ScaleTrax: Good News

Will they ever expand the line? They kind of stopped short of a full system.

Does the revised tooling also include more closely-spaced ties and more accurate looking tie plate details?

This is definitely good news.

Will they ever expand the line?

Johathan

That I can't answer.  However, the personal attention from Mike to this production run of switches certain does say that ScaleTrax is important to MTH.

ScaleTrax is well suited to layouts of all sizes.  The Roosevelt Junction series have proven to be the most popular of the ScaleTrax track packages and they begin with a 4x8.  In that context it is used as a traditional toy train track system and evokes the look of Super O with more design options.

I often work with ScaleTrax for three rail scale/O-72 plus layouts.  In the larger diameter context it is a very good system thanks the the O-72, No.4 and No. 6 switches and fixed curve offerings and flexible flex track.

Dave and I have suggested four additions to the ScaleTrax product line: an O-72 wye, Left and Right O-72+ curved switches and a No. 4 double slip switch.  Hopefully continued sales of ScaleTrax products will warrant further expansion of the switch offerings.

I bought a couple of boxes of track to start, a while back. I also ordered # switches later on that never came. I'm kind of glad now as I would have had to modify them from what I've read. I look forward to these new switches and need much more to build the new high line as I'm removing the G scale. It would be great to get all my rolling stock to work on both my 2 rail and this 3R highline.

 Now, if I could just get you and your brother here to start the build....

This is very encouraging news.

I wonder if they will ever fix the 72" Standard Gauge switches.

The two rail track that I saw offered in their latest catalog looks to suffer from the same wide tie spacing that plagues 3-rail scaletrax.

Do yourself a favor and just go with the new Ross Standard Gauge turnouts.  They are smooth as silk.  And from I've been told, they occupy the same footprint as the MTH turnouts.

David

MTH Real Trax switches also need some fixes.

If Mike would bite the bullet and re-tool the whole Scaletrax line (close that awful gap in the tie spacing) he would definitely have "The King of 3 rail track systems" as someone so aptly phrased it recently.  For those of us who have used it, the 'issues' have been very minor and much exaggerated. MTH flextrack is a joy to work with. The low rail profile and thin center blade are vast visual improvements over the other major players out there. If the tie spacing was prototypical and Mike offered a few more switches in the line it would be almost perfect!

They would sell a lot of track...

Good news indeed.

However, for those needing different switches now I can offer a compromise.

Ross Custom Switches have rails shaped very similar to Scaletrax.

Plus, If you put standard 5mm foam roadbed under the Scaletrax and 2mm cork sheet under the Switch, the rail tops line up nicely.

How do I know this?

I have 2 Ross O-72 Wyes for my ScaleTrax layout. I measured it.

And for those still going on about the tie spacing, Have you looked at the tie spacing of all the other brands of track?

Most of it has HUGE ties and spacing.

Does ANYONE have correct tie spacing and size?

Agree

Sam, Scaletrax is clearly this era's "Super-O" track in many ways.

Only Mike knows his real plans expanding the line.  But if recent years are any indication, it doesn't seem MTH is as focused on the O-Gauge market as it once was.

And retooling in the current economic environment is a downright scary proposition for any of the importers.  Now more than ever, I just get the feeling that nobody wants to incur risks unless there's a near-guarantee that they'll see an immediate ROI.  And the unstable labor situation over in China doesn't help the cause either.  None of the key importers seems to have a good handle on it.

Bottom line... I think we'll see a couple of enhanced/new pieces added to the ScaleTrax line-up long before we see any kind of overhaul to the entire system with closer tie-spacing and such.  That's what my crystal ball says, FWIW. 

David

Too little too late!  MTH ScaleTrax could would have been the ULTIMATE three rail track for serious modelers, BUT.  The tie proportions are great.  The rail profile is great.  The center rail blade without annoying spikes is great.

