# Longest Practical Straight



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi All,
Purely for discussion purposes, what would you consider to be the longest practical size for a single piece of plastic straight track that you could use multiple times in your layout? Would it be 24", 36" or as long as 48"?
It seems long straights are on just about everyone's wish list when it comes to track pieces which aren't available.

Thanks...Joe


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## BRS Hobbies (Feb 16, 2006)

Joe,

I would say a 24" or a 30" long straight track. If you make them much longer then you might have problems shipping the track pieces and getting damaged in transit. 

Best regards,
Brian


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## aelancaster (Apr 8, 2006)

I would think keeping the lengths in multiples of 3 would be ideal as this would make for easily swapping out wit shorter multiple pcs. in order too make for a smoother overall track. I know that I would replace alot of my straight pcs. in order to accomplish this. Would love too see 24" and 36".
Thanks
Andy


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

yeah... I;m down for 24 and 36 inch straights


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## BewstdGT (Jan 4, 2005)

When you build an HO track it would be best for the long sections to be interchangable as has been mentioned. For this reason I think 24" would be best because its the most practical. The majority of people who would be buying track have smaller layouts and the longest straights are usually between 4 and 8 feet. So I cant see much point in making a lot of production 36" straights. 24 would be such a large improvement over 15's that I dont see thepoint in going up to 36.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I would rather see half and 3/4 turns. My straights are pretty smooth anyway.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

I would think in denominations of 12". 1', 2', 3', 4', and 5' would give quite a few options for the track builder. From a door track to a 20' table, you could do it nice and smooth (er). What i'd really like to see would be making them 4 lane sections as well. :thumbsup: rr


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

3 long straights or 45"

Or better yet....rig a seamless vinyl siding machine to spit out the track bed to any length and install rails by hand or send them for later install....heh


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## Manning (Mar 2, 2004)

I could eliminate several joints with 12" straights, or even more joints with 24" straights. 

If I had to pick just one, it would be 24". 

I like the "vinyl siding" idea..... :thumbsup:


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Hi All,
> Purely for discussion purposes, what would you consider to be the longest practical size for a single piece of plastic straight track that you could use multiple times in your layout? Would it be 24", 36" or as long as 48"?
> It seems long straights are on just about everyone's wish list when it comes to track pieces which aren't available.
> 
> Thanks...Joe


30'' would be best for me, half the joints we have now. Make them four lane and halve the number of joints again.

But the real piece I want is a 24'' curve.


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

8 FOOTERS BABY 
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 

(no, really, 2 foot, the longer pieces will warp to easy)


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## TGtycopro (Jun 1, 2006)

Figure out a way to make a 36" FLEX Track.........then you'll really have something


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## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

One would think that a 30" straight track would be it... 
Can any of you that have rather large tracks actually sit down and count how many of these you would buy? On my little home track I would need two of them.....


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## glbbb (Jan 26, 2003)

I would recomend a 36 or 48 inch straights.
glbb


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Would the straight necessarily have to be one molded piece? For example, say it were possible (and I don't know that it is possible) to create multiple molds of smaller straights and then have the fabricator combine some of the molds together to make a long straight. You might notice seam lines where the molds are put together, but the rail would be continuous.
Would that be satisfactory?
If so, that opens the possibility of making a couple different molds of smaller straights with an eye toward combining them into a long straight with continuous rail.
Just brainstorming....

Joe


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## buzzinhornet (Jan 20, 2000)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Would the straight necessarily have to be one molded piece? For example, say it were possible (and I don't know that it is possible) to create multiple molds of smaller straights and then have the fabricator combine some of the molds together to make a long straight. You might notice seam lines where the molds are put together, but the rail would be continuous.
> Would that be satisfactory?
> If so, that opens the possibility of making a couple different molds of smaller straights with an eye toward combining them into a long straight with continuous rail.
> Just brainstorming....
> ...


Good idea Joe. As long as the rail is continous any "seams" shouldn't matter. Besides, I always "groom" my track pieces before using them. 30" would be my choice for a long strait. 

