Hi guys,
Very new to this. My wife purchased for me the Polar Express set. Anyway, I have begun to build a layout. I used the fast track that came with the set, however I added four inch pieces in the curve and on the outside straigh ways to give it more length. I want to put in another oval that is as close to the other track as I am allowed. What do I need to purchase to do this? Should I buy 0-72 track curves or what? Anyway help would be appreciated. Thank you, wvtrumpet
O-72 is twice the radius of the Fastrack. (72" diameter vs 36" diameter). There is also a 60" diameter Fastrack. None of them will give you a graceful double track, but measure how far across your track is, and add 8" (4" clearance on each side). You didn’t say how many 4" pieces you added, or where.
Lionel does make the traditional O gauge track in 31" 42" and 54" diameters.
I’m having a similar problem with my wife’s Polar Express. I made a 4x8 table for it and a few extra (long) straight pieces have overpowered the table.
I am not sure the exact size you want. If at all possible visit a hobby shop and see how the two curves fit together.
I often add a small straight to the center of the outside loop to add width to the oval so an inside oval will fit. To see how will that works, use all your curve track on one side (build 1/2 of inside oval and 1/2 of outside oval (with the inserted straight track) just to see how they fit. That will give you a good indication.
It all depends on what you are looking for. Minimum oval width (ie width of layout) might be obtained by adding a small straight track. On the other hand if you want the tracks to exactly parrallel each other that will require curves of different radius and I am unsure of the exact dimension. 072 curves require a very wide layout!
By the way…fastrak can often be found cheaper from CTT advertisers (islandtrains.com and others) than it can be purchased on ebay.
Hope this helps.
Jim H
I have 2 loops of FasTrack on my layout. The inner loop is just plain O36 curves, like what comes in the sets. The outer loop’s curves are stretched using a 4 1/2" and two 1 3/4" sections. There is a good amount of room between the 2 loops. My table was 4’ wide, but the extra width of the outer loop forced me to widen it to 4’ 6". No big deal.
Jim
You can do what Jim suggested, or you can buy O48 sections, the next size larger than the O36 that came with your set. My layout has these 2 loops. I placed the loops so the straight sections are very close together in the rear of the layout, and about 5" apart in the front. Within this 5" gap, I have a platform station, block signal, milk car unloading platform, and other scenics. I think this set-up makes it look a bit more interesting than a “just 2 loops” look. Another thing I did was install a manual switch and siding to my inner loop, facing into the center, and at the end of the siding, a Lionel animated track gang accessory. The size of my layout is 5x8. I think this could be done on a 4x8, but I wanted the extra ft. for other accessories. Joe
thank you all very much. I will look into this
I have two loops of fastrack on part of my layout a inner 0-36 and an outer 0-48. They both work great. If you are thinking of purchasing more and bigger engines that is what will determine your track size. Personally I like the 0- 48 because most engines that are rated 0-54, will work on this track.
Hope this helps?
laz57
036 track is more widely available, but the wider curves will definately look better!
Jim H
Fastrack O48 should be equivalent to about O50 in the older system of measurement.
LIONELSONI,
Conga on the 5 STARS. YOU DA MAN!!!
laz57