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April 29, 2009 — New TieBreaker Tool Significantly Reduces Turnout Construction Time
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Reduce the amount of time it takes to build a turnout by up to 30% with the Fast Tracks TieBreaker PC Board Tie cutting tool! The TieBreaker holds each PC Board tie at just the right position making it fast and easy to cut them to the exact length that you need to build a turnout. TieBreakers are currently available for Turnouts in all common scales. |
April 22, 2009 — Dual Gauge Track Building Kits Released
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Another one of our more popular requests are for complete dual gauge track building kits. So today we are pleased to announce that we now have track building kits for HO/HOn3, S/Sn3 and N/Nn3 dual gauge turnouts. Each kit comes with everything you need to build two left side and two right side dual gauge turnouts. |
April 17, 2009 — Dual Gauge QuickSticks Now Available
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We have had dual gauge assembly fixtures available for quite some time, but not the QuickSticks. So we thought it was about time that we rectified that situation. Today we released a complete selection of dual gauge QuickSticks for HO/HOn3, S/Sn3 and N/Nn3 dual gauge trackwork. They include both right hand and left hand versions with the narrow gauge on either the left or right sides. We have also added special narrow gauge QuickSticks just for building just narrow gauge turnouts in a dual gauge assembly fixture. You will find a complete listing of our dual gauge QuickSticks here. |
April 13, 2009 — We Are Just Twittering Away Here
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While it may seem like just the latest gee whiz thing on the internet, Twitter is actually pretty useful. Especially if you follow our tweets! Follow us and get:
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March 24, 2009 — New After Hours Modeling Video Series
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Sometimes you can learn a lot just by being able to watch over someone's shoulder as they are working. So we thought that considering how much time Tim actually spends at his workbench building all sorts of switches and trackwork for testing and samples, why not just set up a video camera and record him while he is working? We are calling this series of videos "After Hours Modeling". The first one is Tim building an Nn3, #6, code 55 turnout from start to finish. No narration, no heavy editing. Just Tim, a glass of wine, CBC radio in the background, and Tim building trackwork. |
March 21, 2009 — UPDATED! Soldering Trackwork in a Fast Tracks Assembly Fixture
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We have taken everything we have learned about soldering trackwork over the past six years (and many years of personal learning before that) and condensed it down to just the information that will help you build great looking, reliable trackwork. The result is our fully revised and illustrated Soldering Trackwork document. If you are new to soldering, or even if you are an old pro, we encourage you to download this document before you build your next turnout. It is jammed packed with tips and information that we are sure you will help hone your soldering skills. If you would rather not be bothered with downloading, you can read this document right in your browser . |
March 4, 2009 — Using Fast Tracks Assembly Fixtures To Build Stub Turnouts
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One of the more common questions we get from our customers is if we have assembly fixtures for building stub turnouts. Well, the good news is if you already own a Fast Tracks Assembly Fixture and supporting tools, then you already have everything you need to build a stub switch! The only thing missing was a Builders Guide that provided step-by-step instructions on how to build the turnout and the bridle. Not any more! Today we are pleased announce that our fully illustrated Stub Turnout Builders Guide is ready for download now. |
February 18, 2009 — Turnout Builders Guide Updated!
