I'm a 3-rail modeler and I hand lay my rails on bass wood ties. I use code 148 steel (for magne-traction) and Nickel silver rails while the middle rail is a blackened code 100 rail. I spike the rails down and can create easements going into curves. My scale fleet looks very good on scale rails and yes, everything postwar, MPC era and modern locos and rolling stock run better on it than on these other track systems. Only the Lionel re-issue of their prewar B6 switcher has drive wheel flanges which are too big and bump into the ties. A little machine grinding can take care of this. I create my own turn outs as well. It is so fun to do but WOW, ya gotta be patient.
I have a 16' x 20' Lionel Super "O" layout and, after working with this track for over 60 years, I can attest to its dependability, outstanding electrical conductivity, and outstanding realistic looks especially when you ballast it. Why Lionel has never re-issued this track and offered wide radius curves and switches is beyond me. It was a well thought out track system and is extremely easy to work with. It appears as though Atlas designed their control track sections after Lionel's Super O" design. As long as you keep the thin copper rail clean with a little 91% alcohol and clean your contact rollers, you will have no sparking and no contact roller wear. Take it from a long time Super "O" user, this track system is the best!
@@brandtfj Per the JLM trains website, Lionel rediscovered the Super O tooling in the late 90s and produced a few sample pieces to test the tooling out, but nothing more came of it.
Hello everyone. Just jumped in to say. I used MTH realtrax for my outside layout, on my 18 x 16 deck. On Cape Cod Mass for over 12 years. It's was the original style solid nickel silver rails. Day in and day out. 24/7 winter spring summer,and fall just before they put out their statement about not using it outside because the plastic was not UV protected. Well that never bothered the track. except for some fading of the road bed color,which you could not tell until you held it next to a new piece. Had a double main line. Sidings work area. Oh yes and a passing siding. Finally took it up after about 14 years. Bone marrow cancer settled in for a bit. It was kind of a rare mutation and quite a bugger to fight. but after two years I am still here my immune system is still below normal and will be for a while longer. I also managed to blow 3 disc in the back. One really crumbled second one is going in third one is bulged . L 4-5-6,but this is not about me. I loved MTH real trax. Never A problem with signal loss from DCS or TMCC. Little to no voltage drop anywhere on the whole layout. Never had a command engine weather MTH or Lionel lose signal. Yes the deck has been reworked. Still have that old MTH real trax. Doctor says as long as I take it slow, the layout can go back up. Maybe bigger this time. Have a whole new round of grandchildren. And a whole new group of neighbor hood kids to deal with. Some times the grown kids stop by to talk to me with the fun they had letting them play with the trains. Some stop by with their new borns to ask about it. And leave their cell phone numbers,and ask I call when it's back up so they can bring their young ones by to play. A few have asked me to help plane a garden o gauge layout. Oh buy the way the attic central is back up and running. 14X30. 2 mainlines. MTH DCS.Lionel TMCC, and legacy. Thanks to some outstanding customer service by 3 wonderful customer service folks. Cancer be dammed full speed ahead. Time to blow the dust of these locos,and steamers. Sorry for such a big input. Love your videos,and keep up the good work. If I can get my old layout back up and running. What's your excuse. Love to all my train brothers and sisters. ❤
Hello! I have been in O Gauge Model railroading since 2021. I used FastTrack until about a week ago. My FastTrack completely broke and didn't supply power to parts of my layout. I am switching to Menards Tubular track because: 1. It's cheap 2. I run postwar trains a lot and the track will give it a nostalgic feel.
Lionel switched from Tubular to FasTrack in the 2003 volume 1 catalog. I had a starter set from that catalog and that’s how I got started. Also the very first run had black center rails (which I have) before they switched to all silver. Wish they had kept the black center rail. Loved the look. Despite this, most of my track is from 03-04 and has developed a bunch of electrical issues and resistance, and yes, rust! Granted it’s 20 years old, but it should last much longer. I began rebuilding my layout in 2020 and I am now using Gargraves and it is much, much better for both power and rust. Voltage barely drops over distance and DCS/TMCC signals are way better! Gargraves is pricey, but so far so good. I got the Tinplated track with real wooden ties. The magnetraction works on that. They also make a stainless steel with plastic ties but I haven’t used that.
Dude, I just happened across your video from watching other train stuff. I'm any older gentleman that has not set up or ran my HO set/sets in years. Probably like 45 years. Waiting till I get my big garage built for my car hobby. I'm a car guy. Then wanting to set up my kid trains in the upstairs part. But I have been watching train videos because you know how TH-cam works on suggesting videos on things you have looked/watched on there. Now I mentioned I have HO scale, but have always wondered about O scale which I have always known as or called it the Lionel style track. It was always confusing to me. So to get to my point here on what I want to say is. You done a vey good job here on explaining the O scale track and your opinion on the pros and cons of those tracks. And I'm glad to see that they over the years have started to make the O scale track look more realistic. Because I was always used to seeing the (Lionel style) track that I never liked as a kid. Because it didn't look realistic. Great video! because this now older kid needed it explained! Thx!
Back in the early seventies, when I was a much younger man, I was blessed with enough space for a moderate sized 027 layout. I had quite a lot of well used tubular track to build with. I had the voltage drop problem that tubular track layouts often have. I knew that this came from the impedance where the sections joined together. One day I became so frustrated that I decided to solder a small wire jumper across every single track joint I had. Yes, all of them. This did help the situation considerably, although there was still some impedance in the track itself. It was a lot of work, and I got a lot of practice soldering, but I was satisfied with the result. As to the Atlas O track, I do have some of it on my layout. In general, I am happy with it. The drawback is that it can develop oxidation between the sections where the little slide connectors join together, thus causing dead spots. This is easily overcome by soldering in jumpers. When soldering on the middle rail, you have to remove a small amount of paint or the solder won’t adhere. I use a little burnishing tool for this. The switches are very smooth and most all of my locomotives can negotiate them without any problems, although I have a couple of engines that don’t like them at all.
Zach, thank you for the tips & pros & cons for these 3 rail track options. This has been very helpful. I have essentially a 12 x 20 foot shed that I am dedicating for my future layout but am still somewhat undecided on the track system to go with. I do have some tubular track that I could get started with plus I do have a small amount of Realtrax that I am intending to make into a small test track, but like you I do like the looks of the Atlas 3 rail O track & am just now finding out about its expense. I do have some time before the decision has to be made while the building is prepped to be able to build the layout. Thanks again & look forward to watching more of your videos.
