Tell Me About New Realtrax and Switches

No problems at all with the hollow rail though I prefer the solid rail and will buy solid rail on eBay when expanding the layout.  I wish they'd made curves wider than O82 and offer an O92 curve.  I just added some more O82 hollow rail curves to my layout.  Large semi scale steam looks great on O72 and O82 RealTrax.  They only made O82 in hollow rail so I use it mixed in with the solid rail pieces.  I also have some short straight hollow rail sections in my set up.  One can have a lot of fun with this hobby in just running trains and then maybe add some detailing and context over time.

I have both solid and hollow rail mixed. I see no difference in performance or assembly. Don

I have been running on a 6.5 x 23 foot Figure 8 with Wyes across the middle for years now.

Mostly hollow track. Switches are still solid rails.

I've had a few switch issues but I only have to fix each one once.

For some reason the springs that hold the points in place sometimes slip off the post. I glue a small square of material on the end of the post after repositioning the spring.

I've had a few alignment problems but all were with track bought used, no issues with new from the LHS track.

On another note, I'm switching to ScaleTrax, much smaller rails, solid, and much less noise. It also has 30" Flex pieces for those super wide curves and wandering routes. Note that it requires more finesse to assemble without damage.

Thanks folks. Glad to hear the new stuff has been holding up well. How has conductivity been in the long run? I probably won't take it apart if/when I use it and it is in place.

Thanks Don. 

 

Anyone else? How is the long term conductivity? I remember some track mysteriously loosing conductivity after a while some time ago. 

My Real Trax has been in place fo close to three years.  I run trains almost daily. I have 24 switches on the layout. Mine is a mix of solid and hollow rail tracks.

 

I have had no conductivity problems at all. I did have to put a few springs back in position through the years on switches as mentioned by others. Not many at all. 

 

I just added an addition to my layout. Appx 13 x 9. I used Snap Track but stayed with the Real Trax switches. 

 

So yes, I am a fan of Real Trax and would recommend it. 

If you plan to buy new track, why not consider Ross track and switches?  Ross offers a foam road bed that when painted (Stone spray paint gives it a nice textured look) looks better (IMO) than the plastic roadbed of either Fastrack or Real Trax.  Ross offers the best variety in switches and performance.  

 

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

 

I have a Real Trax layout on the carpet floor in a 10' x 14' bedroom.  The layout was built 13 years ago and it has never had any kind of problem. All of its 12 switches have always worked flawlessly.

My layout has been in operation for nearly 5 years on RealTrax. No conductivity issues once in place and working.

All the bad pieces were track bought second hard. And it was all fixable by running a wire from contact to contact under the piece.

That is a serious contender, GG Stainless with Ross switches, and I am leaning more and more to it for the future...it would be substantially cheaper but the downside is having to ballast. In addition I have one Ross switch and the rails came bent downward (like someone stepped on it) so quality/holding up is a bit of a concern. 

Contact Ross about the bent switch, they will make it right.

Very good customer service.

I recall once a couple years back a member had a thread about a derail problem caused by a bad spike on a Ross switch. (bent or misplaced)

Steve read the thread and sent him a replacement, just asking him to return the bad switch in the same box when he installed the new one.

That is above and beyond.