[SOLVED!] RealTrax or ScaleTrax? Likes. Dislikes. Preferences.

Personally I would not buy either.  I had RealTrax and did not like the look / noise.  Now I have Scaletrax and I'm not a raving fan of it either.

Is this a one and done project or is growth in your future?  With MTH going bye bye as time goes on you will only find the stuff on the used market.

Have Fun.

Ron

@Ron045 posted:

Personally I would not buy either.  I had RealTrax and did not like the look / noise.  Now I have Scaletrax and I'm not a raving fan of it either.

Is this a one and done project or is growth in your future?  With MTH going bye bye as time goes on you will only find the stuff on the used market.

Have Fun.

Ron

 

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This is a one-time purchase.

I am using Lionel's FasTrack , but recently purchased MTH's Trump and Biden operating hand cars (planning on also purchasing the Trump and Biden auto-reversing trollys). None of Lionel's bumpers will work with these cars so need to purchase a pair of bumpers from MTH as well as purchasing some of their tracks.

@paulp575 posted:

This is a one-time purchase.

I am using Lionel's FasTrack

Since you have FastTrack already, I would say go with the MTH RealTrax. I would assume that you want to keep the "theme" of track with pre-made beds. I have RealTrax for my layout (which includes a trolley line) and have not had a problem with it the past 14 years *Knock on wood.* 

Bryce

Just wondering why neither of Lionel's bumpers work ?

Seems like they could be easily modified rather than having to buy new track.

 Can you post pic's ?

@Richie C. posted:

Just wondering why neither of Lionel's bumpers work ?

Seems like they could be easily modified rather than having to buy new track.

 Can you post pic's ?

Before I post pics, you just gave me an idea - try it! I tried it on my test track, but it does not have bumpers on either end. I do have the 6-12035 bumper (now thinking it just might work!). I was thinking that because the reversing mechanism is between the actual bumpers on the cars, they may not work, but taking another look at the 6-12035 bumper (below), it might just work!

If you notice in the below pic, the FasTrack bumper MIGHT work with the car.

Here a pic of one of the operating hand cars:

I will test and report back.

Thanks @Richie C.!

Depends on where you are in the process. If you're starting out from nothing, I'd say plan for the long term. FasTrack has a better selection of pieces than ScaleTrax or RealTrax but has the least realistic looking rail. The other long-term option is Atlas-O three-rail track, but the bumpers aren't really designed for bump-and-reverse operation (you can screw them down, though).

SOLVED!

I just dug out my 6-12025 6-12035 FasTrack bumpers and placed them on both ends of my test track. Both operating hand cars went back and forth!

From the looks of it, it seems like you could also CA glue a small piece of plastic or wood (painted black) of the appropriate size and orientation to one of Lionel's earthen bumpers, which might be easier and less expensive, too. One of the wood pieces that comes with the set might be a good fit.

You could also glue a small vertical piece to the lighted bumper if it doesn't line up perfectly, as is.