# Realtrax or Fastrack?



## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

Hello all,

Working on changing a few things in my layout to go with a more uniform setup and I have a few questions:

- Anyone have a specific preference of RealTrax or Fastrack, and, if so, why do you think one is better than the other?
- Are there any concerns I should have with running MTH trains on Fastrack if that is what I decide I'd like to do?

Right now I've got a mix of stuff and would like to go with all MTH Premier stuff as opposed to right now which is a mix of that and the Railking stuff. I'm probably going to custom build my set piece by piece from scratch.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd go with Fastrack in a heartbeat, I don't like Realtrax at all! There is no issue running MTH on Fastrack, at least the 15 or so MTH locomotives I have don't seem to mind. 

We'd all like to go with MTH Premier and Lionel Vision Line, but budgets sometimes dictate otherwise!


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## Dave Farquhar (Feb 20, 2013)

I have heard of more conductivity problems with Realtrax than with Fastrack. I have some Fastrack and have had minimal issues with it. The few issues I have had are due to repeated assembly and disassembly. On a layout I wouldn't anticipate any issues.

Interoperability between MTH trains and Lionel track shouldn't be an issue. The only issues I've seen with interoperability date back to the postwar era.


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## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

Just talked to a friend who is big into trains, he said he prefers Fastrack as well exc that it is really expensive. My MTH track is 17-18 years old and have 2 bad pieces which I believe is also due to repeated assembly/disassembly. He suggested that if $$ was tight I could get the Realtrax running good then secure it to the platform until I was ready to go with the Fastrack. I might try that, not sure yet. Anyone know what type screws would work best on a wood platform? One thing that annoys me is that I have the remote control and prefer the 2-wire plug for the track instead.

I've decided to try and build an MTH Premier set of D & H stuff, bought a GP-38 right out of the MTH catalog last year as my starter piece. It's gorgeous.....now I need to find a lightning bolt paint scheme as that is what I remember most as a kid. I am also fortunate enough to have my grandfather's postwar set (1952, I think) which I'd run on the newer track as well until I get a platform big enough to run both trains and still be able to stock gifts under the tree!

Thank you guys for the insight.....


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

mdh157:

I just put together a Toy Train layout using 100+ pieces of RealTrax. Here are my conclusions:

The switches have several problems including the anti-derailment feature was not implemented correctly in manufacture and did not work on some switches and kept some switches from working at all. They have excessively wide spacing on the guide rails allowing the engine wheels to hit the frog of the switch with a bump. Admittedly, running time smoothes them out. The points do not have enough spring tension behind them to assure they are tight against the rail after a change. In some cases it can effect conductivity of the rails. The switch motors are somewhat large and the software MTH offers for planning the layout does not totally take that into account.

The rail section are made of individual rail with no mechanical connection from section to section. There is electrical connections on the underside but several places on my layout the rail ends do not perfectly butt to one another making another bump in the trains travel over those sections. I had to file some to reduce the mis-matching of rail ends. The tiny electrical spring connection are easily bent out of shape effecting conductivity. The track sections are very difficult to connect and disconnect.

I have no experience with Fastrack but the fact that there are pins between sections would probably solve the mechanical alignment problem of the rails and the connectivity problem. The Fastrack switches, according to posts here on this site, are better made and work better, supposedly (???).

If I had to do it over again I would slightly increase the size of my layout to accommodate the slightly larger size requirement to use Fastrack. That was the issue I had that kind of forced me to use RealTrax for my very crowded layout with lots of track. With well over $1000 in track investment, no way am I going to start over again. As I run the Realtrax and fix the switch issues the problems tend to lessen to the point that they have become minimal and non-invasive but along the way I was kicking myself for my choice of MTH Realtrax.

As for MTH trains, I have had several issue with new locomotives. One would not select 3-rail and stopped in the middle of switches. Electrically bypassing the 2/3 rail switch inside the engine solved that problem. Another Tin Plate engine shorted out the O-42 switch causing sparks and arcs with every passage of that engine because of an incompatibility of the engines center rail pickups and the spacing and length of the switch points. A definite design problem by MTH. Other than those problems the trains are very good looking, nicely made, and operate well.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

My opinion, and one shared by many others, is that the Fastrack switches are some of the more reliable switches of any of the O-gauge switch brands. The track is easy to live with and quite reliable as well.

The major knock on Fastrack, and it is significant for some, it's pretty noisy, especially if you have a lot of it and multiple trains running. There are various techniques for taming it, but any of them require significant effort. For some reason, even though Realtrax has a similar hollow base, it's not as loud as Fastrack.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

My layout bench has 1 x 4 vertical stringers on two foot centers covered in 1/2 inch plywood and then covered with good indoor/outdoor carpet. The overall size is roughly 7 foot by 9 foot. With two trains running the DCS voice messages are more than drowned out by the noise of the wheels of the trains. Even if only one train is running it is still hard to hear the messages. That is with all the feature volume controls set to max. The bell is virtually not hearable.

I called a dealer back east who has a large layout in the store that was running at the time. I could not hear him well at all and he had to step inside another room to continue the call. These steel wheeled trains are noisy! I think the difference between Fastrax and Realtrack for noise is probably minimal and both are noisy. It is the nature of the beast.

LDBennett


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## KarenORichmond (Nov 14, 2011)

I like the look of Realtrax over Fast. I have Realtrax on my Xmas layout and have enough of it to do my new elevated line. I have a mix of Fastrack and tube track on my mainline. And yes, I have had no issues with the adapter pieces that switch from the 2 on that line.

I HATED the switches on the tube, never had any for the Realtrax and have a couple of Fastrack ones that work fine.