Zach, I have found that old Lionel tubular track marked with NY. I'm currently working on putting ties under it. My trains are pre and postwar (old school). With two loops of 31 and one 27 on a 10 x 6 table I'm satisfied. Nice video.
Gargraves and never looked back. It is cheap, flexible, and looks great with a cork roadbed/ballast. It is not the easiest to work with, but I know what I signed up for
Great video. I am just getting back in the hobby, mainly because I'm older now, and I bought a place in idaho with a 40x60 shop. I have some engines and cars from back in the late 80s early 90s. I recently bought some more engines and cars. I plan on building a possible 16x8 layout and the existing track I have is the old tube type tract. Fine if you're setting a layout up and taking it down . But I was looking gor a better, more permanent set up. Again, thanks for the explanation.
Zack, always great to see you and your videos and GREAT information. I am a tubular guy from my original of mid 1950's, yup I'm an "old guy" I do have a substantial amount of FastTrack that gets used at Christmas around the tree. Kinda eyeing an expansion in the room to FastTrack on a separate layout. Truth be known I stumbled across your channel a couple years back when i first retired and you were that NEEDED spark to get me going again on what was/is my 4th layout. I have some vids on the FB Groups. Thanks again!
You missed perhaps the most important pro to the Atlas track - the durability. Unlike most other O-gauge track systems, the Atlas track uses *solid* rails, like LGB (though theirs is brass, and Atlas is nickel silver) making it the track of choice for temporary floor level layouts, such as during the holidays, where if the track accidentally gets stepped on (by an adult, at least) you're not gonna be heading to the hobby shop (or worse, online) to try to find a new piece of track, which you most likely will be doing with the more typical hollow sheet metal track such as the tubular track or fastrak/realtrax.
Great video as always. My father and I use gargraves with cork roadbed and ballast. I use at my house Super O on a 4x8, real simple. This stuff has worked well for us for a long time and I love my super O. The biggest issues I have found with any track that has plastic roadbed (especially fastrack ) is that the track gets very dirty. I think its from there being no place for the dirty and grease to go. My dad has a toy train repair business and can always tell when a train has been running on fastrack as the wheels are very dirty. We are hi-railers so we do like the modeling part of the hobby and love working with the gargraves track. My dad has even made a couple of switches and crossovers that are at strange angles. There are a lot of possibilities and flexibility with gargraves and it doesn't take too much skill to work with it. One just needs some basic skills with tools.
Excellent tutorial Zach! I went with Menards tubular track when re-doing my layout strictly based on budget, but you are right in that it suffers from power drops and I have a small layout which makes it annoying as hell!!!
Extremely helpful video. I'm brand new to O gauge and had no idea what to get. But when you showed the Lionel Fastrack, that sealed the deal for me. Have since purchased some, and I think it is fantastic. Thanks for explaining the pros and cons of each type of track.
You forgot about, Gargraves three foot long flexible track, it's nicer and better than Atles o track. Gargraves those wooden railroad ties look very realistic too.
Excellent review of O gauge track systems, Zach. Fair and personal at the same time. It's always good to have informed personal experience in the mix. I've always been a fan of Real Trax since the first time I used it. When I started out it was easily available at the train store near me, before Lionel introduced their roadbed attached track. Unfortunately, that store dumped all O gauge product when MTH announced its closure, and now my only option would be mail order. Since I moved away from that area, I've not been able to set up a permanent layout because of injury, age and other limitations, accept for a dining room table Christmas scene occasionally. Fyi, although I'm not sure about how easy it is to acquire, I think a good alternative to Atlas track is track produced by Ross Custom Switches. It's pricy compared to others, but for realism and price, it's more economical than Atlas. Thanks for your always welcome insights and comments, Zach. Keep 'em comin'!
I have a O scale, layout using lionel fast track I have to say you are 100% correct a lot of power outages so I end up using more than one plug and also I have to move the truck around all the time because I don’t have a permanent layout so I always switch it around and I like how it’s easy to be moved around
This was SUPER HELPFUL for me! I started building 1/12 scale wooden dollhouses during the pandemic, but stopped when I A) ran out of room and B) realized how much I HATE interior decorating! 😂 Rather than just dump all the work I’ve done, I’m creating two layouts for the lot. The cheaper plastic Christmas train sets, while not perfect, don’t look bad painted black and running around some of the smaller 1:12 homes I set in the corner of my garage for Halloween. Now I’m hoping to find a decent, but inexpensive train to run through the 1:48 (O scale) Christmas layout I’ve been working on. After watching this, I think I’m leaning toward the old tubular O scale, but if I can find a cheap enough set, I may spring for the MTH!
A great video Zach. I personally used Lionel Super O and Atlas for my last layout. I did not ballast the track down since nothing is ever permanent for me. My next layout will again be Super O and 3 large loops of 0-72 radius for my bigger sets like my 700e, Hiawatha and MTH premier GS4 locomotives. I have 3 loops of PW 073 curves and some gargraves large radius curves that i also picked up but dont knowbthe tadius yet. Looking forward to getting it going. Keep the great videos coming!
If you run pre and post-war through MPC era equipment and maybe early Kughn-era trains, tubular is the way to go. The wheel sets on those trains match the contour of the track, making MagneTraction work as it should and the cars roll better. Gargraves works well on long sections of straight track, but I think that tubular works better on grades and especially on curves, where the wheel contour makes for smoother operation. Gargraves does work the best when you want to isolate a rail where you want to have crossing gates, signals and the like. It makes a nice, positive contact for anything that needs that electrical isolation to shunt the power to the accessory. Either way, nice video. Very informative and well presented.
2:11 Yes! After 2 minutes of yak-yak, lets get started already!!! Other than that one nitpick, your video was very helpful! I liked how you went into detailed pros and cons of each track type. So thank you for the video!
Zach, I really like your "how to" videos. You give a pretty thorough overview and an honest evaluation from your experience. I'm not a novice at model railroading and I still enjoy all aspects of these "how to" videos great deal. Keep it up!!
I ran Fastrack till almost 20 switches went bad out the box. I now use atlas and I love it so much. I am working on my layout. The patients with waiting makes it worth it’s while.
Thanks for the video! While my main layout is HO, I do have some O trains that I set up on my living room floor from time to time. I use Lionel FasTrack for that for its durability.
