Interested in hearing your thoughts, be they positive or negative.

Pete

I used it for a while with one of my RTR sets, but by that time I was already spoiled by FasTrack. I haven't used my little bit of RealTrax since.

I liked the RealTrax rail profile better than the FasTrack, but most people didn't even notice the rail. I liked the FasTrack's molded ties and roadbed better, and the ease of taking apart and putting together the FasTrack better, as well. I do think that the FasTrack ballast is a little light, but an ink wash and/or some weathering can fix that easily enough.

I think that the Industrial Rail track system looks even better than the FasTrack, but I'm already invested in FasTrack, and when I build a permanent layout, I may go with Gargraves/Ross, Atlas/Ross or ScaleTrax/Ross (I'll cross that bridge when I come to it).

In the end, weigh the pros and cons to make an informed decision, accept the flaws or less-appealing aspects of the system you choose, and go with what you really want.

Andy

Pete

Since you are looking at this style of track, I would recommend Lionel Fastrack over MTH RealTrax.

Like Andy, I received my first oval of MTH in a starter set many moons ago.

Not happy with it at all. The little copper tabs that must mate caused conductivity issues and were a bear to assemble and dis-assemble.

I only use Fastrack, easy to use and bulletproof.

Regards
Dave

I have Real Trax from 8 - 10 years ago, that is now relegated for use on just the Christmas layout.



I like the O-31 curves for the Christmas tree.

There have been, however, several threads within the past year about quality issues with the newer Real Trax.

If I were building a non-Christmas layout and wanted to choose between Real Trax and Fastrack, I would pick the Fastrack.

I am currently considering Fastrack for some ovals to run my prewar trains on.

Jim

Pete;

There are pluses and minuses to each system. If you ask 100 people, you'll probably get 200 opinions. I wouldn't use either one for a permanent layout. But for a seasonal layout, check out both and use the one you feel the most comfortable with.

If you are looking to build an expansive layout other than a simple loop or two, I would not recommend Realtrax.
As Dave mentioned, the connectivity tabs are poorly designed and often do not come in contact properly when assembled. Even after they are properly assembled, the tabs sometimes fall out of contact, especially if they are stepped on.
The mistake I made is from expanding on a RTR loop, thinking that it was more cost effective that way, especially since Realtrax is a bit cheaper than some of the others. After now investing at least 1500.00-2000.00 on Realtrax, I definitely have my regrets. If I had a chance to do it over again, I would invest in Atlas, Gargraves or Ross.

It's hard to comment when we don't know how vested in Realtrax you are.

Realtrax isn't bad. I prefer Fastrak though.

If you have a lot of money tied up in Realtrax, I'd keep it and use it.

If not, maybe now is the time to pick up some Fastrak and try it out.

Depending on what you are trying to accomplish and or the overall look of the layout, you could run a little of both and throw in some regular O. Both MTH and Lionel have transition pieces that will go from Fastrak to regular O and Realtrax to regular O.

I use all three types together on my temporary layouts.

I use the Realtrax I started with, I like the Fastrak more, especially the switches and I like the old style look, and low price I get with regular O compared to the cost of Fastrak and/or Realtrax.

It all comes down to what you want to do and how much Realtrax you have on hand to make a better decision.

I found excessive friction on curves and the squared edges
at the rail joints were creating nicks in my engine wheel flanges.

I faced the Realtrax v. Fastrack decision about a year ago and went with Realtrax. It won out based on a very subjective variable - looks. Also in its favor were price and smaller radius curves (31" v. 36" for FT).

I made the decision understanding there were some potential quality / performance issues with Realtrax (based on info from this forum). Some people have to learn the hard way!

