Tubular vs Fasstrack/atlas for floor layout

acid,

    If you are going to build a nice Christmas layout do it on a platform, purchase block acoustical ceiling tile, Lowes has it, and cover the platform, I use tin green indoor/outdoor carpet over the block tile to completely dreaded the FT noise on our formal living room Christmas layout.  Use both the FT and the traditional tubular and build a really fine layout, on different levels.

PCRR/Dave

My christmas layouts are always put on the floor- so I appreciate the idea but don't think it would suite my style.

I have read here several times that Ross Roadbed works well with Atlas track. However, I have not tried it myself. I had a couple of temp layouts using Atlas track on a couple of saw horses with plywood on top. The track stayed together pretty well. My plywood was all scrap, multiple pieces, un-level and uneven, would have been much better had it all been even and level.

The only 3-rail track system I've used that was somewhat quiet on wood floors was Gargraves- the real wood ties do absorb some sound, even without any underlayment. It also moves a little less, and with a few carefully placed velcro stickers it stays put.

I do have a bit of Fastrack for running on carpet, however- the roadbed does look nice, and 3-rail trains track well on it.

Geno

Im gonna look into the rossbed some more- seems interesting. I really like the way the atlas track looks.

What about atlas on the floor? Will it stay together reasonably well?

acid,

   I screw the tile right to the 3/4 plywood platform, the tile slide together so only a few screws are needed, then screw the FasTrack thru the carpet into the acoustical tile.  Lots of different ways to build a platform, I put the 3/4 ply on saw horses because I like their height to work under, for wiring and such.  Easy to put up and take down after the Christmas season ends, each year you can then add to your original layout plan, with as many additional levels as you like to build, it's all in the engineering.

PCRR/Dave

My experience with all 3 on floors, carpet and bare cement/tile.

Tubular- Moves the most, doesn't stay together very well.  Not something I would use for more than an hour on the floor.  Sound wise, it's the middle of the three, but the only one to have the sound of my childhood.  I have an O27 figure 8/loop on plywood that's under my couch that I can slide out and put my old Marx train on to run.

FasTrack- By far the best for the floor.  Cats sleep on it, the kids walk all over it, and it even gets the vacuum run over it, and it holds up.  It does move some.  I find the thicker the carpet, the more it moves, but that goes with all the track.  It is the loudest of the three, but I find it okay as long as you run nice and slow.  That doesn't work so well for some of my conventional locomotives, but ones with cruise, it works great.  This is the only track I will use on the floor for anything longer then a single play session.

Atlas- It's the quietest of the bunch, and look the best to me, but it's really hard to find right now as Atlas hasn't been able to get any new track made for a couple years.  Some of the sectional curves and straights are starting to come back to the market.  Like tubular, it's okay for a short bit on carpet, but it'll come apart.  On concrete it does alright, I had a loop on my floor before I put tile down and it stayed together for a week before I needed to move it to work on the room.  If you really want to use it on the floor, it's been recommended to mount it on a board first, as in cut a piece of plywood just big enough to hold a couple of track sections on and then fasten those together to build a layout.  It reduces the number of flexible joints, gives you the ability to add a roadbed, and helps keep trains up a little bit from the dirt and hair on the floor.  This is what I want to do at some point for the small O36 loop around my Christmas tree, probably next year.

I have used AtlasO track for a temporary floor layout on wood flooring. To keep the track secure, I used two zip ties (one on each side of the center rail) per track connection. I did have to occasionally re-align the track as the force of the train pushed the track out. For a Christmas layout, I would definitely recommend ripping some wood to a little wider than the track to fasten the track in place, regardless of the type of track used.