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## mdh157 (Mar 27, 2008)

Lynn, I have noticed the same thing with the track mismatching when put together but other than an annoyance because I know it's like that. There is no problem - seems to work w/o affecting the operation. I also have a 30" straight of Realtrax that looks just fine but won't pass the current so I have to leave it out.....went over it with a fine toothed comb but cannot find anything wrong. My buddy has quite a bit of MTH stuff and he does not care for their switches either, prefers the Lionel stuff.

I think I am going to dispense with the remote control thing and get the lock-on that has the wire connectors, then just use my old Lionel KW transformer to run both trains.

Some great comments here........thanks again to all. -Mark


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I do agree with Karen about the better looks of Realtrax, it's just a shame that MTH didn't follow through with better design.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

If the layout is permanent then it probably does not make sense to use any of the sectional track like MTH RealTrack or FasTrax. I know there are other choices but I am not at all familiar with them. Laying flex track and other track that requires ballasting is something I have learned to hate. Since this is a Toy Train layout and realism is not all that important to me, I chose to use sectional track to make it quick and easy. I did not sign up for problems with switches, poor alignment of rails between sections, tough assembly and disassembly of the track sections, connectivity problem with the small connectors under the track sections, arcing in the switches as the one train passes through the O-42 switch or bumps to the trains as they pass through switches. I can offer no recommendation except probably don't use MTH RealTrack. But what do I know?

LDBennett


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## mark d (Mar 11, 2012)

I started with mth realtrack and have had problems putting the track together. I don't have a lot invested in it so far, but I am thinking of taking a closer look at fastrack. My only concern is how dirty fastrack gets overtime and the steel rails getting rust on them. How often do you have to clean the track? And also the wire connectors under the track coming loose at times. With mth realtrack the wires are connected right on the track. I know no system is perfect, but I want to make this as easy and enjoyable as can be.


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

mark d said:


> I started with mth realtrack and have had problems putting the track together. I don't have a lot invested in it so far, but I am thinking of taking a closer look at fastrack. My only concern is how dirty fastrack gets overtime and the steel rails getting rust on them. How often do you have to clean the track? And also the wire connectors under the track coming loose at times. With mth realtrack the wires are connected right on the track. I know no system is perfect, but I want to make this as easy and enjoyable as can be.


Some comments. I've only used it one year and I'm using it agian this year on the upper deck.

1) Yes, it gets dirty. I keep a roll of paper towels handy and some sponges I buy just for the task and a bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol. I also got my hands on the track cleaning car cheap. The wheels were locked up but it was just dirty. I also employee my mini-me as a helper. She likes cleaning track, go figure. Clean it when it's dirty or you get wheel slip. My impression was you get wheel slip before you notice electrical issues.

2) I did not have a single wire come loose. In fact it was something of a PITA to get the connectors on. Tight fit.

3) Making blocks can be challenging. They do supply insulated sections but they are not always the size you want. And they don't insulate a common which is an issue if you have accessories that need it. OTOH making the mods is fairly easy, just think it through what you need to do. Or ask here.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Your Dremel tool is an excellent isolated track generator.  As far as isolating a rail, just remove the cross connecting pieces under the track, rails isolated!


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Your Dremel tool is an excellent isolated track generator. As far as isolating a rail, just remove the cross connecting pieces under the track, rails isolated!


Mr Dremel is your friend, but work carefully

Removing connectors is easier said than done, though not that bad. Fold out the tabs holding the rail to the bed and then gently pry it up until the connector is clear. Beware of bloody fingerprints when done.  Of course that may have just been me being a putz. 

Frank


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I try to keep the blood to a minimum, as I need all I have.


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

Jabbed a connector into my thumb. Nice puncture wound. Clumsy varmint.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Hope your tetanus shots are up to date.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

*More RealTrax problems!*

Yesterday for the first time I tried to use the sidings to play a little freight yard switching and both siding switches (O-31 right and left) derailed the train entering the curve portion from the straight. The ends of the switch rails and the connecting adjacent track piece were out of alignment on one switch and both points needed some serious filing to get them to not derail the cars. RealTrax sucks but I got it to work finally.

As a kid some 60+ years ago I had some HO switches on my layout and they NEVER failed. The switch motors were below the layout deck and were adjustable and had contacts for the DC power to the points. Before that I had an old O-27 layout with electric switches and they never derailed the trains either. What went wrong over the last 60+ years?

LDBennett


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## stevetil (Sep 6, 2011)

Lynn D Bennett said:


> ... What went wrong over the last 60+ years?
> LDBennett


What went wrong is that we used to make stuff here.
Now everything is made *over there*.
Basically we've lost everything.
Except unemployment.


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## mark d (Mar 11, 2012)

I've been looking at the fastrack, and so far I like what I see. I have one question concerning the connections on the bottom of the track. Where do you hook up the wires to which connectors? Each track has two places to hook the wires to. Do you put them where the two outside rails would be on a layout?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The tabs for power drops are common, so you connect them to either set on pieces with multiple pairs of tabs. The full curves and straights have one or two sets of terminals. Most of the smaller fitters don't have power connections.

Here's a typical connection. Note that the one to the outside edge is the outside rails, the one in the center is, quite logically, the center rail.


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## mark d (Mar 11, 2012)

Do the connectors stay on there tight, or would I have to use electrical tape to secure them?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

No electrical tape please!  You can gently squeeze the connectors if they get loose. Also, for permanent layouts, many folks solder to the tabs.


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## PAPA JOHN (Jan 8, 2011)

*Fastrack*

I have been running fastrack for years without a problem. I have 6 switch tracks and not 1 derailment yet. My set up is up in the ceiling in the spare bedroom and i can't aford any mishaps


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