Track for Layout

There are literally dozens of options.

Everything ranging from old school Lionel "SuperO" and O27 tubular all the way to FasTrack and Realtrax

Decide what you want to accomplish with your railway first, then the track choice might come obviously to you.

I think this is great advice.

Thanks, I was just speaking from experience.

Fastrak is an amazing system, there are so many things you can do with it, Realtrax is the same. I used Fastrak before and it was fine but now I don't have the space for it so O27 it is.  O27 is also perfect for what I want my layout to accomplish. I went from semi-prototypical to simple tinscale fun.

It's all about what you want to do with your trains. There are track options out there to satisfy even the most discerning miniature chooch enthusiast.

1) Use as wide a radius as your space allows.  So many regret not doing this I lost count..

2) Tube track has been around for like 100 years, and is proven; Fast Track has not.  What does gray plastic look like after 5, 10 years of oily plastic & metal trains running over it?

3) Keep it simple!  98% of the folks I talk to don't fiddle around with gobs of switches and yard tracks they jammed into their design.  At the end of the day, you're gonna be sitting back and running mainline trains, so design your layout as such.

My two cents

Like everyone said, it really depends on what you want your layout to be.

The classic is tubular. If your looking for a classic toy train look, that's the way to go. But, one caution about that...its discontinued. There is still plenty of new stock but going forward, new will be harder and harder to find.

Fastrack and Realtrack are good for a "throw it down quick and has a semi realistic look" track. 

Gargraves and Atlas O are (in my opinion) the most realistic looking of the bunch. But it takes a bit of work to achieve a proper realistic look. 

I built my layout with tubular, for a bunch of reasons that may or may not be relevant to you. Here's why I did what I did.

• My layout combines 0 and Standard Gauge. I wanted a more classic, period look for the Standard Gauge, and that meant tubular.
• Of the three loops of 0 gauge track, the innermost is set up with postwar-style operating accessories. These are a lot easier to install with tubular than with anything else. 
• I have a collection of ETS European tinplate, which uses sliders rather than rollers for center-rail power. The squared-off profile of Gargraves or other realistic track tends to wear a groove in the sliders, and they are expensive to replace. Tubular track is much easier on the power pickups. 
• I could have done the two wide-radius 0 gauge main lines in realistic track, as I'll be running scale-type equipment on those two lines. However, I opted for a consistent look throughout the layout, so I did those lines in tubular as well. The outermost is 072 and the second is rare 063 track by K-Line.
• Finally, I already had quite a bit of tubular track, which meant the net cost of track was going to be a lot cheaper with tubular than any other option.

My inner loop is the only one that has any switches. The curves are 042 and the switches are low-profile 042 switches by K-Line. These are out of production now. Lionel was making them for a while after K-Line went out of business, but Lionel has ceased production of those switches. I don't know where the tooling wound up. You can still find them on the secondary market.

The most important factor is how you envision your layout. If you are looking at something in the traditional style, i.e. tinplate or postwar, or if you want to use a lot of Lionel operating accessories, tubular may be the way to go. It's also the cheapest and easiest to use. If you are more concerned with realism, Gargraves, Ross, or Atlas would be the way to go. 

Not discontinued, Lionel has stopped production til overstocks dwindle. Also Williams still makes it, Menards is planning to make it available this fall and there is so much out there old and NOS that even if production was stopped finding it is not going to get hard for years.

Jerry

I have two layouts.  My first uses tubular track with 0-54 and 0-72 curves.  It is a prewar tinplate layout with a great many Lionel accessories and tubular track is just what I wanted.  My other layout is hi rail and I am using Gargraves track and Ross switches and gives me the realistic look I want for this layout.

Al

I'll tell you which is a bad track to use is, and that would be...the broken ones 

There have been a few "dud" pieces of about everything along the way. But really you need to know what you want from your track. Conductivity, rustproof, roadbed, ties, flex, hidden center rail, rail shape (flanges), rail code(height).

Manual, electric or command turnouts,(now or later).

Room available, and can you even run on 0-27 ?, or 0-31 ?, or 0-42 etc etc.

Does 0-27 or non-scale bother you even a little? Yes? Get you best ocd rivet counting face on, count yourself some nail heads, and lay your own track. 

Transition between types can be done. And more easily if you screw things down. Screws would allow flex track too. 

K line super snap I think is made by RMT now. A very cool track that reminds me of Lionel Super O.

Lionel O is a more robust product than 0-27.

Jon C

Lets start with how much room you have, do you have a layout plan, Are you planning to go with a real scale like look or toy train appearance?  Also do have and are you good with a Dremel?  Do you want any turnouts on the layout? 

You have options and providing us some guidance to your layout options will help with track selection

Steve

Whatever you can find the for the least amount of money. It all works.

Now, if you want to be more specific about your layout plans, then perhaps we could be more specific.

