I had the opportunity to pick up a couple of straight sections of Lionel's new S gauge Fastrack last night, so I thought I do a brief comparison with S Helper Services S-Tracks.
Well start with the similarities:
Both have plastic molded and textured roadbed,
Both have solid rail,
Both have an integral, molded locking system to keep the track together,
Both are a well made track product.
MSRP for 10" straight:
S-Trax $34.95 per package of 6 ($5.83 per section)
FasTrack $4.79 per section
S-Trax Front, FasTrack back (Code 100 scale track on Homabed in background...)
S-Trax left, FasTrack right
S-Trax:
Weathered rail,
Painted roadbed,
Nail/screw hole for mounting may be drilled out if needed,
Separate, inserted Delrin tie strip, except for 3 molded ties at the ends,
Large integral interlocking clip with rail joiner,
Metal tab at rail joiner (one end only on straight) for power connection.
FastTrack:
Shiny rail,
Unpainted roadbed,
Available hole for nail/screw mounting,
All ties molded in and painted,
Small integral interlocking clip with rail joiner
No provision for power connection, separate terminal track needed.
Underside: S-Trax front, FastTrack back
Top side separated. S-Trax front, FasTrack back
Now, one of the questions that crops up is: Can S-Trax and FasTrak be joined together?
The answer isprobably.
While I haven't tried it, the easiest method seems to after removing the molded in clip from S-Trax and the two track systems look like they'll join together with maybe a little work to the rail joiners.
The differences in rail height appear to be minimal, perhaps corrected with a little filing.
The individual would have to make up his own mind as to which track system to use. While S-Trax system is better visually detailed than the FasTrack, both should perform equally.
Rusty