I used the Lionel Fastrack for my layout, which is a shelf layout around the top of my room, as you say, the biggest pros are availability and price. My two complaints or cons for this track are 1) I do experience noticeable power changes in certain areas of the layout, and 2) it is very noisy. It is so noisy, that I have trouble hearing the Railsounds steam/diesel sounds. I’m sure I could solve the power distribution problem with extra feeder wires to the track, but I don’t know how to minimize the noise problem. I tried a rubber drawer liner under the track, but it did not cut down on the noise. If anyone has dealt successfully with the noise issue, please share your solution. Thanks!
It's noisy cause it's hollow under the track so besides putting it on 1/2 foam as I have then before you screw your track down through the foam 2 the table you must stuff loose insulation of some kind or brand that will stop and interrupt the noise bouncing around under the track 2 make the noise and that will help alot for your noise problem don't use spray foam its a mess just loose insulation you can usually buy the small rolls in the plumbing dept at lowes or home depot stuff as much insulation you can under each track piece it will work
I've used both lionel tubular and atlas o track, first, in my original 15 ft by 20 ft 2 level layout and now on my new 18 by 24 ft layout. Atlas is very sensitive to trainboards not level or warping sometimes even 2/16 of inch . Atlas must be level in 2 directions, north to south and, I've discovered, east to west, especially running large, heavy steam engines with their less forgiving drivers.Diesels are less sensitive to uneveness. I realize I should do an in depth summary of my years long struggle with the often very good but problematic atlas track. Gary j
I've used Gargraves track and either their turnouts or Ross turnouts when I need wider range of degrees of angle. The Foley AL model railroad uses this as well and trains run on it 4 hours on 3 days a week and have for about 15 years.
it sounds like the upper level being open on the two front corners adds some bass in the sound of the engine going over the upper level, I like the way it looks and sounds.
fast track is difficult to snap into place I am afraid I will break it trying to force the tracks into place. Any tips on how to do this? the connections go in partially but not all the way all is lined up correctly just needs more push power to snap it in. grease it perhaps?
Hey Rob! Unfortunately, I’ve never really worked much with Fastrack. Have 1 piece installed and had to modify it to accept tubular track pins to connect to realtrax conversion track. Honesty don’t think I’ve ever put fastrack together before. Idk if grease would be great to use, unless it’s a conductive style of grease. Want to make sure to keep a solid electrical connection
I'm sure you get the same annoying questions but I am just starting from scratch I am using Menards O scale track and cars. My train set is going to be running around the ceiling of my living room. I am trying to figure out what to use for a power supply and an engine. Santa Fe red/silver is my plan.
great video Zak, Hope all is well. I have a question for you , What did you use to support your upper level of track . I'm getting ready to add a upper level , Any help would be greatly appreciated . Thanks for all you do to support our hobby . Peace to you and your family . Have a great weekend .
Me and my brother had the old lionel tubular track when we started out. One year little brother got a nascar set with fasttrack and we kept adding more and more. It can be pricey, but you can shop around and find some good deals. I have had a few pieces just crap out on me, set up the track start running a train and find a dead piece of track. we have a good amount now so no big deal and the collection has grown slowly over time. Most the track we have had for 10 years plus.
I use Lionel Fastrack for my 8’ by 24’. For me no power issues and likes are the command control switches along with the sensor track system. The command control switches are great for controlling block signals.
I have a 16x8 layout with MTH RealTrax, it works fine, but its noisy, however I need to spray it will dullcote to kill the plastic shine. If I could do it over I would use Atlas track.
Realtrax is very robust and allows for solid power to the rail and control with DCS. I improve its appearance by painting the sides of the rails iron brown and weather the plastic track road bed with black wash to bring out the gravel texture more. Lastly, I sprinkle ballast along the side of the roadbed to break up the razor edge look.
when i jump back in i ended up going with fastrack but do use the menards track on the upper levels mth and the others are hard to find still wait on my dcs preorder lol
Nice review! I think people have strong feelings about their choice of track. Right now I don't have a permanent layout so the plastic tracks work for me. I'm more vested in the MTH RealTrax and I'm happy with it. I do have some Fast Track due to purchasing a few Lionel sets. They're also good and I like the specialty pieces they offer. However, when I set up my permanent layout, I'm going with Atlas. I just hope that its the old "supply and demand" thing that is driving the 7 dollar plus cost for a 10" Atlas straight track. Can you imagine what the switches are going for! It's not good for the hobby.
Great video Zach, that should help anyone thinking about the kinds of track that are out there. I'm using mostly Atlas track on my layout that we are working on.
and or the rolling stock? 3 tracks. 0 gauge. AC current. the direction of the train being selected by disconnecting one of both external tracks. ( i have a very old installation ) Which brand is OK for me? Thank you.
The big advantage to Atlas is the isolated outter rails would allow , with seperate wiring , to run 2 rail and 3 rail engines ... Does anybody know if 2 rail will work ok with Atlas turnouts ? My main layout is Lionel Fastrak , but , i want to build a seperate display engine terminal , and i have 2 rail and 3 rail engines and interested in knowing if 2R scale wheels will work ok with Atlas O switches ...
😮 I'm getting stuff from Bradford John Wayne train set Coca-Cola Train Set Budweiser train set Thomas Kinkade train set all coming from Bradford @@CountryBunkersTrains
I have all Menards track. I love how easy it is to cut down custom length tracks. There is actually a ton of flex in all the joints. I can move the curve inward and outward to align it, and you actually have to work at it to keep the straights laser straight. I purchased rubber ties on eBay that look pretty good. My biggest con is switches. I want new switches, and only thing available is Ross custom switches in 072 curves. I run drops every 12ft or so which has worked out well. For the money and availability, I have no complaints.
My layout is Menards O guage with Ross 72 switches and the geometry of the switches upsets my MTH locos. I'm thinking of going Gargraves track in the future...supposedly a better height match with the switches.
