Don't Make This COSTLY Mistake!

Disclaimer: I am only comparing FasTrack to only what type of track I have experience with. I am also not saying that Tubular track is the superior track for O scale train collectors. I am simply stating my experiences with FasTrack and giving my advice to beginner O scale enthusiasts. This is strictly my opinion. Enjoy the video!

#youtubevideo #samsogaugetrains

[johnbeck]

Personal opinion, I think Lionel made a big mistake by discontinuing their tubular rail system. I’m kind of a “purist” when it comes to running my O/27 trains, they just belong on tubular track! I’m glad to see Menards “picking up the slack” in the O gauge market. I do hope, eventually, they may offer O/27 tubular track as well as the O gauge they offer now.

[cathrynm]

My father's layout has been tubular for 20+ years now. I think tubular is immortal.

[sdr]

I only have tubular track from Menards and my Santa fe locomotive and rolling stock ( all from Menards) never derails.

[TwistedMacGyversTrains]

I have used every type of track systems. They all have one thing in common, you have to make sure you have a smooth tight transition from track to track. Make sure your sections are tightly closed without any gaps. Run your fingers along the sections and make sure it’s smooth in between your sections of track. Please a level on top of your rails and make sure you don’t have any dips or high spots. Doing this will ensure trouble free train operation. My favorite is Atlas O gauge tracks & original postwar tubular track. Thank you for making this video Sam. I really enjoyed it. 😊 Frank

[mattkramer]

I've been in O gauge since 1972 and have used both tubular and FasTrack. Tubular is nice, you can cut it to fit, easy to solder wires to and throw a lockon anywhere you want. But... On my latest layout I decided to go with FasTrack for the first time. I like it just a tad bit more. I like not having to deal with finicky track pins, the integrated roadbed is nice, and smaller switch machines compared to postwar. I'm only running a 4x8 and have no plans to remove the track once it's down. I'm using newer batches of FasTrack and the conductivity is better than when I had tubular. Not a single voltage dropout in any spots. My old leftover tubular goes under the Christmas tree. lol

[fredashay]

IMO, FasTrack is perfectly fine if you're building a permanent layout with all new track that hasn't been connected and disconnected again and again, and you want your layout to look realistic.
Tubular track is better if you repeatedly connect and disconnect your track because it's more rugged, and the connecting pins are more thick and substantial and can stand up better to constant plugging and unplugging track sections, and you don't care about realism or appearance.
When I was a kid, my first train set came with tubular track, and it lasted for years and years being set up on the floor of my room and taken apart again and again and again, and never had an electrical problem or operational problem.
As an adult, I have a FasTrak "layout" running around the perimeter of my living room (I'm a MGTOW introvert who lives alone, lol), and I rarely modify it, and it has never given me a problem either.

Just my opinion 🙂

[Studio_]

This video is what convinced me to finally rid of all my fast track and switch to tubular. All my new fast track was already going out not even a year into owning most of it. And making the switch was without a doubt one of the best decisions I've made. Most of my O collection is Postwar, and they all instantly ran so much better on the tubular track, not to mention how much more esthetically pleasing the postwar stuff looks running on it. Very happy I listened to this video!!

[davidglemboski]

I have a layout using several hundred feet of FastTrack and I have had absolutely no problems with it on any of the six tracks that I run.

[MarkWick]

When I started getting back into American Flyer S gauge, I bought the Lionel American FasTrack to display the first couple of cars I bought. When I build my layout, I incorporated that FasTrack into the layout which was built using the original American Flyer track produced by the A.C. Gilbert company. I added ties made from strips of balsa wood, over cardboard, then ballasted with beach sand. It all looked very realistic, except for the FasTrack section. After a few months, trains started slowing way down on the 40 inch section of FasTrack. I had to dismantle that layout when I moved and I have used only the original Gilbert track on the new layout. I do use that strip of FasTrack for my test track, but will never buy any more. The Gilbert product is readily available, much less expensive, and a superior product, even at at least 60 years old.

[JDubya]

Excellent advice, Sam. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned to help further educate those of us new to the hobby. You are helping us to save money and minimize frustrations! We appreciate you!

[EngineerEd-xtqu]

I used tubular track when I was a kid and I had problems with the connectivity of the track. I’ve have fast track and I don’t have that problem any more.

[ozarkmidlandsouthernrailway]

Hi, Sam, good morning. Actually, I enjoy using FasTrack on my layout. When I started building the OM&S it was a readily available track system that went down easily and has served me well to date. Now one of the things I did as I was laying it was to solder jumpers between the different track pieces and then soldered jumper wires to the center and outside rails about every ten track sections or so. The jumper wires are attached to bus wires underneath the layout. This has proven to be pretty rock solid providing good electrical continuity throughout the railroad. I understand that this method is useful and works well because the track is screwed down to the layout table. I have had minimal problems with the remote switches. I did have to replace one because while working on the layout I fell backwards and landed hard on it bending the track pieces (switch blades) and was not ever able to make it work reliably afterwords. A second remote switch seemed to gradually begin to not function reliably with some of my locomotives after a year or so, that I simply credited to hard use. It seemed at least one of the switch blades/points became misaligned and again I chose to replace the switch. I've had no problems with the manual switches that I can think of. Tubular track is good stuff and is what I ran my trains on for many years. With all of that said if I were building a 3-rail railroad today with realism as a primary goal and wanted to go to the trouble of creating the most realistic looking track possible, I would not choose a track system with a built-in roadbed. I believe I would go with Atlas O track and either Atlas O or Ross switches. I enjoyed your video and found your candid discussion about your experiences with FasTrack very interesting. Bill B.

[YourLocalRailfan]

Good to know when I start my o gauge layout!

[sawilson]

People's success with fastrack varies. Generally, there are 2 rules to it:
1: The connection joints will bend and break. Even if you don't see it, every time you connect and take it apart, you're wearing down the connectors. This helps influence...
2: The electrical connections suck. Part of that is from the above mentioned, and part of it is just the nature of the design

You don't need to hot wire every piece of track, but every 4-6 pieces probably. I do this anyways on my Atlas O layout, just to minimize connectivity issues

[steverontti]

One thing that has helped with the electrical continuity with taking up and reassembling fastrack is to put a little dab of dielectric grease on each of the connecting pins/blades.

[johnandrus]

Good video and review. I collect and run post-war and MPC. FasTrack is non-magnetic and doesn't work with MagneTraction. It also is less forgiving of miss-alignment. On tubular track, you can make adjustments because you can flex it to make it fit. You can also add ballast and make it look fairly realistic. For those who like FasTrack, that 's fine, but I'd rather have my trains run smoothly on the track that they were designed for.

[jackcarvis]

Thanks You for sharing your experience with fastrack . I was just considering buying some now I'm gonna stick with the tubular

[mic-drop-]

Old tubular with wooden ties looks pretty damn good with ballast and scenery.

[TooManyHobbiesJeremy]

Thank you for sharing your experience & providing us with examples so we can make up our own minds.

[whitmorestrains]

After abandoning realtrax, it was either Atlas or Menards due to availability in 2020. I needed a lot of track and Menards track was cheap and simple. Once I discovered Ross make 072 switches or you can get pins to run normal ross switches with tubular, I was set. Tubular is quiet, cheap, easy to cut, solder, make custom pieces, repair the fiber on the center rail without pulling up the track, and there is just something about how it looks with or without the extra ties when it’s ballasted. Conductivity is very good. 4 years with no issues. I have only had to fix one piece because of a misaligned fiber insulator on the center rail. It was easily reparable with a pair of needle nose pliers. Overall, it’s hard to beat tinplate track.