high rail vs fast track

can some help me here

FasTrack is a high rail track system, it is actually very accommodating to all three-rail equipment save for some Marx, American Flyer, and a few Lionel locomotives with single reduction gear trains characterized by drive wheels that have gears extending beyond the tread diameter into the flange diameter. 

These will run fine on just plain FasTrack sections, but will hop & jump over crossings, switches, and grade crossings.

I haven't been in O gauge all that long, but my impression is that when you say "high rail", you're basically referring to any 3-rail track that's generally compatible with commonly available 3-rail rolling stock and motive power. FasTrack is Lionel's answer to Kato Unitrack (N/HO) - snap-together track with built-in base/ballast. MTH and Atlas make something similar, though not identical.

The other style of 3-rail track, which goes back nearly a century, is tubular track. It has more circular cross-section compared to the relatively flat top of FasTrack, and doesn't have the built-in base. 

I currently have Lionel from the 1930s and Lionel and MTH from the present, and they both run fine on my ancient tubular track and modern FasTrack.

So, if you have a high-rail engine, meaning anything by Lionel from just about any era, K-Line, Williams by Bachmann, MTH (3-rail), etc., it is considered high-rail and will run on FasTrack.

Hope this helps. I'm sure somebody will chime in to correct any misconceptions I have. :-)

Fred

My understanding has always been that "High Rail" is a CONCEPT, not a PRODUCT. It is the idea of making as realistic a layout for toy trains to run in, as possible. It is a step between a "Plywood Pacific" green painted plywood with track screwed directly to, and a Highly detailed "Built to Scale" layout. It started out using tubular track and detailed scenery with typically post-war equippment. Newer products like Atlas O and MTH Scale-Trax have really raised the bar, bluring the lines, but high rail will typically use more "Selective Compression" and operating accessories, than a "Scale" modeler would, but often will have very detailed locomotives and rolling stock.

"HighRail" really doesn't have a Exact definition, but is open to each modelers own interpratation. Those are MY thoughts, others may have their own Ideas, as to what constitutes "High-Rail".

Doug

FasTrack is U-shaped tubular on a plastic roadbed.

You are correct! I'm not sure what I was thinking of. I was just working on some FasTrack today and for some reason was thinking it was more square topped...

Fred

I have a Fastrack "medium rail" layout... definitely not a "plywood pacific".

Check out my Flickr Photo Album

TMack, I only looked through the first page of your Flickr album, but you do some Nice work, Great looking layout . I would say that qualifies as "High Rail", not medium rail.

Doug

Words don't do that layout justice.  I love the underground details - who thinks of that? Awesome work.

Fred

High rail is a concept, it isn't a type of track. The idea of high rail is to try and make three rail toy trains look as realistic as possible, as versus the toy train look of tubular rail screwed to plywood kind of thing, as someone mentioned. Even tubular can be made to look more realistic, buy painting it, adding extra ties, ballasting it, though it won't look as good as track systems like Atlas or Scale Trax by MTH, for example (or Gargraves or FastTrack)...fast track with the plastic roadbed is highly realistic, but you can make it look more realistic by doing things like ballasting it or giving it a wash of thinned ink, for example. Likewise, weathering cars and structures, putting figures on the layout and so forth all lend to a 'hi rail' look.

Thank you guys.

High Rail or "Hi-Rail" can mean different things to different people but it's a mostly scale layout, with realistic looking and sized rolling stock, accessories, scenery, etc... but for good reason the track, wheels and coupler are disproportionately larger (about twice the size for the scale) compared to everything else.  By comparison 2 rail O Scale track is the proper size for the scale.  As stated above, a toy train layout might have the traditional tubular track with three fat stamped metal ties nailed to green painted plywood, a High Rail layout will have the traditional looking track with many small simulated wood ties, weathered rails, black center rail, real ballast with accompanying realistic scenery and ground cover.  This past week "I Love Toy Trains" Episode: 'Hi-Rail Layouts 1A' on RFD featured the NJ Hi Railers and had a really good explanation of what most Hi Rail layouts have in common.

TMack,

Are the guys at the cycle shop based on the characters from "Davey & Goliath"?  They sure do look like them!  Great layout.  What a beautiful way to show what you can do in a small space!

Jon

Nah, I would classify that layout as hi-rail; the scenery is very realistic.

Doug, Fred, Jon, M&E,

Thank you for the compliments.  I only have 036 curves and smaller trains. Since i have only had small spaces to work with, I just concentrate on the scenery and try different things.  The next layout will hopefully be a little larger as I now have been accumulating 048 track.

99% of the Visitors to my layout sont ask about the 3 rail track, I think when you create the scenes with the buildings, terrain, figures and vehicles, people get so lost in the scenery that the track disappears.

Fred - I left that underground corner open on purpose, you can see down the long back tunnel and just above on the city level is a long view down the back of the city where the train, superstreets and Trolley all converge.  I really wanted to do more with the underground area, but just did not have the time.

Thanks again

Ted