What scale does Lionel o gauge Fastrack use, i.e. 1:43, etc.? Am I correct to assume all brands of o scale track use the same scale?
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No, that's not really a correct assumption since scale refers to a number of factors (rail height and width, tie dimensions, roadbed and ballast dimensions, etc. Lots of variations there in the existing track lines.
Now, if you're talking about gauge (distance between the rails), you can pretty much assume that most all of the popular track options are pretty darn close in that regard.
Regarding track width...
If you assume Fastrack is 56.5" standard gauge, the scale would be 1/45.
If you assume your models are 1/48, then Fastrack is 60" gauge.
If you are running 3/16 scale Marx or Flyer "O", then the track is 80" gauge.
And all way too tall.
So, you see where this is going...
Okay Allan and Rob, I'll rephrase my question. How many feet of actual railroad track is a one inch lenth of Fastrack rail equivalent to and is that running length ratio or length the same for all brands of o gauge track?
It's almost the same answer...
If you assume Fastrack is 56.5" standard gauge, the scale would be 1/45 and 1" of Fastrack equals 45" of 1:1 rail.
If you assume your models are 1/48, then 1" of Fastrack equals 48" of 60" gauge 1:1 rail.
If you are running 3/16 scale Marx or Flyer "O", 1" of Fastrack equals 64" of 80" gauge 1:1 rail....
I think they're trying to say the equivalent length depends on the scale of the equipment you are running, but all brands are the same for any given scale. It gets really complicated because you can run multiple scales on the same track.
