Personal Opinion on Track.

With Atlas O you get solid rails.  With GarGraves you get hollow rails (and options regarding those rails) as well as the option of wood or plastic ties.  Pretty much your choice to make because both are fine track systems with a lot of versatility, particularly if you elect to use Ross switches with the GarGraves.

I will soon be replacing the FasTrack on my layout with the GarGraves/Ross combo, not because the noise bothers me (it doesn't), but because I need some O42 curves and also want to give my track a more prototypical appearance (foam roadbed, ballast, etc.).

What is the negative with hollow rails? Electricity?

No significant negatives that I know of.

Thank for the input!!! I guess I will have to start drawing up new track plans.

The only negative I can think of with hollow track is that it's noisier. Solid rail track is quieter. Hollow track on plastic roadbed is even noisier as the hollow plastic roadbed generates its own sound, plus acts as an amplifier for the track sound.

Of course, if you mount your solid-rail track directly to a solid plywood bench top, the bench top becomes a sounding board and will negate the gains you make with solid rails.

My personal preference is ScaleTrax for its smaller rail and tie profile, despite the branch line/light rail tie spacing.

You know what Matt. I was looking at scaletrax also because of its affordability. However it  doesnt look very durable.

The solid rail Atlas track is quieter, but expensive.  The Gargraves and Ross track are a bit more noisy but affordable.

The Gargraves track is hollow and imbedded in the wooden ties.  The Ross track (at least all the pieces I have) is hollow, but folded under and track nails (and glue) are used to hold it to the wooden ties.  I haven't done any tests, but I would think the Ross track is quieter than the GG track, but maybe not enough to worry about.

If you're not going to use ballast, look at the comments I made on 3/8" thick rubber anti-fatigue mat here:

https://ogrforum.com/t...15#22125567148295815

I swear using this stuff makes your train room quieter.  I kinda wish I hadn't ballasted mine as the noise level increased, but not enough to want to remove the ballast.

I want Scaletrax on wooden ties and Ross switches on wooden ties, with solid rail, and

with the Scaletrax profile (lotsa luck, huh?)

You've posted this in the 3R Scale forum so must assume you have some interest in realism. ScaleTrax has a lot going for it and it is as 'durable' as any of the rest of them. Think for a minute - how many times are you going to pick up your track and move it around? 

ScaleTrax is designed for a 'permanent' layout as are the others. Personally, the overall appearance is the kicker here as well as affordability. Atlas is great track and so is GG and Ross if you want a prototypical appearance. If not, best to stay with Fastrack...

How about use ScaleTrax flex and pull the rails? The Hikels make custom runs of hand-laid ScaleTrax rail from time to time and use O scale wooden ties. Might be fun and challenging but what a nice look!

My experience with scaletrax, which is very little, is the one time I tried to connect pieces, the head of the ties would break.  The part of the tie sticking out on each side of the rail.  I wasn't that impressed.  From what I've seen of the Atlas I plan to use it to build my layout with.

Sounds like a good plan to me!  Now all you have to do is convince Mike at MTH and Steve at Ross.  Piece of cake!   

And while you're at it, could you please ask Mike to offer O42 curves?  

If I may comment again here re: Atlas and to some degree GarGraves. Both of these system use rails that ar eoversized for our O Scale equipment. GG compounds this with the oversized ties. GG is very well-suited for G Gauge trains and looks great with them.

Add to the fact that they both use a regular rail for the middle one and it gets visually pretty crowded!

Scaletrax gives a whole different illusion because the rails are smaller and lower in profile. This has the effect of making our equipment appearing more massive and realistic. The term 'High-Rail' originated with Gargraves layouts where the track appears (and is) too tall for the size of our trains.

The center is not a rail but an inverted 'T' which results in a thin 'blade'. This is much less visually intrusive than a third 'rail' (and gives no extra wear on the rollers either!). The only flaw is that the ties are spaced slightly too far apart for a mainline track but this is quickly overlooked and not really noticeable in a short time of use.

I was a complete novice with ScaleTrax when I embarked on our 24' x 16' layout several years ago. I'm not particularly good with tools either. I had no problem assembling the track and getting it working. Don't remember any pieces breaking either.

Look at the NorthWest Trunk Lines or the Black Diamond RR that are on the Forum to see what we mean here.  Rich has even posted some photos of his layout with the center blade 'photoshopped out' and you can't tell if its real or a model.

We used Gargraves track and switches when we built a 20' layout for The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast in Stuart Fl.  We used cork roadbed and noise was not a problem.  We used preformed curves so we did not need to worry about bending the track. After a year of heavy use we are quite satisfied.

