Zeke what happended last night? How did his kids react? Is he doing better today?
Frank53…Very well spoken.
I like tubular, because I like my PW Operating Milk car, my PW Operating Log Dump car, my PW Operating Coal Dump car, and my PW #497 Coaling Station. They all need tubular track. I’ve never seen them set up on Fastrack. And 022 switches, if well lubricated and maintained, will run very smoothly and have the " 2 way " nonderailing feature since the 50’s. “And they are still ticking.”
Chuck
Chuck - agreed on the switches. Mine work great and they’re 60 years old. They have nice positive snap, and they have yet to not switch back on incoming. I admit, some can be “clunky” due to the design as in noisier as F3’s make their way through. But as far as performance goes, they’re still tip top.
FastTrack has it’s place . . .
however, since youngsters may stumble onto this site, I will refrain from naming it. [:D]
well should prolly keep this train related. My last post got deleted about him. but it did go ok and i did post about it on the pot…
so have you thought about which track your gonna use?
i like the tubular track its smooth, you get the authentic sound of train running over rails, its not very expensive, i like the way it looks much better, sorry even paint you cant hide it being plastic, may look nice but its still plastic. Plus the flexibillity, and my switches run flawlessly.
I also think if you buy used switches you may get someone else headache, (i know i bought 2 of ebay) but new you shouldnt have any problems. Plus how you take care of your track is a big factor i think as well…just my [2c]
SUPER-O
As for the lack of realism of tubular track:
looks pretty real to me, that Dennis Brennan’s crushed granite ballast, and there is no confusing it with molded plastic.
Fodder for Friday night chat !! [(-D]
Thanks, John
Frank your da man!
Well, its hard to decide. Chuck, all of the accessories and cars will operate in fastrack. The operating track section has removable roadbed for things like horse corrals, milk platforms, ect.
But i’m stongly going towards tubular now. You can bury the ties with ballast cant you? I like the look of just rails showing.
Grayson
After six pages of every pro and con every thought of (and some made up), I would think you have more than enough information myself – regardless of which way you go.
At this point, might as well flip a coin, as this has long ago gone from pros and cons to good spirited jousting.
“a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow”
I think I’ll go with fastrack, but I have nothing against tubular, so everybody dont get mad at me for making this decision. I will add extra ballast to make a realistic look though.
Thanks for everybody’s imput, this has been a long forum, but I think i’ve made my final decision to go with fastrack. Oh, and If you didnt know, 153c contactors CAN work with fastrack, but the 145c contactor wont, since it has the adjustment nut on the other side of the contactor, it will prop the sectiuon up. I dont know why lionel makes you spend an extra $25 to buy a infrared controller.
Grayson
well nobodys perfect… 
j/k I hope it works well for you. Its whatever works for you.
when i think of the differences of track i think about cars. new vs. old.
heres my thinking…bare with me…lol
ya take a (random btw) 2007 mustang fully loaded vs say mine a 1964 1/2 convertible loaded…
tubular fast track
1964 1/2----------------------------------2007 mustang
classic newer
just amazing to look at nice to look at but missing the classic look
cheaper &n
Well, zeke, I’ll agree with you that newer is not always better, but here’s what I think. Most real railroads today are using cement ties, building and replacing with them. I’ve never heard of somebody arguing whether concrete or wood is better, but since cement cant rot, its good in one way, but it can crack, which is its own weakness. Wood cant crack, but it can rot. Thats how I think of fastrack and tubular, both have there advantages and disadvantages.
It’s not a great analogy, but thats what i thought of. [:)]
Zeke, I think you choice of tubular is a great one, and i have nothing against tubular track, I just decided i would go with fastrack.
Hand cranked #97 coal loader ------------------------------------ automatic #97 coal loader
Box couplers----------------------------------------------------- knuckle couplers
No smoke -------------------------------------------------------smoke
Grayson
first i know a guy who works on the railroad repalcing them ties, he sits under this cool loking maching and switches them out. He said he replaces alot of concrete ones because they are handling the wieght well. i think the wood ties are best myself.
i dont know about the coal loader.
i dont understand what you mean by the smoke or really the couplers
cuz i can hit a button and my cars uncouple, i dont have to touch them, and smoke , i dont get were that fits in with track, am i missing soomething?
you must have deep pockets to afford all that track you need. I bout 160 pieces total now all new off ebay for under 100 shipped. That came with swithes, crosses and multiple uncoupling sections, and 20 + lock ons…
im glad you made your choice though, cuz it was yours you werent influenced by anyone to decied your track. I choose mine for 3 reasons mainly…
-
Classic look, nothing beats the original.
-
flexibillity- I am free lancing my layout so i need that.
-
cost. i bought way more track then ill use and for under 100 bucks brand new. about 160 pieces of new track.
but hey im sure the ft will look good, as i look at a layout i notice the track first and then the scenery and trains.
but hey i wasnt putting you down i was just giving you a hard time…
i’m sure that with the cost of track, ballast and wooden ties, tubular 027 may get up to $2 to $3 worth, and O gauge #3 to $4 worth, about the same as fastrack.
Cracking shouldn’t be a problem with concrete ties. They’re prestressed, so that the entire tie is always in compression. Any crack that existed would be pulled closed.
How do you create power districts in fastrack? Do you use the block sections and hook up from a bus wire and connect it to the fastrack in the block? Do you need a tpc or powermaster?
sorry, I only know how to do that with tubular - the most venerable and time-proven of all track systems. [:-^]
I think your trying to tell me something… [swg]
Moi?