Replacing Lionel Track - What should I buy?

In another topic I was convinced the smart thing to do would be to switch from O-27 to O-31 track. Keep in mind I do not have a permanent set-up. Ususally just at Christmas. Now I need to decide which track to buy. Lionel's FasTrack, MTH's RealTrax, the old Lionel tubular track, track from another manufacturer? I would appreciate your recommendations and comments.

Thanks,
Alan

Used Lionel "O" purchased at a train show.

Yep; plentiful and relatively cheap. Just shy away from the stuff with too much corrosion.

Jim McC.

Whatever you do, I would buy new track. I don't like to buy used as much of it needs a ton of work to get into usable condition.. even then, it requires alot of maintenance. For my Christmas layout, I bought some new regular tubular 'O' guage Lionel track. It fits with the pre-war stuff we run around the tree. My stuff is all permanantly mounted to painted plywood that has a cutout for the tree stand which allows the weight of the tree to sit on the floor (we use live trees). Not sure, but fast track may work a little nicer on the carpet as it might disperse weight and hold itself together a little. I've never worked with that stuff but I've read comments here and there..

I disagree. My recommendation is to find the grayest, tarnished, non-rusted sections that you can - used - at a train show. You're going to pay 1/10th of what the new stuff costs, and you will have a superior product, in my opinion. I'm on my 3rd layout with the same track, basically. My first layout was put up with all very used track. I lightly wiped the track surfaces with Scotchbrite pads and never looked back ! Since then (1976), I have never cleaned my track in any way. I run my trains pretty much every day and the buffing action takes care of that (just like the real ones). My trains run smooth as a baby's behind on shiny sparkling rail heads. The rest of the track realistically looks tarnished and discolored. I have worked on a few new sections, primarily for making splices, etc. I have found that the new stuff that is coming out of China does not have the strength and durability of the old now tarnished stuff that was made in New Jersey. With the new stuff, the insulating pads are thinner and cheaper, the thickness of the tin-plate is thinner and lighter, and the construction is looser and not as solidly built. It's your money- do what you want with it. I can tell you that if you run your trains often and give them a relatively clean environment, you won't need to clean them after the first time. (On my lower (subway) level, I even intentionally only partially cleaned the rail heads, enjoying the slight arcing that was made as the wheels attempted their ground. Now, the cars have done their job- the rail heads are buffed like diamonds and there's no arcing !)