@@williamorton7600 Everyone seems to have issues with different tracks. Every one of my engines like the Ross 072 switches except a 2-8-0 Railking engine that I have that has a front pair of trucks that just won’t navigate through the switch reliably. Ironically, I started with realtrax and I had nothing but issues with all 9 of my 042 and 054 switches, and most of the track sections. I had the old solid rail and the newer hollow rail. I would get sparks on a switch, or dead spots in the middle of the rail. it would t even meter continuity right. I know about the spring steel connections and they were connected on the bottom like they should have been. It was frustrating for sure so I finally bailed on it. Menards track was affordable and available anytime I needed it, and I actually have a lot of it. The Ross switches have been pretty good too right out of the box. At least you found something that works, and that is why there is no perfect track…except maybe Atlas :)
Nice video, but one thing you missed is talking about the differences with using each type of track to activate accessories using an insulated rail. That is very difficult to do with tubular track unless to pry open each tie to lift up a rail & insert paper/cardboard in it. This is because tubular track ties the two outside rails together electrically at every tie. I don’t believe the other track systems do this, but I’m not sure about all of them. I am pretty sure that Atlas track does not, so you can just skip the joiner on each end of a piece of track to create an insulated section to activate accessories. This right now is the major headache with my redesign of my layout as I want to use insulated rails to activate accessories like crossing gates, but I have all tubular track…
I have this to say about the MTH track. The first couple of times you use it, it works fine, but after a few years the copper connections on the bottom get twisted and the track does not carry the current.. I have to jump it because the connections are just lousy. My recommendation is go with the fast track.
Fantastic Review! I use Fast Track and I have found its very easy to clean and is pretty reliable. I use a typical bright boy to clean all three rails. I think the reason some people get issues is their track is dirty also I make sure to solder a feeder every other piece of track. Eventually I will build a layout with the huge 96' plus in curves but thats a few years down the road.
MTH makes a track section that is half MTH Realtrax and half Tubular which allows for connection to either track type. The product is MTH 40-1011 O REALTRAX - ADAPTER TRACK SECTION.
I've seen in some big layouts like Sean's Trains with the fast track some of the Mth engines don't like it he has a new video out with the Greenbrier engine having problems with it on the switches of the fast track shorting out
Hey, Zach. So, I’ve surprisingly have used the first 3 tracks in that order. 😂 Tubular for my Lionel starter sets. FasTrack for my MTH RailKing steam passenger Northerns. RealTrax for my MTH Premier diesel freights. Now, I’m looking forward to purchasing and using Atlas for the first time. I watch Jason from JDStucks a lot and really like how the track looks on his layout. I guess you can say I’m evolving. 😂
Jason for sure has one impressive setup!! That new layout of his will be something! And yes, the track looks great! Very envious. Envious of you as well switching over to Atlas! Maybe one of these days here… LOL
Great video. I sampled ALL these. Lionel Fast-Trax was too expensive. Real-Trax was a PITA to couple together and Scale-Trax was non existent. Atlas was WAY too expensive and non-existant. My train area is a spare bedroom, space is tight, my modeling prototype will be rural shortline and I'm a wiz at realistic scenery including track so my best bang for the buck was...O27 tubular. Biggest variety of 27-54 inch curves, passable options for turnouts including compatible Ross/Gargraves, easy non complicated electrics, "customize" my track with balsa ties, lower rail profile is smaller than any other and perfect for scenics.
Super O is my preference! Limited to 0-36 curves but larger curves can be fabricated. Looks great, readily available and very affordable $2 - $3 per section at meets and eBay.
When I saw the Thumbnail , I was thinking Wow you Slimmed down a little. As far as Track , When fast track is good it is Good , but like some of the comments the switch do come back brand new . One batch I had 2 were wired backwards .I don’t have Atlas but my next layout I will use . Like the Tee Rail type.
Hey Zach. Many thanks for the review. Similar to you, I did the research about 20 years ago, and jumped into RealTrax. As I built a permanent layout, I tripled my RealTrax inventory. I cut out floor underlayment, as recommended by someone else online, to try to dampen the noise on the plywood tabletops. Not sure I want to jump into the Homosote game... What are you using to help deaden the sound on your layout?
I'm a 3-rail modeler and I hand lay my rails on bass wood ties. I use code 148 steel (for magne-traction) and Nickel silver rails while the middle rail is a blackened code 100 rail. I spike the rails down and can create easements going into curves. My scale fleet looks very good on scale rails and yes, everything postwar, MPC era and modern locos and rolling stock run better on it than on these other track systems. Only the Lionel re-issue of their prewar B6 switcher has drive wheel flanges which are too big and bump into the ties. A little machine grinding can take care of this. I create my own turn outs as well. It is so fun to do but WOW, ya gotta be patient.
Just getting back into the hobby as an adult this Video was so helpful
I have a 16' x 20' Lionel Super "O" layout and, after working with this track for over 60 years, I can attest to its dependability, outstanding electrical conductivity, and outstanding realistic looks especially when you ballast it. Why Lionel has never re-issued this track and offered wide radius curves and switches is beyond me. It was a well thought out track system and is extremely easy to work with. It appears as though Atlas designed their control track sections after Lionel's Super O" design. As long as you keep the thin copper rail clean with a little 91% alcohol and clean your contact rollers, you will have no sparking and no contact roller wear. Take it from a long time Super "O" user, this track system is the best!
I sure wish they did, the Fast Track is junk
I heard somewhere that the molds are long gone😮
I have a super o layout too and it's a great track to work with
Wish I had some 😮
@@brandtfj Per the JLM trains website, Lionel rediscovered the Super O tooling in the late 90s and produced a few sample pieces to test the tooling out, but nothing more came of it.
Hello everyone. Just jumped in to say. I used MTH realtrax for my outside layout, on my 18 x 16 deck. On Cape Cod Mass for over 12 years. It's was the original style solid nickel silver rails. Day in and day out. 24/7 winter spring summer,and fall just before they put out their statement about not using it outside because the plastic was not UV protected. Well that never bothered the track. except for some fading of the road bed color,which you could not tell until you held it next to a new piece. Had a double main line. Sidings work area. Oh yes and a passing siding. Finally took it up after about 14 years. Bone marrow cancer settled in for a bit. It was kind of a rare mutation and quite a bugger to fight. but after two years I am still here my immune system is still below normal and will be for a while longer. I also managed to blow 3 disc in the back. One really crumbled second one is going in third one is bulged . L 4-5-6,but this is not about me. I loved MTH real trax. Never A problem with signal loss from DCS or TMCC. Little to no voltage drop anywhere on the whole layout. Never had a command engine weather MTH or Lionel lose signal. Yes the deck has been reworked. Still have that old MTH real trax. Doctor says as long as I take it slow, the layout can go back up. Maybe bigger this time. Have a whole new round of grandchildren. And a whole new group of neighbor hood kids to deal with. Some times the grown kids stop by to talk to me with the fun they had letting them play with the trains. Some stop by with their new borns to ask about it. And leave their cell phone numbers,and ask I call when it's back up so they can bring their young ones by to play. A few have asked me to help plane a garden o gauge layout. Oh buy the way the attic central is back up and running. 14X30. 2 mainlines. MTH DCS.Lionel TMCC, and legacy. Thanks to some outstanding customer service by 3 wonderful customer service folks. Cancer be dammed full speed ahead. Time to blow the dust of these locos,and steamers. Sorry for such a big input. Love your videos,and keep up the good work. If I can get my old layout back up and running. What's your excuse. Love to all my train brothers and sisters. ❤
Thank you for your comment!