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After four years our How To Build A Turnout Users' Guide was getting a bit long in the tooth and was badly in need of a full re-write and update. Since we first wrote our Users' Guide, we have not only improved and refined the techniques for building turnouts in an assembly fixture, but have also added a number of new tools that make turnout construction just that much easier. So today we are pleased to announce our greatly expanded, New & Improved turnout Builders Guide! Our new Builders Guide not only includes more tips and techniques for building great running turnouts, but now includes over 100 full color images that are not only larger, but are also linked to super-sized, high resolution pictures on our website. Before you build your next turnout (or any switch type for that matter) in a Fast Tracks assembly fixture, we recommend that you download our new Building Turnouts Using Fast Tracks Assembly Fixtures Builders Guide. We think you will find it a great read! |
January 29, 2009 — Fast Tracks Issued NMRA Warrant 2009-0001
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We are excited and very pleased to announce that the National Model Railroad Association has awarded Fast Tracks Warrant number 2009-0001, covering ALL model railroad track fixtures and tools that we manufacture. While all of our tools have always been designed from the ground up to produce NMRA compliant trackwork, we are very happy to be recognized by the NMRA as one of the very first manufacturers to produce tools and supplies for building NMRA compliant trackwork. To ensure that we maintain our warrant in good standing, we remain committed to only producing NMRA compliant track fixtures and tools now and into the future. You can read the letter from the NMRA that includes complete details about our warrant here. |
January 5, 2009— Platforms Temporarily Discontinued
| Due to ongoing production issues, we have temporarily discontinued our new line of Platform products. We want to emphasize that the problem is with production. The design of the Platforms is fine and they work very well. If you have Platforms on order now, your order will be processed and shipped. If you have purchased Platforms in the past and need additional items for your layout, please contact us by email at service@fast-tracks.net with your requirements and we will help you out. We hope to re-release our line of Platform products in the near future. |
December 18 — Over 35 New Videos and New Video Library Launched!
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Our product videos have always been extremely popular, and for good reason! A five minute video is probably more helpful than 20 pages of boring text on a web page! So today we are expanding our video list to over 35 brand new videos that describe how to use and get the most out of our products. You can watch all of these videos right now by visiting our new Video Library page. |
August 15, 2008 — Another first in the model railroad industry, PC Board Crossties that MATCH the height of the wood ties!
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For years modelers have had to 'make do' with standard sized 1/16" and 1/32" thick PC Board ties for soldered trackwork. Not any more! We now have available 1mm, 2mm, and 2.5mm thick PC Board Crossties that will match the height of wood crossties for HO, N, S, Sn2, Sn3, On2, On3, and On30 track. But even better, these ties are ready-to-use right out of the bag as they are pre-cut to length and pre-gapped for DC and DCC compatibility. Our new PC Board Crossties are available to order now from our website. |
August 2, 2008 — Rethinking the lowly spiking pliers
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Anyone who hand lays their own track knows that the one tool they probably spend more time with than any other are their spiking pliers. So why are currently available spiking pliers so poorly designed? We wondered ourselves and decided that it was time for this lowly but important tool to get a serious makeover. Have a look at what we came up with. |
July 30, 2008 — New track laying hand tools available
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High quality, specialized tools are the defining mark of any craftsman, and modelers who hand lay their own track are certainly no exception. Using the right tool can make all the difference between a good piece of trackwork and a masterpiece of form and function. Over the next while we are going to be researching and expanding our line of track laying tools, creating the largest selection of specialized track laying tools available anywhere. Today we are starting with the addition of two new tool lines. The first are a couple of selected precision machinists scribes manufactured by L. S. Starrett Company - the premier manufacturer of machinist tools in the World today. A quality scribe is used throughout the track building process to scribe rail and mark PC Board ties in preparation for cutting and trimming. You can learn more about the scribes and accessories that we have available here. We are also adding a line of highly specialized points shaping and finishing files. These uniquely shaped files have been selected for their ability to access very tight locations in the frog and switchpoints. You will find all of the files that we currently have available here. |
July 20, 2008 — New shopping cart and checkout system launched
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We first launched the Fast Tracks online shopping website in 2003 using software specially designed just for us, and for the past five years this software has served us well. But after five years it was starting to show it's age and was due for a major update. So after many months of work and testing we are ready to start using our new commercially written shopping cart and checkout system! Our new system offers a number of important advantages for our customers, including:
Give our new shopping cart and checkout system a try today! |
May 27, 2008 — New tool for filing the base of the stock rail now available
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After one of the longest development times in our company history, we are finally ready to release our innovative new StockAid stock rail filing tool. The perfect companion to the PointForm tool, the Fast Tracks StockAid filing jig makes fast work of cutting the notch out of the base of the stock rail so that the switch points precisely fit against the stock rail when they are closed. StockAids are available for code 40, 55, 70, 83, 100 and 125, and can be ordered from our website now. |
