# MTH troubles now behind me!



## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

MTH troubles

O gauge Toy Trains are new to me but not model railroading. I decided I wanted a Toy Train layout and after watching “I Love Toy Trains” on TV, it had to be MTH to get new very featured O gauge trains. I had to have DCS control too. I think I now have a running layout after getting through a series of MTH problems that probably should not have occurred. So here is the list:

1). MTH track planning software did not take into account the large size of the MTH RealTrax switch motors and the I had to eliminate the planned reversing tracks at the cost of the three expensive switches bought and not used. MTH did offer to take them back for credit but after seeing how they are made internally I may want to keep them for spares.

2). The anti-derailment feature of the switches did not work and precluded the switches working at all. The isolation track sections that acts as the anti-derailment feature control failed to be isolated. They need to be shortened to avoid touching the adjacent connecting track.

3). The O-72 switches had serious points connectivity problems as they failed to hold over against the outside rail with enough force to make good contact.

4). The MTH 100 watt Power Brick used with the MTH TIU has a 7 amp circuit breaker so slow to operate that track shorts blew 20 amp fuses inside the TIU on at least a half dozen occasions requiring taking the TIU apart to replacing the fuse. Using Passive Mode connectivity routed the power around the TIU instead of through it fixing the problem. In addition it took a fast acting accessory circuit breaker to assure nothing got welded together during shorts to the track.

5).The RealTrax track section are very tough to snap together and take apart and the small copper contacts are easily bent out of shape and loose connections.

6). The resultant track system has many misalignment of the tracks at section joints making smooth running trains not a reality. The switches are particularly bad as the guard rail for the frog of the switch is not close enough to its track making the wheels collide with the plastic frog as the engine goes through the switch.

7). My MTH/Lionel Tin Plate City of Denver passenger train engine wobbles when running, like a Hawaii bobble doll. The body rests on a sphere on the top of the engine's single motor and has way too much undamped freedom of motion.

8). Because the RealTrax switches have a dead spot (electrically) at the frog of the switch and the lighting pickups of the City of Denver train are so closely spaced the lighting of the cars flashes off and on through every switch. I’m working on a fix to tie all the lighting pickups together so the dead spot will be spanned by several pickups rather than just one.

9). My MTH GP-30 Chessie had no connectivity between the wheels side to side which caused problem through the dead spots in the switches. After opening up the engine and tracing the wiring and ohm-ing it out, it turned out to be bad internal contacts of the 2/3 rail selector switch solved by sliding the switch back and forth and bunch of times. The manual instructions were not clear and actually wrong or ambiguous on how to separate the body from the chassis.

10). The internal wiring of the MTH GP-30 looks like lots of spaghetti and uses wire nuts for some connections.

What have I learned? Snap together track is a poor option for a layout meant to be permanent. I was told that but did not listen. I hate track laying and chose snap together track to avoid the effort but that was a mistake. MTH is not God and their products are not perfect (nobody else’s are either). It is a steep learning curve to build a DCS Toy Train layout. To really exercise O gauge you need LOTS of space and two 4 x 7 foot sheets of plywood side by side is a very small layout. I fit 100 sections of various size track section in that space and it is all pretty tight. Once running the DCS features are awesome. The details on the MTH Premium O gauge Premier engine and freight cars is very good indeed. Once solved, all the above problems will mostly be forgotten in years to come. I have no real regrets.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Although not perfect, Fastrack works a lot better than RealTrax, at least IMO. I fooled with RealTrax once, and I also found the connections between sections to be very flaky. I will agree, for a permanent layout, you'd probably find something like Atlas track with Ross switches to be a great combo that would be reliable and last.


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## Don Trinko (Oct 23, 2012)

Mono I


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

We live and learn and some of us that are hard headed learn the hard way.

LDBennett


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## Don Trinko (Oct 23, 2012)

I have never ued fast track but I do have some realtrax. I like the electrical connection butit can be very difficult to snap together(small gouge in my left hand) and it can also go to easy and fall apart if you try to move it.
One bit of wisdom is make it a permanent layout, Then you only do it once. All IMO , Don


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

Oh, I forgot to mention the MTH RealTrax Unloader/Uncoupler track section. The electro-magnet was so high it bottomed out the center rail pickup of the MTH GP-30 Chessie and derailed it or stopped its forward motion. So this is a section of MTH track and an MTH Premier engine. You would certainly think them compatible. I stuck shims under the electro-magnet mounting points to lower the electromagnet for clearance. The engine now clears it and the track successfully uncouples cars as well.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's a common issue, Fastrack has it to a lesser extent. I did notice the RealTrax uncoupling track seemed to project up more than I'd think was good. Some locomotives with limited roller travel, like the RMT BEEP, would have issues going over them. They go over the Fastrack ones, but you do see them do a little "hop".


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## RedJimmy1955 (Aug 23, 2021)

RealTrax is all garbage. Like some you MT citizens, I took it on faith that my track problems were my faults...such as joining pieces; cleaning both the contacts and track itself....N O P E! RealTrax is simply junk.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Ah, nice to meet someone new (Welcome, by the way) who has firm opinons based on experience. 

For a permanent layout, I think Atlas or Gargraves is the way to go. I use Atlas, although I do use Fastrak switches - maybe the best product Lionel makes (or next best, after the Universal Controller).

Anyway, welcome RedJimmy 1955


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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

RedJimmy1955 said:


> RealTrax is all garbage. Like some you MT citizens, I took it on faith that my track problems were my faults...such as joining pieces; cleaning both the contacts and track itself....N O P E! RealTrax is simply junk.


Oh, I don't know. I don't find it junk at all. I have a temporary 6' x 16' double-oval layout with reversing loops, and it runs just fine. I will admit, it did take some work to get it that way, however. RealTrax can be quite cantankerous for some folks that may not have as much mechanical/electrical aptitude as other folks. Once you learn its shortcomings and nuances and how to work around them, it's not really all that bad. So........... Y E P! Your track problems were your fault, but mainly due to your lack of knowledge and/or lack of patience to figure it out. You shoulda' come here first with any problems you experienced!  

Welcome to the forum. You do realize you responded to an eight year old thread, don't you?


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