Wish you health and many, many years of enjoying life and model trains!!!
Best thumbnail!!
Hello! I have been in O Gauge Model railroading since 2021. I used FastTrack until about a week ago. My FastTrack completely broke and didn't supply power to parts of my layout. I am switching to Menards Tubular track because: 1. It's cheap 2. I run postwar trains a lot and the track will give it a nostalgic feel.
Lionel switched from Tubular to FasTrack in the 2003 volume 1 catalog. I had a starter set from that catalog and that’s how I got started. Also the very first run had black center rails (which I have) before they switched to all silver. Wish they had kept the black center rail. Loved the look.
Despite this, most of my track is from 03-04 and has developed a bunch of electrical issues and resistance, and yes, rust! Granted it’s 20 years old, but it should last much longer.
I began rebuilding my layout in 2020 and I am now using Gargraves and it is much, much better for both power and rust. Voltage barely drops over distance and DCS/TMCC signals are way better! Gargraves is pricey, but so far so good. I got the Tinplated track with real wooden ties. The magnetraction works on that. They also make a stainless steel with plastic ties but I haven’t used that.
What source do you use to but that track?
Dude, I just happened across your video from watching other train stuff. I'm any older gentleman that has not set up or ran my HO set/sets in years. Probably like 45 years. Waiting till I get my big garage built for my car hobby. I'm a car guy. Then wanting to set up my kid trains in the upstairs part. But I have been watching train videos because you know how TH-cam works on suggesting videos on things you have looked/watched on there.
Now I mentioned I have HO scale, but have always wondered about O scale which I have always known as or called it the Lionel style track. It was always confusing to me. So to get to my point here on what I want to say is. You done a vey good job here on explaining the O scale track and your opinion on the pros and cons of those tracks. And I'm glad to see that they over the years have started to make the O scale track look more realistic. Because I was always used to seeing the (Lionel style) track that I never liked as a kid. Because it didn't look realistic. Great video! because this now older kid needed it explained!
Thx!
Back in the early seventies, when I was a much younger man, I was blessed with enough space for a moderate sized 027 layout. I had quite a lot of well used tubular track to build with. I had the voltage drop problem that tubular track layouts often have. I knew that this came from the impedance where the sections joined together. One day I became so frustrated that I decided to solder a small wire jumper across every single track joint I had. Yes, all of them. This did help the situation considerably, although there was still some impedance in the track itself. It was a lot of work, and I got a lot of practice soldering, but I was satisfied with the result.
As to the Atlas O track, I do have some of it on my layout. In general, I am happy with it. The drawback is that it can develop oxidation between the sections where the little slide connectors join together, thus causing dead spots. This is easily overcome by soldering in jumpers. When soldering on the middle rail, you have to remove a small amount of paint or the solder won’t adhere. I use a little burnishing tool for this. The switches are very smooth and most all of my locomotives can negotiate them without any problems, although I have a couple of engines that don’t like them at all.
Zach, thank you for the tips & pros & cons for these 3 rail track options. This has been very helpful. I have essentially a 12 x 20 foot shed that I am dedicating for my future layout but am still somewhat undecided on the track system to go with. I do have some tubular track that I could get started with plus I do have a small amount of Realtrax that I am intending to make into a small test track, but like you I do like the looks of the Atlas 3 rail O track & am just now finding out about its expense. I do have some time before the decision has to be made while the building is prepped to be able to build the layout. Thanks again & look forward to watching more of your videos.
Gargraves looks the best but tubular tin is classic and dependable. My real trax is great but magnetraction doesn't stick to MTH track.
Zach, I have found that old Lionel tubular track marked with NY. I'm currently working on putting ties under it. My trains are pre and postwar (old school). With two loops of 31 and one 27 on a 10 x 6 table I'm satisfied. Nice video.
finally, another soul who is satisfied.
Gargraves and never looked back. It is cheap, flexible, and looks great with a cork roadbed/ballast. It is not the easiest to work with, but I know what I signed up for
Great video. I am just getting back in the hobby, mainly because I'm older now, and I bought a place in idaho with a 40x60 shop. I have some engines and cars from back in the late 80s early 90s. I recently bought some more engines and cars. I plan on building a possible 16x8 layout and the existing track I have is the old tube type tract. Fine if you're setting a layout up and taking it down . But I was looking gor a better, more permanent set up. Again, thanks for the explanation.
Zack, always great to see you and your videos and GREAT information. I am a tubular guy from my original of mid 1950's, yup I'm an "old guy" I do have a substantial amount of FastTrack that gets used at Christmas around the tree. Kinda eyeing an expansion in the room to FastTrack on a separate layout. Truth be known I stumbled across your channel a couple years back when i first retired and you were that NEEDED spark to get me going again on what was/is my 4th layout. I have some vids on the FB Groups.
Thanks again!
You missed perhaps the most important pro to the Atlas track - the durability. Unlike most other O-gauge track systems, the Atlas track uses *solid* rails, like LGB (though theirs is brass, and Atlas is nickel silver) making it the track of choice for temporary floor level layouts, such as during the holidays, where if the track accidentally gets stepped on (by an adult, at least) you're not gonna be heading to the hobby shop (or worse, online) to try to find a new piece of track, which you most likely will be doing with the more typical hollow sheet metal track such as the tubular track or fastrak/realtrax.
Great video as always. My father and I use gargraves with cork roadbed and ballast. I use at my house Super O on a 4x8, real simple. This stuff has worked well for us for a long time and I love my super O. The biggest issues I have found with any track that has plastic roadbed (especially fastrack ) is that the track gets very dirty. I think its from there being no place for the dirty and grease to go. My dad has a toy train repair business and can always tell when a train has been running on fastrack as the wheels are very dirty. We are hi-railers so we do like the modeling part of the hobby and love working with the gargraves track. My dad has even made a couple of switches and crossovers that are at strange angles. There are a lot of possibilities and flexibility with gargraves and it doesn't take too much skill to work with it. One just needs some basic skills with tools.
