Plywood stained green, I wanted to hear the big trains run like when I was a kid, it sounded just fantastic on all 4 train levels, with the 5th level reserved for bumper cars & street cars.  We do have both 027 tubular and O guage tubular which now seldom gets set up, unless one of the kids wants to play with it in one of their play rooms.   The Tin Plate operates so smoothly on the FasTrack & RealTrax the 027/0 tubular has become a real childs play toy here in our home.

PCRR/Dave

The last Livingroom Christmas layout using O Tubular and 027 track

 

 

 

 The Game/Office DCS layout, with FasTrack and Lionel 711 type Switches

 

 

 

       

Wow beautiful

When I got back into model railroading a few years ago, I started with an RTR El Capitan set, complete with fastrack.  It was so noisy that i couldn't hardly hear the trainsounds.  I immediately switched to tubular track, and never looked back.   Now, if I buy any more RTR sets, I give the fastrack away or sell it off on eBay.

All have there good and bad points. On carpet like mentioned above, I prefer Fastrack. I've has some issues with carpet fibers in the gears of some locos. I've used Fastrack since it has come out. Yes it is noisy. I find Homosote is best. A layer on the top and bottom of the plywood works best but gets expensive. I didn't like the results with foam board.

 

What locos you run and rolling stock and speed also determines noise. What everyone states above is correct. Everyones experience differs from one to the next.

I use only tin plate Lionel track. I don't like the looks of Fastrack, the price, or the loud noise it makes. The switches are flimsy and break easily, especially that little cheap lantern.

Rob

I agree regarding the noise. I'm very happy with my fastrack.

 

 

Come back in 75 years & see if the Fasttrack pieces made in the past decade are even usable.  Will the "lock tabs" in the plastic roadbed be pliable & able to "latch"?   Something tells me no.   Tubular pieces that are now 70 years old are all-metal & in most cases.... ready to roll with some minor cleaning!   This goes for the similar MTH track too.. with its finicky metal contacts.

 

In 75 years I will be 131 years old, and I sincerely hope that pliable lock tabs will be the biggest problem I have to deal with that year...

I like Fastrack. It looks good and performs very well. It is a bit expensive.

 

Jeff C

I am using some very tight & snug Super O under the Christmas tree this year.  It's possible that it was last made in '63 or '64, it's about 50 years old!

I use Fastrack under the Christmas tree, but for a permanent layout I prefer tubular.  I like the "toy" look, and I run 99% older-production trains so it just "looks" right for me.  I've never had a single issue with it.

Like many here, I prefer tubular track on a permanent layout and it's what my layout has. I'm very comfortable with manipulating it and getting it exactly how I want.

 

I've spent a lot of time running trains on the floor on tubular track and it can certainly work great for that. I've switched over to Fastrack for the limited amount of floor running I do(primarily around the Christmas tree), as it looks neater, keeps carpet fibers out of the trains, and keeps oil and grease off the carpet. The cost of has kept me from expanding much beyond a small oval of it(I'm still using some of the first generation black center rail track).

I have fastrack, but in the end it all depends on what floats your boat.  If I had Tubular, then I feel that I would need to nail it down where as you can snap Fastrack together on the floor and run trains.  Fastrack is loud, but it looks good can be made to look even better and has good conductivity.  When I start the new layout next year I will pick up a couple dozen 30" straights.  Go with what is good for you, forget what everyone else says.  My layout is on public display and has been for a couple weeks now and I have 75 to 100 visitors a day and they all comment on the detail and realism, yet my layout is really more like SJC's, I jokingly call it "medium-rail" as it is not a hi-rail layout yet not quite a toy layout either.  I like "Toy-Railer" too. that is a good name.

 

-Ted

 

On my Christmas layout I use Fastrack on my O Gauge loop and tubular on my Standard Gauge loop.  I use Johnson's rubber roadbed under my Standard Gauge loop.  Both do the trick as far as keeping carpet fibers, felt and cotton batting out of train gears and oil off of the carpet.  If one desires they can use Johnson's O Gauge rubber roadbed for O Gauge tubular running on the carpet. It looks good, promotes silent running and protects the carpet.

 On my permanent O Gauge layout I having been using tubular for 40 years.  I have found it to be very reliable and very, very forgiving when you need to make your track plan work with limited space.  When properly ballasted it looks great as well. 

For me, it's tube track all the way.

 

Anyone who says fastrack isn't ridiculously noisy is in denial, and the price of the remote turnouts is absurd.  I get four or five O-22s in good shape for the price of one fastrack.

