# Power-Loc roadbed track is BACK!



## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

I got a copy of the new Walthers flyer in the mail today, and was pleasantly surprised to see Walthers is reviving another Life-Like product, for their Trainline brand...










Yep, the Power-Loc roadbed track that connects without the need for joiners! It comes in nickel-silver rails with a more realistic-looking gray roadbed and brown ties! Of course it will come with the Walthers Trainline sets (replacing the steel Bachmann E-Z Track they currently come with) and be sold separately. So far I saw just 9" straights, 18"-radius curves and the adapter tracks listed to be sold, but they will also make a track expander set including manual left and right turnouts, four 9" straights, four 18"-radius curves, two lighted bumpers (with LEDs!) and even two adapter track sections! Hopefully they start also offering remote turnouts, 3" straights and 22"-radius curves as well, like they did during the Life-Like days.
I also saw that as part of this, Walthers discontinued the older steel-rails Life-Like -branded Power-Loc track (which Life-Like first introduced in 1996.) That makes a lot of sense, as nickel-silver rails are definitely superior to steel, and how Walthers has been phasing out the Life-Like brand name, even if they have some of the old Life-Like products still being made (nowadays under Walthers's own brands, like the old Life-Like figures being sold under the Walthers SceneMaster brand, or some of the former Life-Like Proto 1000 and 2000 locomotives being sold under the Walthers Mainline and Proto brands.) 
Now it's worth mentioning Life-Like actually used to make nickel-silver Power-Loc track, introduced in 1998 and then discontinued earlier this decade, but it wasn't as realistic-looking as the new Walthers version (the roadbed and ties were all the same light gray color.) They often included this with their Proto 1000 train sets. 
I for one am glad to see Walthers reviving the Power-Loc track. Even though I don't use it anymore like when I was starting out (my current layout uses Bachmann's nickel-silver E-Z Track, due to its' wide variety of lengths, radii and turnout configurations available), it would be good to see it included with the Trainline sets, especially since it would be a major improvement over the steel E-Z Track (the Trainline sets used to come with nickel-silver E-Z Track in the late 90s and the 2000s, but then they switched to steel presumably to cut costs.) This also puts the Trainline sets at a slight advantage over the Bachmann train sets; though they both use fairly high-quality locomotives (especially compared to the Bachmann locos of 30 years ago) along with including body-mount knuckle couplers on the locomotives and rolling stock and being similarly-priced, most of the Bachmann sets except the DCC or E-Z App sets still come with steel E-Z Track, presumably to make it easier and less expensive for consumers starting out.

This new and improved Power-Loc track is expected to be made available this upcoming October.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Yeah, I saw that, too.

We built my son's first layout with the PowerLoc stuff. It was good, as far as it went, and not having to futz with joiners was definitely a plus. However, the selection of pieces was very limited, and the turnouts were indifferent; better than Bachmann or Snaptrack but not up to Peco or Walthers standards. 

The integrated solenoid switch machines were junk, though. They all burned out within a couple years (and we used momentary push buttons to avoid that burnout risk.

Unless Walthers improves these aspects, this will be a kind of ho-hum event.


----------



## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

This prolly doesn't come in flex track version, huh?


----------



## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Really? hwell:


----------