I’ve been going to Tony’s store since I could walk it’s cool to see someone else knows him!
Great vids. I also love your so real, and likable laugh. Thank you.
Excellent tutorial Zach! I went with Menards tubular track when re-doing my layout strictly based on budget, but you are right in that it suffers from power drops and I have a small layout which makes it annoying as hell!!!
Nicely done video Zach, very informative.
Great tutorial Zach. I've had similar issues with the different manufacturers...but rely on Atlas all the way. Thanks for another awesome video.
Extremely helpful video. I'm brand new to O gauge and had no idea what to get. But when you showed the Lionel Fastrack, that sealed the deal for me. Have since purchased some, and I think it is fantastic. Thanks for explaining the pros and cons of each type of track.
You forgot about, Gargraves three foot long flexible track, it's nicer and better than Atles o track. Gargraves those wooden railroad ties look very realistic too.
Excellent review of O gauge track systems, Zach. Fair and personal at the same time. It's always good to have informed personal experience in the mix. I've always been a fan of Real Trax since the first time I used it. When I started out it was easily available at the train store near me, before Lionel introduced their roadbed attached track. Unfortunately, that store dumped all O gauge product when MTH announced its closure, and now my only option would be mail order. Since I moved away from that area, I've not been able to set up a permanent layout because of injury, age and other limitations, accept for a dining room table Christmas scene occasionally. Fyi, although I'm not sure about how easy it is to acquire, I think a good alternative to Atlas track is track produced by Ross Custom Switches. It's pricy compared to others, but for realism and price, it's more economical than Atlas. Thanks for your always welcome insights and comments, Zach. Keep 'em comin'!
Love the laugh/chuckle.
Very helpful, Thank You!
I have a O scale, layout using lionel fast track I have to say you are 100% correct a lot of power outages so I end up using more than one plug and also I have to move the truck around all the time because I don’t have a permanent layout so I always switch it around and I like how it’s easy to be moved around
My permanent 5'× 15' FasTrack layout has suffered no dropouts or losses as best as I can tell. Been in use about 10 years. Lots of switches too.
This was SUPER HELPFUL for me! I started building 1/12 scale wooden dollhouses during the pandemic, but stopped when I A) ran out of room and B) realized how much I HATE interior decorating! 😂
Rather than just dump all the work I’ve done, I’m creating two layouts for the lot. The cheaper plastic Christmas train sets, while not perfect, don’t look bad painted black and running around some of the smaller 1:12 homes I set in the corner of my garage for Halloween. Now I’m hoping to find a decent, but inexpensive train to run through the 1:48 (O scale) Christmas layout I’ve been working on. After watching this, I think I’m leaning toward the old tubular O scale, but if I can find a cheap enough set, I may spring for the MTH!
A great video Zach. I personally used Lionel Super O and Atlas for my last layout. I did not ballast the track down since nothing is ever permanent for me. My next layout will again be Super O and 3 large loops of 0-72 radius for my bigger sets like my 700e, Hiawatha and MTH premier GS4 locomotives. I have 3 loops of PW 073 curves and some gargraves large radius curves that i also picked up but dont knowbthe tadius yet. Looking forward to getting it going. Keep the great videos coming!
If you run pre and post-war through MPC era equipment and maybe early Kughn-era trains, tubular is the way to go. The wheel sets on those trains match the contour of the track, making MagneTraction work as it should and the cars roll better. Gargraves works well on long sections of straight track, but I think that tubular works better on grades and especially on curves, where the wheel contour makes for smoother operation. Gargraves does work the best when you want to isolate a rail where you want to have crossing gates, signals and the like. It makes a nice, positive contact for anything that needs that electrical isolation to shunt the power to the accessory. Either way, nice video. Very informative and well presented.
I love both my Lionel tubular and Lionel fastrack but, I’m planning to replace the fastrack on my layout with Atles track sections
2:11 Yes! After 2 minutes of yak-yak, lets get started already!!!
Other than that one nitpick, your video was very helpful! I liked how you went into detailed pros and cons of each track type. So thank you for the video!
Zach, I really like your "how to" videos. You give a pretty thorough overview and an honest evaluation from your experience. I'm not a novice at model railroading and I still enjoy all aspects of these "how to" videos great deal. Keep it up!!
Thank you Thomas! Appreciate the kind words! Happy early Thanksgiving! Hope you have a great one!
I ran Fastrack till almost 20 switches went bad out the box. I now use atlas and I love it so much. I am working on my layout. The patients with waiting makes it worth it’s while.
Thanks for the video! While my main layout is HO, I do have some O trains that I set up on my living room floor from time to time. I use Lionel FasTrack for that for its durability.
Hey Zach I've watched a couple of your vids over a week or two now your very thorough and easy to follow TY.
Thanks!
Extraordinary video on the different types of train track
I love my Fastrack layout but the noise gets irritating after a while
I used the Lionel Fastrack for my layout, which is a shelf layout around the top of my room, as you say, the biggest pros are availability and price. My two complaints or cons for this track are 1) I do experience noticeable power changes in certain areas of the layout, and 2) it is very noisy. It is so noisy, that I have trouble hearing the Railsounds steam/diesel sounds. I’m sure I could solve the power distribution problem with extra feeder wires to the track, but I don’t know how to minimize the noise problem. I tried a rubber drawer liner under the track, but it did not cut down on the noise. If anyone has dealt successfully with the noise issue, please share your solution. Thanks!
It's noisy cause it's hollow under the track so besides putting it on 1/2 foam as I have then before you screw your track down through the foam 2 the table you must stuff loose insulation of some kind or brand that will stop and interrupt the noise bouncing around under the track 2 make the noise and that will help alot for your noise problem don't use spray foam its a mess just loose insulation you can usually buy the small rolls in the plumbing dept at lowes or home depot stuff as much insulation you can under each track piece it will work
Couldn't you feed metal rod or stiff wire into the eds of the tube track to help keep it aligned? I'm 2 rail and plan to stay that way.
