Types of track

I have a problem. I want to build an layout but i can't decide which type of track use:


TOMY pros: quiet, creative, lots of parts, good quality, the most accurate trains, continuead production.
TOMY cons: Trackmaster 2 don't work on this track unless you cut an activation tab, small amount of exciting like in trackmaster 1 sets ( I think tomy is concidered on track not sets)


Trackmaster 1 pros: creative, lots of sets, exciting , sets, good merchendise, accurate trains, all trains can go on it.
Trackmaster 1 cons: LOUD AS HECK WHEN YOUR ENGINE PULLS TRUCKS ON THIS TRACK, discontinued production.


Trackmaster 2 pros: newest sets, ( I think will be continued)
trackmaster 2 cons: derailing often.

Help, please.

I can 100% agree with you on that Trackmaster 1 con of pulling trucks 🤣. I would say TOMY is the best route to go but that's just me. TOMY track has been in production for quite some time and is easy to find. It's also easier to find TOMY risers (the yellow girders) than Trackmaster 1 risers (tan girders) allowing for longer strips of elevated track. I also feel like the blue of the track looks nice with the engines and is quiet like you said. If I had enough TOMY track, I would use that but I have mostly Trackmaster 1 (HiT toy company) track. I wonder what other people will answer...

there are number of factors you need to consider. For starter, what type of trains do you want to run on your layout. All engine go and trackmaster revolution will have a hard time to run on tomy tracks. I assume they will have the same problem on trackmaster 1 tracks.

For varieties, tomy tracks hands down.
For connectivity, trackmaster 1 is the best hands down.

trackmaster 1 and trackmaster 2 tracks are essentially the same in terms of style. However I always find difficulties connecting and disconnecting trackmaster 2 tracks.

Overall, I will go with tomy tracks for its diverse variety of tracks.

[Super]

I too vote for the Tomy Tracks but then again I don't rave or run any Trackmaster Revolution or later. Tomy rails just have so many different variations that allow one to really be able to design fantastic Layouts that any of the Trackmasters do not have.

BTW: Welcome to BPT's Marvel 😃

I’ve never had a TM1 rail in my hand, so I can’t talk about them. But when it comes to TM2 rails, I can say only one thing: they are totally inferior to Plarail (fewer options, weird radii, easier derailment, no double rail tracks, no double switches, most of the tracks you can get only in sets, and you can't build anything originally yours with those sets, etc.), but it should be emphasized: they are noticeably better when used by AEG engines and trains. Not kidding. It seems like TM2 rails were created for AEG engines. AEG significantly less derail than TM2 engines. They just behave much better on them than TM2 engines. Maybe because they are bigger and heavier than TM2, IDK... Anyway, if you use TM2 rails, use them with AEG engines. Or be prepared for derailments and disappointments if you use them with TM2 trains... 

Bottom line: the best tracks are Plarail tracks. Why? Because of their quality, and because there you have double rails, even double switches, different intersections and special rails, great slopes, multiple combination options, you can buy various tracks and risers individually as well as individual rail elements (which you can't with TM) etc. etc. etc. In short, Plarail is a noticeably better and more sophisticated and complex system when it comes to rails. The quality and availability of various rail elements is better. It provides the most opportunities in terms of achieving your own creativity when building your own layouts. In doubt, go with Plarail. But that's just my opinion, though. It's up to you. 😎

Although these days I'm more into N Gauge scale models I still have a fondness for these models and the Tomy track wins hands down in terms of quality, availability second hand on eBay etc... Of course it doesn't have some of the silly 'one trick pony' stunt parts that you get with trackmaster 1 & 2, but that sort of thing soon gets old. I'd far rather have the variety of track pieces you can get with Tomy that allows you to make some stupendous and nearly real life type layouts.

The main thing to consider though is not so much which track do you want to use, but rather what type of trains you want to run. If you are only into the Thomas range then of course you can go with any system and use appropriate model trains (assuming you don't want to modify anything). However if you like the Japanese Shinkansen's and suburban type trains as well as Thomas then you have no real choice but to go Tomy or get these trains running on the Trackmaster tracks. Myself I love 'real world' trains so its a no brainer, go with Tomy as it gives me the best tracks and the range of trains I want. There are also decades worth of trains that have been made and unlike Trackmaster all Tomy trains will run on any Tomy track new or old. Again you can pick up the Tomy engines relatively cheaply on eBay or wherever you shop.

The last thing to bear in mind is the mechanism's and realism of the trains, even if you only want Thomas models the Trackmaster trains are for the most part woefully inadequate in comparison to the Tomy equivalents. The mechanisms in the Tomy models are more reliable, quieter, easier to fix if they do break and in some cases share spare parts. In comparison the Trackmaster trains are noisy, unreliable and aesthetically pretty grotty. The latest versions (revolution?!?) are so bad that they are all basically the same body just in different colours with different stickers, totally pathetic. FP seem to have done as much as they can to kill off Thomas by constantly dumbing down the range to save a cent or two here and there. I'd far rather pay more and if the worst comes to the worst import Tomy models from Japan, they'll be running long after the FP stuff has gone to the shunting yard in the sky...

thanks!

Oh i see you into model railway. I Wonder what's better. Trackmaster, tomy or model railway (I think 00 gauge is the Best for thomas & friends. ) Can you tell me?

Thank everyone for replies. Hreetings from Poland

trackmaster train and tomy trains shouldn't be able to run on 00 tracks given the type of wheels they have.  Worse come to worse is to use adaptor tracks to adapt whatever track system you want to use.

i have primarily run tomy for many year. i like it because so much of it is double sided, so if you need a left curve instead of a right curve, you just turn it over. no need to take dozens of each just in case.

the couple of times i tried running trackmaster 1, it was very frustrating and not worth the time put into it. i think i only ever did one set for a public display, which was the large christmas set designed to go around a tree. i followed the set up correctly, but still had massive issues with running... stopping on the joins, derailing on curves...

Oh i see you into model railway. I Wonder what's better. Trackmaster, tomy or model railway (I think 00 gauge is the Best for thomas & friends. ) Can you tell me?

There are more models available for 00/HO gauge, these days if you want new you have to get Bachmann as they currently have the licence, but there are plenty of the prior Hornby models available as well.  If you like gimmicks like moving eyes then you would want to go for Bachmann as they have always had that.

N Gauge is not served as well for Thomas, there are models made again by Bachmann (worldwide apart from Japan) and also by Tomix (aka. Tomy Japan only).  Bachmann tend to have the wider range, although I think the Tomix models are better mechanically.  Generally though neither are readily available in the UK in my experience.

As to which is better, well to a degree that is probably dictated by how much space you have for a layout, after all unlike Tomy/Trackmaster with model railways you tend to create a permanent layout even if it is just track which you have on a board that you lean against a wall when not in use.  You're not likely to get it out, put it together play with it then pack it away again.  Some of the model railway track doesn't like being treated that way anyhow as the fishplates that connect the pieces together can become loose after a while causing electrical glitches.  Although if you use Kato track (for N or OO) or Bachman 'EZ-Track' it has clips that hold the pieces together as well as the fishplates - think of it being more like the trackmaster 1 track with pre-made ballast fitted to it as opposed to most model railway track that is more like trackmaster 2 that needs ballasting etc...

Hope this helps....