I would look at your engines and rolling stock and see what Diameter curves that they require. I initially stayed away from O27 diameter curves because it is very limiting on your choice of engines and rolling stock.

Tinplate sometimes has deep flanges. low profile rail and deep flanges do not mix well.

Under no circumstances use MTH RealTrax. I have regretted the day I decided to use it on my 7 x 9 layout. Here are some of the problems:

There are no guide pins in the rails and the alignment of the rails is not adequate leaving edges for the rims of the wheels to clunk into. The trains do not run smoothly.

The switches are poorly design and poorly made. The anti-derailment feature on all seven of mine were disabled at manufacture. The points of the switches are poorly designed with guide rails for the frog that allow the rim of the wheels to bump into the edges of the frog again making the running not smooth. In fact every one had to be disassembled to fix the internals to assure complete travel of the points. Several of my engines short out when passing through the some switch's points because of a combination of center roller pickup placement on the engine and the way the points are electrified. Note that all my engines and track are MTH.

My latest track/engine fiasco is my new MTH Allegheny 2-6-6-6 made for O-31 curves will not run on MTH O-31 curves. Turns out MTH O-31 is 31 inches from the outside of the plastic ballast to the opposite outside of the ballast or really O-29 not O31. The Allegheny binds on the RealTrax O-31 enough to stall the front set of drivers.

As an aside, I made the mistake of using lots of O-31 curves to maximize the amount of track on the layout. That was a mistake too. I would have been better served with less track and bigger curves. For me it is too late as my layout is pretty much complete and my $1000 investment in RealTrax track and switches would be lost if I re-tracked the layout now. I reworked the track and switches so it is adequate  and useful but not anywhere close to perfect.

Bottom line: don't use RealTrax. I have two 3 ft section of Atlas flex track on the layout and the trains run great on it.

LDBennett

I was mistaken.

Thanks for correcting me Jerry

I prefer to use a combination of tubular track; 031 & 042 along with Gargraves track. One big plus with tubular is that you can cut & piece track together very easy.

I use 027 for an around the room layout near the ceiling and on my second level. 027 has at least 2 curve radius's; 27 & 42 inch curves, plus you can add in Gargraves track with some adapter pins.

FYI; tubular track is easy to find and is still made by at least 4 companies. Rmt, Williams by Bachmann, Gargraves and Ross all make tubular track.

I have tried Fastrack and find it very limiting and extremely expensive, also not that flexible, so beginners may want to stay away from it.

My findings with my use of track systems; I don't use Lionel current production tubular switches(6-23010), second Gargraves switches may give you problems with MTH steam engines at the switch areas. Fastrack is not any better for electrical issues and don't fit together well if you try to free-lance a track design.

E Z Streets or Super Streets(former K-Line name) is another nice system but you must know what you are doing as this system will give you trouble if you don't know what you are doing with it. Use a number 4 Phillips head screw(half inch or three quarters inch long) to fasten the E Z Track to a layout surface. Also the power wires are best supplied to a 10 inch straight section as you can hook-up both wires to a 10 inch section. Another thing is the use of curve to straight track or curve to curve two and a half inch pieces because of the width for the wheel clearance before & after a curve. And the electrical connectors can be removed and the track pieces swapped around as well.

Williams by Bachmann has very limited instructions for use with it, even the website has NO detailed instructions.

Lee Fritz

 I used K-Line Shadow Rail for the same reason. Combines a bit of realism with the reliability of tubular. 

  first thing I would do is check availability, recently many of the track systems that are made overseas have been in short supply. I know people who have waited over a year for switches and track.

  secondly check for the configuration you are going for and see if in fact the curves and switches you are planning on using are actually cataloged  and made by that manufacturer.

  thirdly I would search for problems associated with certain track types and the solutions to these problems and the manufacturers ability and willingness to help you solve these problems.

  With all that said, Ross Track and switches are made right here in the USA. their price point is less than the imports. they stock every imaginable curve and switch radius, and if out of stock they will make it for you in a very short time right here in Connecticut USA.

Their customer service is next to none! when and if you have a problem and call them on the phone (which they answer) you will be speaking to the people who actually made your product, not someone hired to answer the phone, so they will know what to do to find a solution. and did I mention they are the only system made right here in the USA. (maybe I did)

 A No Brainer for Me

Maryann

I agree with the initial advice by Steam Wolf[Fuzz].Plan your railroad and then your track brand. You might even end up with wood tie Gargraves Flextrack.

If fastrack roadbed is getting covered with oil you need to rethink your lubricating habits. That much oil will make a mess of any track.

My layout is currently 10 years old and "unsceniced/weathered" track looks just the same as when I bought it.

Heres some with ballast glued to the shoulders and painted rails:

Heres some painted, ballasted with some chalked added to give it a "dirty" yard look. The scenery base was raised even with the roadbed to give it a lower profile "yard track " look.

 I've been very happy with fastrack. There are folks who are happy with every brand. In the end, pick the one you like.