Do I regret the decision? Generally no, but I second guessed myself a few times! My experience to date -

* While fastrack is easier to put together, the Realtrax is manageable
* Ensuring the copper tabs are flush when putting together takes a little extra care, but not much
* I have 10 switches... 042 and 031... so far so good, but very limited use (carpet centrals once a month or so).
* I've got about a 98% success rate on conductivity... culprits were bad spot welds between the copper tabs & rails (I assume). A little annoying on the few bad pieces I've had.
* My major issue: Alignment. In too many cases, I'll connect two sections & the rails will be off enough to cause derailments (or, as bad if not worse, not cause derailments but chew up your engine wheels). As you can imagine, this is very annoying, especially when one is in "carpet central" mode (which this stuff was designed for, right)? I can usually deal with it & make it work, but it takes a what should be a 30 minute carpet central setup & turns it into a 60+ minute exercise.

So.. I've stuck with it, and in general am satisified with it. The reasons I chose it are still valid, and the issues I've encountered have been somewhat expected (& manageable for the most part). If I was going to be in carpet central mode long term, I'd switch to Fastrack... but I'm planning on doing a "semi-permanent" layout in the next year or so.. at which point my primary problem with Realtrax - alignment - should become much less of an issue (it'll get fixed & stay fixed!).

Note - While almost all my track has been bought new in the last 12 months, it's all the "solid rail" variety - the newer hollow rail Railtrax has apparently addressed some of the quality & performance issues (but taken a hit in the "looks" dept. IMO).

My layout has in excess of 300' of Real Trax including 18 switches. Operation has been flawless. Here are my opinions and experiences:
a) The variety of track sections and switches exceeds other brands with built-in roadbed. Curves are 031, 042, 054, 072 & 082. Curves come in full & half sections. Straights section lengths are 3.5", 4.25", 5", 5.5", 10" standard & 30". Switches are 031, 042, 054 & 072. Real Tax has conventional switches and an 072 wye switch. The end-of-track bumper is a really nice prototypical design. There is a Real Trax to tinplate track adapter section, and 45 & 90 degree crossings;
b) Less expensive per track section than other brands;
c) The power lockons are excellent and easy to install;
d) The switches are very good, and they have a variety of hookups so you can gang them into various routes with one throw. Hookup instructions are very good. Moreover, Real Trax switches are easy to operate manually, and a great feature is that you can move the plug-in switch motor from side to side. The negative experience I had is that the magnets in the switch motors come out of their plastic tubes. Crazy glue the magnets into the tubing;
e) A negative is the copper / brass contacts between sections. You need to test the continuity between sections as you lay them. Fixing a bad contact is usually easy by just bending the copper tab. However, also check the continuity between the copper contacts and the rails they are welded to. I have found some bad welds, but not many. On a positive note, it is very easy to make power gaps by bending the copper contacts so they do not make contact with the connecting section;
f) Cutting custom lengths of Real Trax is very easily done with a hacksaw (fine teeth) and a square. Align the rails of the cut section with the next section, and secure it with screws. Then add a power lock-on to the cut section;
g) Very easy to clean the rails with a scuff pad. No liquid is necessary;
h) The rail does not rust;
i) 042 switches enable the closest spacing of parallel mainline / siding tracks;
j) Gray roadbed is realistic, but the tie spacing is excessive. The tie spacing is not that apparent in a Real Trax layout;
k) I have joined Real Trax with Fastrack to use some of Lionel's accessories with built in track. It takes a little carving of the Real Trax roadbed, but the task is not difficult. You will need to run a power hookup to the Fastrack section;
l)The outside rails are not connected to each other. However, trains do make the connection via their wheels and axles;
m) Sturdy design. You can step on Real Trax.

From experience, I have a favorable opinion about Real Trax.

Thank you much for your thoughtful and well-stated replies. Here's the deal: I would prefer to use Lionel tubular O-gauge track because the nature of my setup will be emphasizing the "toy" aspects of my trains. It's a nostalgia thang. I have a (very) small amount of that type of track already, but I see that the Real Trax would be less expensive for what I have in mind and cost is a factor. Since space is limited to 5x10 max I plan on using only O-31 and O-42 curves, and Real Trax offers those along with remote switches that have an excellent "nostalgia" appearance. So... questions:

Can the switch motors on Real Trax remote switches be swapped from side to side? Is there an online source for the manuals?

