Which generation of MTH Realtrax is best?

I have not used realtrax switches but I have had some experience with the track.  I bought 072 curved and straight and have had many poor connections with the realtrax connections. I had to solder the rails on many joints to secure a reliable connection. The track was solid rail. The newer series is the hollow rail which I have not used. I have not seen the hollow rail version so I don't know if the connection reliability has improved. Other than the basic Lionel tinplate track I have used Ross track with good connectivity.

Switches are reliable. I've had one of 23 fail in 16 years.

My experience with the new hollow rail track was a poor one. Misalignment of track was my biggest issue. Noisier also. I only use the solid rail versions.

It is advisable to check each piece of track with an ohmmeter  before installing. As Alextwister indicates, poor connections due to poor welds on the contacts (copper or brass) is a common issue. If an open is found due to poor welding, repair as per Jim Barrett's method  (OGR) allows salvage of the track. In spite of these issues, I have had excellent results with the track.

Joe

Drummer3 posted:

I am wanting to buy brand new Realtrax, but I have read different stories of the pro's and con's.  Is the newest version (generation 3?) the best?  I understand the track has hollow rails.   And, are the switches reliable?

Thank you,

Dave

 

I've recently built a double-oval layout with 90 degree crossing/reversing loops on the inner oval and and crossover turnouts to the outer oval, using both solid rail track obtained from train shows and hollow rail track I ordered to fill in where needed.

The 2 "used" 072 switches and the 6 "new" 072 switches (8 total) needed some styrene strips glued to the guard rails to reduce the gaps and eliminate a little bit of a point-picking problem I had with one of my loco's.  But since then, they have been trouble-free in the short time they have been in operation.  Incidentally, ALL of the switches are solid rail, including the new ones.

The older, solid rail track sections seem to be pretty nice as far as rail alignment goes, both curved and straights..  But I did have a couple of 30" straights where the rails were a bit too long at one end, causing grief with the non-derail feature of the turnouts.  I actually ended up sawing off about 1/32" of the rails to correct this problem.  In addition, I was also having a problem with locos slowing down on a portion of straight track.  Found the culprit on a 10" section of straight track, must have had a bad welded connection on one end of the brass or copper electrical contacts (the center rail, in this case).  I soldered a jumper wire underneath the roadbed to the electrical contacts at each end and it cured that problem.

The new, hollow rail (formed nickel silver sheet metal or similar) has a slightly different set of problems.  The formed rail profile is poorly done, and  therefore rail alignment isn't always quite as good from one track section to the next, especially on the curved sections.  The curved sections do not lay flat on a table, they have a slight hump.  And then, when you snap several sections together, you end up with a mildly banked curve - unfortunately banked the WRONG WAY!!!    Yes, it banks to the outside, not to the inside.  I tried bending the track sections to flatten them out, and it helped a little but still didn't fix them.  The only way to totally eliminate the bank is to screw it down to a solid flat surface.  Otherwise, if you don't secure the track down to something, you just have to make sure you don't run your trains too fast around the curves.

I have found that the best way to cure the rail alignment problem with the hollow rail is to make your own pins for connecting the track together.  .072" diameter soft-wire push rod material (radio-controlled airplane department at the hobby shop) works the best.  Simply cut pins about 1-1/4" long to help align the rails when snapping the track together.  Or 14 ga. solid copper house wiring also works for pins, but is a slightly looser fit.

Lastly, when mating hollow rail to solid rail, you may have to align the rails by carefully twisting with some pliers.  "CAREFULLY" is the key word, don't go busting a bunch of the molded plastic spike plates, or kinking the hollow rails out of shape.  Might also have to work the joints over with a file to help smooth out the alignment.

Well, that's been my minimal experience so far.  All in all, my oval loops are finally running fairly smoothly now, with the extra work I've done to it.

My railroad has over 300 feet of Real Trax, all with solid rails so I cannot offer any advice about the current hollow rail track. However, Real Trax with some delousing is an excellent track system for a layout. The attachments below summarize the issues I have dealt with.

Solid rail requires a lot of heat to attach leads by soldering. If you opt to make gaps by bending back the track contacts, insert a good insulator between the rail ends that will absorb or deteriorate from track cleaners. The insulator is necessary because the rails expand and contract, so an unprotected gap will likely close.

My last piece of advice is to get the DCS O Gauge Companion by Barry Boskowitz, and follow his instructions for STAR wiring your Real Trax.

Hi Paul,  Thanks for your input, but it sounds like too much work for me.   I will look into the Atlas O track to replace my Lionel 027 tubular.  I am not a big fan of fastrack just yet because of the U shaped rail.  Here's my youtube channel:

Lot's O Trains Here

Dave