When I was a 3 rail guy I originally used Atlas which does have a good look to it with regards to the tie size and spacing.  Now that said the 3 rail layout I built for my boys is Scaletrax, and I can say that the Scaletrax is much better IMHO.  For starters the lower rail height, the thin blade center rail, and the fact that the flex track from MTH actually flex's.  The Atlas flex is a bear to flex easily under a O-99, where as the Scaletrax flexes with ease and is very forgiving.  For me the only thumbs down on Scaletrax is the lack of switches in a larger variety.

The other night I was walking home and stopped to talk to a neighbor and we had to quit talking because the NS train crossing the bridge a mile from my house was so noisy you couldn't hear.

The other night.....

Maybe we should only run our trains during daylight hours, sound does tend to carry at night

Actually, I was playing golf the other day and 1 NS empty coal drag, 1 full one, and a freight came by the golf course in Suffolk, didn't bother us one bit.  The track is less than 100 yards away from the 3rd hole fairway.  Hey, maybe they're using some of the anti-fatigue mat I referenced

I've decide that using flex track is only good for long straights and short oddball curves.  I've been using curved sectional track when I want a good, smooth piece of curved track.

One very important point has been left out of this discussion, and that is moisture.  Nickel silver rails and plastic ties are not affected by moisture.  Unless you can control the humidity I would steer away from Gargraves, Ross and any other steel track.

Some Forumites have reported that the wooden ties have swollen.  One other point is that the The metal of the Gargraves rails extends downward into the ties and is visible from the side making it necessary to ballast the track.

Jan

My own layout is mostly GarGraves track with some Curtis HiRail switches and track and a few Ross switches.  Some advantages to the GarGraves / Ross / Curtis track:

• You can shove Fastenol male quick connects (spade connectors) up into them for firm electrical connections.
• Low cost for track.  GarGraves track is one of the most cost-effective choices.

I also helped design and build a friend's layout.  He's using AtlasO track.  I have to say that I am very impressed with it.  My next layout, God willing, will use AtlasO.  While expensive, AtlasO provides a very smooth track surface.  It's solid.

That being said, the performance of the track is most affected by the quality of the subroadbed (levelness, strength, bracing).  Quiet is affected by the choice of roadbed.  I use Vinylbed.  My friend is using cork.  Both seem to do a great job.

George

I have a 9'x13' layout and all the track (and switches) = ATLAS.  At the time of choosing Atlas 8-9 years ago, it was by far the best choice.  It's quiet, conducts electricity as well as or better than any other, is easy to install and ballast, looks superb, has virtually every curve needed, and is as cost efficient as any other system.

If I were to start another layout, I would probably use FasTrak.  It has improved so much over the past few years, can be made to look sharp and realistic, and is easier to use than any other--and virtually any function (curve, electrical hook-up, etc.) is now provided in FasTrak.

Bano7384,

I went from fastrack to atlas and like it a lot. Much less noise and better electrical connectivity. I also went with Ross switches as several others have suggested. I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices...Terry

This question reminds me of the posts on the Recreational Vehicle Forum regarding which make of truck is best! Chevy, Ford or Dodge. The best answer is It depends!

My advice to you is to get a section of the various brands you are considering to use and judge for yourself which ones you prefer.

Regarding noise if you use a quality track roadbed on a quality built platform (built to limit noise) you can limit the noise.

This is the approach I took when deciding on which track to purchase. All of the mentioned brands are good track. I made a list of pros and cons for each and then factored in appearance which is always a matter of personal choice.

I ended up choosing GarGraves with Ross turnouts. I will be using the tinplate GarGraves track as I have older trains with magna traction and from what I understand the magna traction does not work on the stainless steel GarGraves

Good luck in your hunt!

There is a search bar at the very top of the page.  You can use it to find a whole library worth of past discussions on the merits of different manufacturers' products.  The read can be great entertainment too.  Some will make you laugh.  Some will make you cry. 

May family uses GarGraves flex track laid on ceiling tile laid on plywood with drywall screws through the wooden tie down into the plywood.  A bare concrete basement floor and the ceiling is just the floor joists and plywood subfloor above that.  Running trains can be heard on the floor above as a low rumble that always brings someone else down to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of model railroading. 

Nathan

I have a lot of Atlas O.  It has great selection of curves, all the way up to o108.  Fantatistic selection of switches too.

Sometimes I  set up a loop of Fastrack on the carpet once in a while.  I like it, but if you take the train to even half-speed, the noise drowns out any prime mover sounds, etc.