I've used both lionel tubular and atlas o track, first, in my original 15 ft by 20 ft 2 level layout and now on my new 18 by 24 ft layout. Atlas is very sensitive to trainboards not level or warping sometimes even 2/16 of inch . Atlas must be level in 2 directions, north to south and, I've discovered, east to west, especially running large, heavy steam engines with their less forgiving drivers.Diesels are less sensitive to uneveness. I realize I should do an in depth summary of my years long struggle with the often very good but problematic atlas track. Gary j
I've used Gargraves track and either their turnouts or Ross turnouts when I need wider range of degrees of angle. The Foley AL model railroad uses this as well and trains run on it 4 hours on 3 days a week and have for about 15 years.
I'm presently using fastrack and I like it along with old school tubular. I tried the MTH track and experienced some problems with dead spots.
The Atlas O track also has an option of color ties for their 40" flex track. Brown or White (cement look) for Main lines.
it sounds like the upper level being open on the two front corners adds some bass in the sound of the engine going over the upper level, I like the way it looks and sounds.
fast track is difficult to snap into place I am afraid I will break it trying to force the tracks into place.
Any tips on how to do this? the connections go in partially but not all the way all is lined up correctly just needs more push power to snap it in. grease it perhaps?
Hey Rob! Unfortunately, I’ve never really worked much with Fastrack. Have 1 piece installed and had to modify it to accept tubular track pins to connect to realtrax conversion track. Honesty don’t think I’ve ever put fastrack together before. Idk if grease would be great to use, unless it’s a conductive style of grease. Want to make sure to keep a solid electrical connection
Haven't had too much trouble with O Gauge FasTrack. But got some American Flyer FasTrack for a friend and it was VERY difficult to assemble!!!
Great video! Was hoping GarGraves was going to be included. Maybe in a part two?
Maybe in the future!?
I'm sure you get the same annoying questions but I am just starting from scratch I am using Menards O scale track and cars. My train set is going to be running around the ceiling of my living room. I am trying to figure out what to use for a power supply and an engine. Santa Fe red/silver is my plan.
great video Zak, Hope all is well. I have a question for you , What did you use to support your upper level of track . I'm getting ready to add a upper level , Any help would be greatly appreciated . Thanks for all you do to support our hobby . Peace to you and your family . Have a great weekend .
Hope all is good in the train world! Look forward to the next video. Strohs car gets my vote!
Me and my brother had the old lionel tubular track when we started out. One year little brother got a nascar set with fasttrack and we kept adding more and more. It can be pricey, but you can shop around and find some good deals. I have had a few pieces just crap out on me, set up the track start running a train and find a dead piece of track. we have a good amount now so no big deal and the collection has grown slowly over time. Most the track we have had for 10 years plus.
I use Lionel Fastrack for my 8’ by 24’. For me no power issues and likes are the command control switches along with the sensor track system. The command control switches are great for controlling block signals.
Damn look at the size of them pine trees holy shit giant redwoods I take it
I have a 16x8 layout with MTH RealTrax, it works fine, but its noisy, however I need to spray it will dullcote to kill the plastic shine. If I could do it over I would use Atlas track.
Realtrax is very robust and allows for solid power to the rail and control with DCS. I improve its appearance by painting the sides of the rails iron brown and weather the plastic track road bed with black wash to bring out the gravel texture more. Lastly, I sprinkle ballast along the side of the roadbed to break up the razor edge look.
Thanks!!! Very interesting!
I see a wide open ceiling there! Better get to installing a helix and a ceiling track like i just did! 😆. The kits are made in America too. 🇺🇸 💪
I like the explanation much appreciated all efforts, I would like to see your opinion about the difference on noises, thanks again
when i jump back in i ended up going with fastrack but do use the menards track on the upper levels mth and the others are hard to find still wait on my dcs preorder lol
Nice review! I think people have strong feelings about their choice of track. Right now I don't have a permanent layout so the plastic tracks work for me. I'm more vested in the MTH RealTrax and I'm happy with it. I do have some Fast Track due to purchasing a few Lionel sets. They're also good and I like the specialty pieces they offer. However, when I set up my permanent layout, I'm going with Atlas. I just hope that its the old "supply and demand" thing that is driving the 7 dollar plus cost for a 10" Atlas straight track. Can you imagine what the switches are going for! It's not good for the hobby.
You deserve all the likes and subscribers just for that Skeleton.
Great video Zach, that should help anyone thinking about the kinds of track that are out there. I'm using mostly Atlas track on my layout that we are working on.
Great layout could I pick your brain for info, do you know what the minimum width of board I can get away with to do a oval layout is please
Is there a supplier who sells short pieces of track with different ends, so we can connect a Fast trax to a MTH scale trax?
Looks like you're using Gargraves track. I only have 027 Lionel so I have to use that. I also do HO scale. W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennessee
I haven't had a trainset since the 70s why are there 3 rails but only a positive and a negative for 2 rails ?
Thanks Zach. Very informative and much appreciated. Steve R.
and or the rolling stock? 3 tracks. 0 gauge. AC current. the direction of the train being selected by disconnecting one of both external tracks. ( i have a very old installation ) Which brand is OK for me? Thank you.
Good summary. My father's layout is tubular, I think we'll leave it as tubular.
I have tons of fast track, I didn’t have any issues you wouldn’t deal with any other track system.
How is the noise? This seems a popular complain.
Thanks!
I would like to know your thoughts between Atlas and Gargraves.
Any comparison between Atlas O, Ross, and Gargraves tracks coming soon ?
Nice video , good overview
The big advantage to Atlas is the isolated outter rails would allow , with seperate wiring , to run 2 rail and 3 rail engines ...
Does anybody know if 2 rail will work ok with Atlas turnouts ?
My main layout is Lionel Fastrak , but , i want to build a seperate display engine terminal , and i have 2 rail and 3 rail engines and interested in knowing if 2R scale wheels will work ok with Atlas O switches ...
Great Information Zach.! If the Fastrack had a dark center rail it would be even better.👍😀
That would be a nice touch!
😮 I'm getting stuff from Bradford John Wayne train set Coca-Cola Train Set Budweiser train set Thomas Kinkade train set all coming from Bradford @@CountryBunkersTrains
Winter Haven Florida
Do you have any ideas where I can get Lionel Orange FasTrack and Halloween O gauge train cars?
Good video, but what about the noise factor? Atlas track is by far the quietest. Lionel Fastrack is probably the noisiest.
I LOVE the noise!
