Hello, much like you, my world of trains started one year when I didn't put away the "around the tree" set that I had for years. I can tell you that the FasTrack manual switches are the right way to start. Mine have survived all three of my sons (and their friends) for 10 years now. Just like other have said, look in the forum here, look on eBay and don't forget the sponsors too. My journey started with converting my figure eight into two reversing loops. This allows for the train to run both ways around the track. I started with two switches to have a passing siding, but then got two more to make the eight with the reverse. Then later I added another two to have some sidings where we could add some action (dumping, loading, etc). To bridge the figure eight you need the two O-36 manual switches (with quarter curve) two 10-inch, one 5-inch, one 4.5-inch and finally one 1 3/8-inch piece (for one side). All of this was done over years.
