David Shapiro posted:Hi Rusty and Keith,
Very, very helpful. This particularly true since I haven't bought anything yet. Is Fox Valley filling an unmet need, or will it be competing with other established manufacturers? I'm asking since I'm itching to get started, once the tables are set up.
David
A little of both.
Lionel and MTH have their track systems: Lionel with their S FasTrack and MTH with (the former S Helper Service) S-Trax. Both these systems have molded plastic roadbed and are compatible with each other with a minor modification to the roadbed. MTH/SHS on left, Lionel on right:
It's my understanding that the Fox Valley track will use the same code rail as Lionel and MTH, so it should be compatible with both with some roadbed underneath. I'm told the Lionel and MTH turnouts will run scale wheels, but I've never tried it. The sharp diverging route (20" radius) would seriously limit the type of scale equipment run over them.
American Model uses a larger rail size (code 148) and their turnouts and crossings are set up for Hi-rail/Flyer wheels. The flangeways can be modified to run scale wheeled equipment over them.
Shinohara and Tomalco are code 100 and turnouts are set up for scale wheels only.
Gar-Graves and traditional tubular Flyer track are not desirable for scale operation.
As long as your considering scale, I would suggest getting an oval of MTH S-Trax 15" straights and 30" radius curves to get the feel of things.
Rusty