GP


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

I've been lurking along on this one Joe cuz I couldnt come up with anything worthwhile to contribute. I dont know that I still do, but here goes. 

It would seem to me that cutting the smaller pieces required from a bigger chunk would make more sense!????? As long as the piece had some knobs, tabs or brackets, underneath to resist warping, sagging or squirming. 

Another advantage would be the leeway to adjust subtle angles where traditionally things havent quite lined up and you have to fudge the discrepancy across several joints.

The joints gotta be smooth whether you have continuous rail or not. Gusseting the seams some how is imperitive! Perhaps some kind of standardized/universal support that one could install underneath at the custom joints and a clip system for securitng. We've been clipping broken track together for decades, why not clip perfectly good track together too? 

If I had to choose a length, I'd say four foot pieces. In that, combinations of
3's 2's and 1's would provide the best possibilities for minimizing waste. I think???
I dont think it really matters so much about the undersizes as it would all be custom cut as you go anyway.

My imagination runs wild. I was thinking of a flexible system that spooled off like a roll of gutter material before it's run through the forming dies. Shape it as you will, insert the rail, then spray a catalyst on it to make it permanent. I probably need to get out of the Hobby room a little more. LOL


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Even though I was involved in the process for the making of the Tomy 18" curve and put up the financing and did the testing for the two Tyco/Mattel curves, I was not involved in the actual fabrication process, nor do I have that background. So when I speak about what I'd like to do, I don't know if it can be done. But, it would be good to know that if I could and did do it, someone would buy it.
That make sense?
Making curves is an expensive proposition because you can't reuse and/or combine molds. One mold for one curve - for only one brand of track. For a straight, that may not be true.
For example, let us assume it's possible to make a 1" or 2" mold (straight) which has the end connectors on only one end and is flat (like Aurora MM track) on the other. Then we can make another mold which is only a straight section (and flat on both ends). We then combine the straight section with two of the end molds, mold it as a single piece, and we have a straight with only the slightest mold lines. Change the length of the middle section and combine it with those same end connectors and we have a different length straight.
If you look at some Tyco or Mattel track, you will sometimes see what looks like seam lines indicating the mold was multi-piece.
See where I'm going with this?
Next, how to make it so we can make a straight for multiple brands?
Make an end connector for Tomy, Tyco and Lifelike (well, okay, maybe not Lifelike). Have the end connector mold act like an adapter track. By that I mean it must get the lanes to a common width; my preference would be to get the lane width equal, which would mean Tyco spacing. Tyco spacing should not hinder Tomy users, but Tomy spacing could hinder Tyco users. The "adapter" must also make the track height as low as the lowest brand, as narrow as the narrowest brand and the slot as deep as the deepest brand. Now that the "output" side of the "adapter" has made all brands equal, the long piece(s) of straight which will attach to the adapter can be used with any brand.
The straight piece is then molded as one.
So, what you've done is make a couple adapters, which are unique to each brand, and a long piece of straight which can be used by any brand. The mold cost per piece goes way down. One mold used for all brands.
For the long (middle) straight pieces, you'd only need a couple different lengths. Assuming the adapters are 2" each (which would mean 4" total since you'd need one on each end), the initially created middle straight pieces could be 3" (7" total - a great odd size) and 17" (21" total). If you combine all four pieces, you'd have a 24" straight.
There are other possibilities. Put a few 3" middle pieces together and you could have a 10", 13" or 16" straight.
If this is feasable, then it might be possible to produce a few different track pieces off the same molds. The track would still be more expensive than the major manufacturers, but it would be available. Because right now, Tyco/Mattel 15" straights are hard to find and you can be sure Mattel isn't going to be pumping out track like before.
Tomy compatible might be more of a risk. Because Tomy plans to do an 18" curve, our mold becomes useless. If we produce more Tomy track that they again decide to copy, we again lose the investment in the mold. That's a huge financial hit.

Joe


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