I want to ask is it possible to convert an Atlas 0-6-0 diesel shunter To run on Lionel track
I have all Menards track. I love how easy it is to cut down custom length tracks. There is actually a ton of flex in all the joints. I can move the curve inward and outward to align it, and you actually have to work at it to keep the straights laser straight. I purchased rubber ties on eBay that look pretty good. My biggest con is switches. I want new switches, and only thing available is Ross custom switches in 072 curves. I run drops every 12ft or so which has worked out well. For the money and availability, I have no complaints.
My layout is Menards O guage with Ross 72 switches and the geometry of the switches upsets my MTH locos. I'm thinking of going Gargraves track in the future...supposedly a better height match with the switches.
@@williamorton7600 Everyone seems to have issues with different tracks. Every one of my engines like the Ross 072 switches except a 2-8-0 Railking engine that I have that has a front pair of trucks that just won’t navigate through the switch reliably. Ironically, I started with realtrax and I had nothing but issues with all 9 of my 042 and 054 switches, and most of the track sections. I had the old solid rail and the newer hollow rail. I would get sparks on a switch, or dead spots in the middle of the rail. it would t even meter continuity right. I know about the spring steel connections and they were connected on the bottom like they should have been. It was frustrating for sure so I finally bailed on it. Menards track was affordable and available anytime I needed it, and I actually have a lot of it. The Ross switches have been pretty good too right out of the box. At least you found something that works, and that is why there is no perfect track…except maybe Atlas :)
I just got a couple boxes of it right from Atlas I decided to go with Atlas track why? Cause it's the best
I find that if you permanently ballast the fast rack it does cut down on the noise quite a bit.
Have discovered the same with the realtrax. Was a nice little hidden bonus I never really thought about before doing it.
Fastrack is such a great way to go. It's a little more louder than other types but great if your table is not level.
Does anyone know the name of the elevated track system (RED) on this layout? Where can you buy it?
www.twtrainworxstore.com/product/r31-trussrail/
Made with 1/2” MDF and these bridge side plates from TW Trainworx
I'm new to model trains. Very good video.
What is mth and how to tell ac or dc track and engines. Thanks!
Hey Rob, thanks! All 3 rail engines run on ac power. MTH is one of the O gauge manufacturers-
mthtrains.com
Nice video, but one thing you missed is talking about the differences with using each type of track to activate accessories using an insulated rail. That is very difficult to do with tubular track unless to pry open each tie to lift up a rail & insert paper/cardboard in it. This is because tubular track ties the two outside rails together electrically at every tie. I don’t believe the other track systems do this, but I’m not sure about all of them. I am pretty sure that Atlas track does not, so you can just skip the joiner on each end of a piece of track to create an insulated section to activate accessories. This right now is the major headache with my redesign of my layout as I want to use insulated rails to activate accessories like crossing gates, but I have all tubular track…
Great video, thank you!
I have this to say about the MTH track. The first couple of times you use it, it works fine, but after a few years the copper connections on the bottom get twisted and the track does not carry the current.. I have to jump it because the connections are just lousy. My recommendation is go with the fast track.
Fantastic Review! I use Fast Track and I have found its very easy to clean and is pretty reliable. I use a typical bright boy to clean all three rails. I think the reason some people get issues is their track is dirty also I make sure to solder a feeder every other piece of track. Eventually I will build a layout with the huge 96' plus in curves but thats a few years down the road.
I'd almost be tempted 2 put a switch on each corner on each table edge put a bridge up and connect the 2 tables
Is MTH RealTrax compatible with the Tubeular track? I need a raised track for some of my layout and I ran short on the Tubular track.
MTH makes a track section that is half MTH Realtrax and half Tubular which allows for connection to either track type. The product is MTH 40-1011 O REALTRAX - ADAPTER TRACK SECTION.
@mister_fjk1972 Thank you
I've seen in some big layouts like Sean's Trains with the fast track some of the Mth engines don't like it he has a new video out with the Greenbrier engine having problems with it on the switches of the fast track shorting out
I did see that video! But, that’s a Lionel engine having trouble on Lionel track. Not an MTH.. that’s a little disheartening..
Hey, Zach. So, I’ve surprisingly have used the first 3 tracks in that order. 😂 Tubular for my Lionel starter sets. FasTrack for my MTH RailKing steam passenger Northerns. RealTrax for my MTH Premier diesel freights. Now, I’m looking forward to purchasing and using Atlas for the first time. I watch Jason from JDStucks a lot and really like how the track looks on his layout. I guess you can say I’m evolving. 😂
Jason for sure has one impressive setup!! That new layout of his will be something! And yes, the track looks great! Very envious. Envious of you as well switching over to Atlas! Maybe one of these days here… LOL
Great video. I sampled ALL these. Lionel Fast-Trax was too expensive. Real-Trax was a PITA to couple together and Scale-Trax was non existent. Atlas was WAY too expensive and non-existant. My train area is a spare bedroom, space is tight, my modeling prototype will be rural shortline and I'm a wiz at realistic scenery including track so my best bang for the buck was...O27 tubular. Biggest variety of 27-54 inch curves, passable options for turnouts including compatible Ross/Gargraves, easy non complicated electrics, "customize" my track with balsa ties, lower rail profile is smaller than any other and perfect for scenics.
Super O is my preference! Limited to 0-36 curves but larger curves can be fabricated. Looks great, readily available and very affordable $2 - $3 per section at meets and eBay.
Love me some Super O! Would love to do a postwar super o layout some day as well
When I saw the Thumbnail , I was thinking Wow you Slimmed down a little.
As far as Track , When fast track is good it is Good , but like some of the comments the switch do come back brand new . One batch I had 2 were wired backwards .I don’t have Atlas but my next layout I will use . Like the Tee Rail type.
I've been going right to Atlas website and buying mine they have everything I need
MTH supposedly plans to produce their track products again in the future. No ETA yet.
Hey Zach. Many thanks for the review. Similar to you, I did the research about 20 years ago, and jumped into RealTrax. As I built a permanent layout, I tripled my RealTrax inventory. I cut out floor underlayment, as recommended by someone else online, to try to dampen the noise on the plywood tabletops. Not sure I want to jump into the Homosote game... What are you using to help deaden the sound on your layout?
Extremely informative. Thx.
I just switched from fastrack to AtlasO.
It was a good decision.
Agreed the atlas o is amazing track I believe it's the best out there best looking and the most durable.