What to do: plastic or routing?

[pastor bubba]

I am building a table for my ho cars on a 31" X 48" table. It is a small track but needs to be that way to get my 1/24 track set up next winter. I have Aurora plastic from around 1965 where I can have 4 lanes at maybe 2 feet wide. As I looked at that track, it seemed pretty tight with the 4 lanes and so am thinking that a 3 lane would be better which is where the routing came in. The problem is that I have no idea on the routing aspect of building a track. I think a three lane route would be better because the turns would not be as tight. But do I have to use a variable power supply or will the regular transformers work since it is such a small track. If I use the regular transformer, can I also use the Aurora thumb controllers because I do like them instead of the aftermarket ones. If I go with the routed track, I am sure I will have a lot more questions but for now am just trying to figure out what is the best and most cost effective way of building this track because I do miss my ho. Since I did mention the cost, with the Aurora track, I know I need to buy some banks for it because I do not have enough for both ends but with routed, don't need them. With the routed, I need to buy copper tape because I assume the tape for 1/32 is way to wide. So the cost for those two will probably cross each other out.

[HomeRacingWorld]

You have track, so I would stay with it.

[hoganracing]

Also, if you route and use copper tape you may need to solder copper braid to the pickup shoes to get consistent power.

Patrick

[ChallengerGuy]

Yeah, I believe custom routing a 3 lane with copper tape for HO is a non-starter. Your time would be better spent potentially looking for someone's used 4-lane routed track (but would require a bigger footprint) or simply using your lock and joiner track (which I really like, for what it's worth) and sinking it into plywood to make a solid, slideable track. There are some super cool layouts if you can squeeze in 4x8 feet.

[pastor bubba]

I am stuck with the small track because the 1/24th table will be 4 1/2' X 12". I already have the 1/32 track going, just need to finish it which might happen this month. After reading your responses, I will stick with the plastic and am intrigued with sinking it into my table top. I need to do some more thinking on this and hopefully have it up and going in the near future although I have about 6 projects going right now between little cars and big cars. Thank you all for your advice.

[RichD]

You did not say what sort of cars that you expect to run on your track. The length of the track is not a factor with respect to the power supply or controllers. Most HO cars have pickups that are intended to be used on tracks with rails, so getting those to work on tracks with tape or braid can be a problem. Another problem is that many modern HO cars rely on magnetic downforce and you won't get that with a track that has tape or regular tinned copper braid. Considering the limited space that you have available a routed three lane track is very appealing. I race on routed wood HO tracks all of the time, last year I saw a demonstration on routing. Ed Bianchi made a two lane braided skid pad in about 30 minutes. Ed has built quite a few tracks with banked curves, you might consider buying a track from him. He can be contacted at HO Race Pro North America. If you expect to run cars that rely on magnetic downforce Ed can do a track with Magnabraid.