 

Pete

Interesting reading.  Personally I am a tubular KLine shadowrail track person. That way I can use Ross tinplate O72 and Lionel "bulletproof" O-72 switches without needing adapter pins to mate between diffent manufacturers systems or shimming heights.
Merry Christmas

Fastrack switches are the smoothest and most reliable.
For me it's fastrack all the way.

Im seeing all these beautiful layouts and exoensive trains which I can't afford and I get jealous hahaha I need a job to afford these. Im only 17 and new to the game but love older engines but my new transformer that came with a lionel set runs my 1970s mihhty sound of steam poorly I have to get the 190 watt lionel transformer 

I am a old 50's & 60's Lionel guy.  It is old Tubulartrack for me.

However, Fastrack looks good, if it is for you, go for it.  A good

point was made by RadioRon about Fastrack being around in 75

years.  Like many here I will be long gone to know the answer, but

something to think about. 

 

Many thanks,

 

Billy C

Fastrack, especially if children are involved.  You almost have to use work gloves ± some tools to assemble and disassemble tubular track without requiring antibiotic ointment and a supply of bandaids.  Fastrack is much safer and more aesthetically pleasing to me.  I like tubular track for its nostalgia value and I wouldn't object to using it on a permanent layout, but Fastrack wins for overall utility, appearance and safety.  Tubular is alot cheaper than anything out there, so if cost were an issue, I'd go with tubular.  That said, Fastrack switches are  vastly superior to current production tubular Lionel switches.

Like wow, man, like I'm like a totally TUBULAR dude!

 

Much prefer Fastrack for permanent and carpet centrals.

"Your argument about sharper edges making it more dangerous is engaging in reductio ad absurdum it's like saying that it's more dangerous to throw bricks than bowling balls."

 

I don't think that's a reductio ad absurdum. Throwing bowling balls and bricks are probably equivalently dangerous to the recipient. Hopefully no one reading this will choose to test that concept in practice.

 

On the other hand tubular track has rails, pins and ties that are potential injury inducers because the track does not go together and come apart easily at times, and both the track ends and ties are often pretty sharp or irregular.  Fastrack has pins, but no truly sharp edges,  and most importantly, goes together fairly easily and comes apart with modest force.  In addition, Fastrack stays put together so the number of times you have to reattach track elements to other track elements is fewer, unless you get the tubular track really tight, which itself creates a greater number of opportunities for cutting or bruising one's hands.

 

All the ranting and assertion in the world won't change those facts .

Some of these threads take the most bizarre turns...

I believe this is more than just a "poll" of TasTrack vs. Tubular track.  A poll would be answering simply which track you prefer, period. 

 

This thread is about choices and opinions and one important thing you have to remember in these types of threads........there is no wrong or right, good or bad.  It is what each individual likes or dislikes for themselves, not others.

 

TEX

Steve

I saw that this was a "pole"...so I decided to Czech it out.

 

Jeff C

My error in spelling Jeff.  I corrector the errors.   Thanks for pointing it out.  It was the meaning of the post that I wanted to get across.

 

TEX

Steve

Dear Abbey,

I'm not certain but my being of Slavic descent should I be offended by this?

 

Confused in Pa.

Nah...a guy who can handle owning a crappy basement can handle anything

 

Jeff C

I prefer the tubular track Santa brought me from the North Poll.

Dan

I sent an off-line email to Jeff about changing the title to Poll, but either hasn't seen the email or does not know how to change title.

Chuckle at the humor about pole and slavic.  On the other hand we have to be SO very careful what we say, as somebody is always getting their undies in bunch over what someone else says.  PC is whats killing this country.  My two cents.

I'm 71, and love Lionel postwar trains. I run my old and new trains on FasTrack (except for one of my Christmas layouts, where I needed 031 curves. For that I use Gargraves sectional).

I take issue with the person who said there was more tubular track being used today than FasTrack. You're kidding, right? Maybe by Forum members...but the whole world?

Tubular.

I'd be willing to wager in the "whole world" apart from our tiny forum world there is even a greater percentage of persons using tube track than fastrack.

 

With all the talk of potential injury from tubular track I can't help but wonder how me and my pal, beginning at ages five and six, managed to set up and take down my American Flyer and his Lionel O-27 track innumerable times without getting so much as a scratch.

 

Pete

 

 

"Never say Czech out to an old person!"

 

Jerry

Both track types have their uses and advantages.  Myself, I've used 027 tubular on my layout for the reasons others have noted.  For a carpet layout, I would seriously consider FasTrak though.  The noise would be mitigated, and it would keep oil off the carpet.