But the tie spacing is only good for siding and low use lines.  The spacing should be about half to model heavy main lines.  Very little selection of switches/turnouts, needs to be as good as Ross or at least Atlas.  And sectional curses only up to 80-inch.  these are the reason I did not look twice at ScaleTrax and went GarGraves/Ross.

A fellow NC O-Gauger  who hardy ever misses a York has discussed this Mike Wolf several times going back yearS.  Mike told him the spacing is correct, someone from his staff had measured it.  Must have went out to a siding not main line.  As for larger sectional curves he says Mike said that is what the flex track is for.  I cannot recall if this fellow O-Gauger got an answer on the lack of switches.

Ron

For those of us who have used it, the 'issues' have been very minor and much exaggerated. MTH flextrack is a joy to work with. The low rail profile and thin center blade are vast visual improvements over the other major players out there.

Based on my experience I have to agree with Sam on all those points.  And I really like the 3 dimensional scale ties too.  They make custom track work much easier.

While tie spacing to match current heavy duty main line standards might be desirable for many of us I have to point out something based on custom work I have done with ScaleTrax.  I have hand laid several switches with ScaleTrax rail.  ScaleTrax flex track leads into and out of all of those hand laid switches.  I have received many compliments on the switches.  No one has ever commented that the switches have wider tie spacing than the ScaleTrax flex track.  And they do have wider tie spacing since they are patterned after Ross switches but are built with scale ties.

Hmmm.....

Do people not notice or are they too polite to say anything? 

Am surprised Ted that you followed the Ross spacing. Have only seen a few photos here and didn't notice. What prevented you from spacing them correctly?

I'm not familiar with tool & die making but what would be involved in re-tooling the ties on scaletrax?  Could some American company be contracted to build scaletrax from here with new tools using Mike's current rail components?

But GarGrave/Ross spacing is proportional to their very over sized tie size.  Pennsy Heavy main line is 19 7/9-inches on center.  Tie are about 7" X 9".  So tie spacing is about two ties.

Ron

Having the best track in the world in your catalog doesn't mean a thing if it's not available.  ScaleTrax was not yet invented when I designed my layout, but if designing today I would make the same choice: Gargraves flex track and Ross switches. 

Why?  Those products are always available, available when building the layout and available when making changes later.  I am currently adding more staging tracks and several industrial spurs.  I needed 22 switches: O72, O96, #4, 11 degree wye, #4 3-way, curved O72/O96 and curved O96/O120.  All were readily available from Ross.  Any guesses on how long it would take to obtain 22 ScaleTrax switches (if they even had a wide selection such as this).  Holding up construction for months waiting for MTH to restock switches is not part of the hobby for me.

Sam

The injection molds for the ties on switches and sectional track are probably the most expensive tools for the whole track system.  I don't think that they likely to change any time soon.

Have only seen a few photos here and didn't notice.

The people who see the switches in person don't seem to notice either.  That goes for the switches that I have taken to York and the ones on the NWTL.  It may just be a case where if no one points it out to you it is something that is unlikely to be noticed at all.  Folks just haven't noticed that the switches have wider tie spacing than the flex track.  I have watched people view videos of Rich Battista's layout and never heard a comment about the tie spacing of stock ScaleTrax either.  It just doesn't seem to detract from the overall visual impression of a good layout. In fact I think ScaleTrax is a visual enhancement over any other three rail track system. 

We'll see how much improved the new switches are soon. 

I needed 22 switches: O72, O96, #4, 11 degree wye, #4 3-way, curved O72/O96 and curved O96/O120.  All were readily available from Ross.

Bob

There is no doubt that Steve makes the widest variety of switches around.  He has very ingeniously designed Ross products using materials and construction techniques that are more labor intensive to build than switches with injection molded bases but they are much lower cost to tool up for so he can offer greater variety.  Steve knows more about the interaction with tinplate wheels with tinplate rails than anyone.  His designs are top notch and so is the workmanship.  I just wish that there was a Ross Scale product line.  Then we would likely talk about ScaleTrax/Ross Scale like we do about Gargraves/Ross.  Until then I'll likely hand lay a little track now and again. 

