Iron Horsemen, originally I thought they did not make O54 FasTrack because of guys like myself, operators who run multiple ovals. With 6 inches from center rail to center rail there is little or no chance of equipment colliding due to over swing in the curve if the tracks haver proper spacing. Then they came out with O31 and I scraped that theory. The original FasTrack lineup was O36, O48, O60 and O72. As far as I know, they have only used O36 in RTR sets. I don't know of any set with any track other than O36.
I believe they came out with O31 in the
2014-2015 Track and Power catalog, It was in response to operators complaining O36 was too big in comparison to O27. Using O36 made it impossible to recreate O27 layouts in confined spaces. While O31 makes it easier, it is still bigger then O27. I'm not sure precisely when O31 was introduced. It was not included in
FasTrack Book by Robert Schleicher first published in 2006. I bought my copy in 2013 and as far as I know it was the latest edition at the time. If I remember correctly O31 is not included in the book;
Track Plans for Lionel FasTrack (Classic Toy Trains Books) Most of my books are still packed away or I would check for you, forgive me.
I do have an oval of O31, it fits perfectly on my front porch layout. Here is a bit of Baltimore cultural history; train layouts in windows for Christmas were common in Baltimore in the 50s, 60s and even into the 70s. Maybe other cities as well, I don't know for sure. That tradition is kept alive and well in the Baltimore neighborhood of Hamden. They call it the "
Miracle on 34th street". They even have their own website
https://www.christmasstreet.com
For the record; I live in Dundalk, Baltimore City. Not Hamden, Baltimore City. The two neighborhoods are not close in distance or anything else for that matter. Dundalk is in blue collar southeast Baltimore. Hamden is a community made up of many artists and millennials love it and many live there as well. Hamden is located in northcentral Baltimore City. There are still many old-time residents in Hamden. A few date back to the original "Miracle on 34th Street" (in Baltimore that is) in 1947. oddly enough, the same year as the movie of the same name. I can't say if the movie inspired the Christmas displays, but they probable did borrow the name.
The original production run of O31 Can be difficult to snap together and has trouble staying snapped together. many operators, including myself have complained to Lionel about it. I don't know if they have been able to resolve the problem or not. I would assume it has been. Maybe and I am only guessing that is why they did not make O27 in FasTrack. As far as I know O31 FasTrack is not being fazed out. O31 FasTrack is still readily available in the Lionel Store and they continue to add O31 FasTrack switches and other O31 FasTrack options. Many, maybe most Lionel operators operate small layouts.
Menards is making a lot of cool stuff in O gauge. When I get my stuff situated I am going to buy a few of their prebuilt structures. It's great to see them selling O gauge stuff!
May God be with you always. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!