Thanks again,
Pete

Assuming that you dont plan to go much larger than a 5x10 layout, Realtrax should suit your needs. And yes, the switch block can be placed on either side. The MTH website should have an online manual

I switched from Realtrax to Fastrack because of faulty switches.


Rick

I used Real Trax on my first little layout, and had no troubles with it.

The switch motors can be swapped from side to side very easily.

I am currently using Fastrack because I like the look of the ballast and ties a little better. I also prefer not seeing that big of the lock-on at the side of the track.

Someday I hope to have a house with a basement that I can make into a little empire. Then I plan to use Atlas track and Ross switches and ballast it myself.

It is always interesting to read the responses of those using Realtrax, from being a disaster for one person, and being flawless for the next. I used it on my first little layout of 031 curves and switches, and it was fine. Never had a track power continuity problem. Some part of the engines would sometimes hang up on the switches, but I could live with it. Mating the pieces were extremely difficult, but it was nice to be able to turn the mated sections over and check the copper tabs to make sure they engaged with their mates. If not, it was a simple fix with a pair of needle nosed pliers to put them back where they belonged. Being able to transfer the switch motors to either side was a plus as well. I also liked the solid rail for its look and performance - easy to clean, and very durable. It is probably the ideal track for a Carpet Central or Christmas tree layout.

My second layout was much more complex and much larger, but I bought all the Realtrax ($1800 worth) that I needed. I put it together, tested it, found a switch or two defective (LHS replaced them), so I started to screw the track down to the tabletop. Of course, I would still run my trains on it between "screwing sessions".

I used 054 & 042 switches. After a short time, more and more switches started to have problems, especially the 054s. Engines would bounce over them, derail on them, and have assorted problems traveling over them. My F-7s would literally lift themselves almost completely off the track at slow speed when they went through the switches. Then some of the switches would not close completely in one direction. Now I was having regularly scheduled "unscrewing parties". I called MTH service, and they explained how to fix the ones that wouldn't close completely. (Turn the switch over, check to see if the spring arm had slipped off the post - it had - and put the arm back on the post.) Imagine having to do that if you had already landscaped and ballasted the track.

As time went on, the 054 switches (12 of them) gave me one problem after another. Spring arms would cycle maybe 6 times before they would slip off again. I could see the uneven assembly of the rails. The transition ramp plate seemed to be sitting too high in some switches. I continued to return them to my LHS for replacement, but this was happening every weekend. When I opened up the new ones, and checked them out, I found everything from pinched wires between the bottom plate and the body of the switch, missing springs, rails way out of tolerance, etc. Even the electrical plug housings on the switch motors would pull out from the main body when I wanted to change the switch motor to the other side. I made a video showing the engines derailing and rattling through the switches and sent it to them, so they could see first hand what was happening.

But enough was enough. I knew I couldn't depend on the switches, so I contacted MTH, and they very generously took care of the problem. They never questioned the multiple returns, and were very apologetic about the switches' performance. They are to be commended for bearing with me through all the problems and their willingness to make it right. Because of this, I will continue to buy MTH products and feel confident that they will absolutely support their product line.

My LHS has indicated that the manufacturing problems have been straightened out since my struggles last year, and that reports lately are that the switches are okay. Although a few of the 042 switches were defective, most of the 054 ones were.

I just wanted you to know the experience I had with Realtrax, and it sounds like the quality issues have been corrected. I am using Gargraves track and Ross switches now - both with flawless performance for over a year. If you decide to go with Gargraves & Ross, ask about the best way to assemble it here on the forum. Our fellow forumites will give you some good advice.

Enjoy your trains.

Mike