Bob, this is a very good point.   I really like the look of Scaletrax as well. However, I am not waiting years to build my new layout, and I will not pull u all my track once a track system becomes readily available.

For me, it's one thing to wait on orders for locos. Quite another to wait on the ability to build my layout due to lack of track I may want.

This is not to take away from the changes MTH is making, which I think is good.

I don't understand why Russell's comments about how easy it is to mate Ross/ScaleTrax seems to get lost in discussions like this. Seems to me his method gives one the best of both worlds, tried & true Ross switches and the good looking ScaleTrax. This is the route I'd like to take for whatever switches MTH doesn't make when the new ones see the light of day. What am I missing.

And, Bob, availability has been my concern since I started putting together a design. Now I'm wondering what will happen if I get what I need to construct my design next year and then want to make changes in the future. From what I've been reading, it's fairly certain that RCS/GG/Atlas/Lionel track will be around as long as O gauge is around, but I'm not sure about ScaleTrax.

Ted,  thanks for your input and informed comments!

You are correct about the overall look of a scaletrax layout (ours included) but personally, the tie spacing always bothered me anyway. I remember the first time I saw a large layout with Atlas track (Cesar's near York PA last year) I was really impressed. The tight spacing really looks great in my opinion.

Could you post a photo or two of your hand laid switch here to show us the spacing? I have considered possibly trying to hand lay one as you have done with the Ross template sometime but would have assumed that you laid the scale ties spaced close together...

If I recall correctly MTH originally claimed to have measured the tie spacing on trackage on some part of the NE corridor.  Now, weather or not they measured an area of the actual main line, a siding, or spur line is up for speculation; but I can definitely tell you that whatever they measured does not reflect how the majority of mainlines in the US have their tie spacing on an average.

MTH would have been better off looking at the tie spacing on existing realistic track systems from the likes of Atlas or other competing brands, they could have even used HO or N scale track as a point of reference and "scale it up" for O and they would have gotten it closer to prototype appearance.

1 - even with the tie-spacing "issue" ScaleTrax is far more appealing visually than any

other 3-rail track system, including Atlas - or maybe -especially- including Atlas.

(I have GG/Ross/Curtis and an old layout; I stuck with GG/Ross for expansions for

obvious reasons. I like GG/Ross, in fact.) The Atlas track with the thick center rail

and TIE-PLATES under it (for goodness' sake!) has never appealed to me as much as it should. It's too high (higher than GG, bottom of tie to top of rail) and the ties...see #2.

2 - as mentioned elsewhere, the Atlas spacing is suitable only for the High Iron, and

on secondary tracks the ScaleTrax is more appropriate.

3 - anyway, with a 3-rail format, the less attention one draws to the track work the

better, and the ScaleTrax low rails, thin blade and relatively sparse ties are a better

way to go, visually. Sounds like MTH may mess up some of what I like about it.

4 - none of this matters unless I build a new layout. Yeah, right. I don't like building them, and I'm 66, not 44 as I was when I built my current one. Too many things hurt, now. But if I do, ScaleTrax will be my choice.

Everytime a scaletrax discussion comes up there is always those that defend the tie spacing. 

The reality is that they got it wrong. I just wish they would have bit the bullet and fixed it rather than continuing and fabricating excuses and tales of some prototype siding that was used as the basis. As John said, scaling up a section of HO would have put them much closer to true O scale proportions.

Had they gotten the tie spacing correct, my O gauge world would probably be very different. I would have immediately pulled up my gargraves trackage which was on my small, permanent layout at the time (and who's appearance I was dissatisfied with). I probably would have reworked the layout rather than demolishing it as I did. and would have never purchased the vast collection of Frastrack that I currently own for floor running.

It is good to hear of the improvements MTH is making to the switches, and it does look great.  But if you can't keep it in stock and folks have to wait for unknown periods of time than that is bummer to say the least.  That said I do wish MTH success with this product line for the future.