Need Fastrack layout help!

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H

hokkmike

On Track!
Good news. The church across the street has agreed to sell me some 30" X 96" tables for $10 each. I can buy from 1 to 12. Bad news is that currently I am relegated to the use of one 8' X 11' room for a train layout. The most expedient thing to do right now is to join two of these tables into a 5' X 8' platform. It would give me 18 inches of walk around on two sides and 3 feet on a third. Small, I know, but it is a start. I want to construct a layout that will run two trains independently in separate loops with the Fastrack minimum radius of 36 being my turn limitation. I would like to add some sidings or a tiny yard and maybe a trolley line to the mix. I have negotiated with my wife for more space in another part of the house but she will not budge from letting me use the guest rooms or common space downstairs. The basement and attic are currently unsuitable. So, I am stuck for now. I would like to use the available space to maximize the action on my layout and provide for some buildings, a station, etc. If anyone could suggest a place to find plans or offer suggestions I am all ears. I would like to have the track plan then start buying and laying the Fastrack components. I need to lay the switches, component track, cross-overs, crossings, etc., all at the correct strategic locations so I think following a plan is a good idea. Thanks very much for your help.
 
If your table is only 5' (60") wide, you can't have a 36" min radius. It won't fit. (you need 6')

I am assuming you are in HO. Based on the size of your room I would recommend a shelf style layout around the room (12" - 16" off each wall) with a lift out or swing out section at the door way. Or you can take the door off and just have a duck under. This would allow you to get your 36" min radius. And gives a longer run with more opportunities for switching, industries or just plain scenery. I general, building around the outside of the room will give you better space utilization then building an island in the center.

If a 5'x8' island is all you can do, you may want to look at N scale.
 
CP9302 - The set is in O Scale. With a the 36 Fastrack it will do the complete turn in 40 inches. Maybe I was not clear in my explanation.
 


I think you have radius and diameter mixed up.
36" diameter (measured center to center) would fit in 40" and have an 18" radius.
 
Something is not making sense in the measurements, that's for sure. Regardless of scale, the basic laws of physics still hold. You cannot have true curve of more than 28" radius in a 5' space. That's a 56" half circle of track that will have straight sections coming off each end, allowing for 2" clearance on each side of the layout.

As I think we discussed in another thread, O scale is about twice the size of HO The HO equivalent of a 28" is 14", which is an almost impossibly sharp curve. Lionel trains are made to run better on sharp curves than most HO engines but you are still limiting yourself to very small Lionel engines with such sharp curves.

You'll find track plans for a number of layout sizes at http://www.thortrains.net/marx/47fastrack1.html.
 
What I read was that Lionel measures the turning radius as if holding a string of the appropriate length to the center rail. Thus, the Fastrack 36" radius curves could be scribed in by holding point A of a 36 inch string and scribing an arch the end, point B, which would be the location of the track center rail. It takes a table with of 40 inches to turn around my fast track. My table width is 60 inches so that gives me 20 to play with. I'd like to run multiple trains eventually so an outside loop or two connected by switches would be a great idea. UP2CX, your train knowledge exceeds mine by a mile. This is pretty much all of the grasp I have currently. I will learn as I get experience and advice from veterans such as yourself. Thanks.
 
No problem, we all started out not knowing much and learned as we went along. I wish I had the advantage of the internet when I started because I wouldn't have built four crummy layouts before I started to get things right. :)

You are correct about how Lionel calculates their "36 inch" curves. What they mean is Fastrack 36 curves will complete a half circle, or diameter, in 36" of curve, not that the curve itself will have a 36" radius. As I said, the laws of physics still apply and anything that has diameter of 36" cannot have a radius greater than half the diameter, so the track is actually an 18" radius curve, not 36". This is a very sharp curve but Lionel trains are built to run on very sharp curves. They will always look more toy-like because of the large overhang on curves but, if you're not trying to build a scale model layout, that's fine. Depending on the types of engines and cars you will be running, it may be hard to get a second loop in that additional 20" of width since you have to leave enough room between the the tracks so the trains don't hit one another. The layout plans at the link I gave you should give you some ideas about if and how you can fit in a second loop.
 
UP2CX - Thanks. I got the Fastrack on a recommendation that it is reliable, easy to use, and fits many track plans. I see that its disadvantages are that the road bed is a little wider than most other track, as is the trurning radius, and that it has a appearance between toy and scale. Would any of you recommend (before I spend my $300 on expansion) that I go to a different 3 rail track brand? If so, what would you choose? Scaletrax, perhaps?

I want a layout that looks a little more train then toy. Eventually, I will try to model some very realistic vignettes on my layout. Overall, I would like it to look more like an overhead view of the real thing than a picture from a ceiling in a toy shop.

What do you think?
 
I'm no Lionel expert but I think Fastracks have both curve radius and a connection system that don't match any other brand of three rail track. The closest match would be the MTH RealTraxx system. From the reports I've read, the MTH tracks are not well built and have a lot of electrical connection problems. I think I'd just stick to what I already have. It's a lot more likely that using one brand of track will give better results than trying to mix in other three-rail systems.
 


Looks like a classic Lionel layout, with an outside mainline to run round and round and an inside main to run your switcher. I'm not sure what the building symbols represent but it's not clear to me where any roads go to connect things up. At any rate, it looks as good as any for a Lionel layout and now you know what it will cost. You can now start draining you bank account like the rest of us. :)
 
UP2CSX Draining the account....you are right. I read where somebody here complained about the high coats of the hobby. A reply was that any hobby for "adults" would be expensive. I guess that's so. It will be important for me to spend my money carefully, slowly, and over time. That is one of the reasons I put this track plan up. So I don't make too many mistakes. Hey, I wonder if the new administration will "bail out" my railroad?
 
I think our hobby should start lobbying the new administration for a Model Railroad Stimulus Plan, where we all get a check that can only be spent on model railroad equipment. It would make everyone happy at small cost compared the $150 billion we just dumped into the black hole of AIG. If things don't work out and our little railroads go belly up, the Treasury Department can at least make part of the money back by selling our stuff on e-bay. :)
 
I did finally get two concentric loops up. The inner with 36 inch radii and the outer with 48 inch. I have the two loops connested and a reverse loop in the inside loop.
 
One problem I saw (if I am seeing it right??) is if a train is running clockwise around the outer loop, then inside clockwise on inner loop...Once you pass the center switch crossover you are going in counter clockwise direction forever. You have to back thu that spot again to get back to original path of going clockwise.

Like Jim said. Unless you plan on dropping cars on the run around and have a switcher distribute the rolling stock to each factory.
 
What kind of help, exactly? Is this Lionel or another scale? Do you want to build a temporary or permanent layout? Do scenery or just have a board to run the train around? One sentence doen't give us much to go on.

Since this is your first post, you probably don't know this, but it's better to start a new thread than to piggyback on to someone's existing thread. It's more likely to get noticed and not buried in this thread.
 
Howdy all... new to Fastrack but not to hobby. An old AF guy who wants to have fun with toy trains... no interest in "scale" anything. Just happy to watch trains run around and make nifty noises!
 


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