Are the fast tracks fixtures worth the price? I need about 60 turnouts but mostly one size for all my yards.
Pete[?]
Yes, especially for the number you mention. I have their #8’s and #6 double-slip. Each turnout will take around one hour to build, plus installing the flexi-stick ties. Materials and jigs, if you already have a soldering iron, will run around US$400ish, including a couple of bundles of rails, but how much will 60 quality turnouts cost you?
Your first one or two will be keepers if you tinker with them a bit…otherwise, mine were iffy. As I learned what really counted at each stage, my turnouts improved. All of them, even the first, is on my current layout. I even used his jigs to handlay, in place, a long curved #9, and tweaked the geometry of the frog to work curved. Works well enough.
If you elect to purchase, and would like to hear where I ran into difficulties, let me know.
I hope they’re worth the price! I bought an HO code 83 #6 jig at the National Train Show. I’ve read all the instructions and watched the tutorial movies, but haven’t built a turnout yet - other things are taking my time. I’ve collected all the materials except a new file and acid flux. Hopefully in about a week I’ll get started. (Meanwhile I’m still adding track to my behemoth helix. That thing goes on forever!).
The FastTracks turnouts are awesome - take your time with the first one or two - after the first two you can build them in your sleep. Cut the gaps in the PC board ties very carefully - I used a razor saw instead of a file as Tim shows in the videos - if you miss a gap, the turnout will cause a dead short.
The turnouts are also super DCC friendly as each closure rail matches the polarity of it’s adjacent stock rail. The frogs come out super smooth and you can run a truck through them without a click - try that on Atlas or even Peco. If you work carefully, you can run rolling stock through the TO without guardrails!
Another benefit of this form of construction is the electrical continuity - you don’t have to worry about gettingpaint/crud/weathering between the closure and stock rails - they are live and do not rely on contact with the stock rails to ensure electrical continuity.
To save on cost, buy a crossover fixture - this way you also get a crossing as part of the deal.
Enjoy building your own - I used Peco exclusively - not anymore!
Thanks Guys
I havnt heard any bad press about the system but the starting price. But figure how much 60 turnouts cost at the hobby shops. Buy 6 or build thousands?
After standing there watching the process at the national train show, plus watching the videos on the CD they handed out, I am convinced I can do this. compared costs - I have 14 Atlas turnouts on my layout right now, if I ever build the whole thing as planned I will have near 100. With the 14 I have now - it would have cost me $75-$100 more to use the Fastracks. However - the quality of the Fastracks is far superioe to the Atlas turnouts. Better even thant he two Walthers I got to experiment with - the Walthers have a darn floppy joiner hinge in the point rails that DEFINITELY requires jumpering around for reliability. Peco Code 83 is top quality - and you pay. If I had used Peco 83 on my layout, the Fastracks would have been cheaper, even with just 14 turnouts.
My plan going forward is to get the Fastracks tooling for all standard turnouts. If I need an oddball here of there - special curved one, or a crossover, I’ll buy a Walthers. I’m also sorta convicned to go with Code 70 for my mainline instead of 83 - although 83 is not really horribly oversized for my prototype - they had over 50% of SIDINGS laid with 130 pound rail by the 1930s!
–Randy