What do you guys think? If "someone" was to come up with sectional routed HO track in 2, 4 and 6 lane versions, would there be a market for it? Think of most of your favorite track sections in routed MDF track and cost factor a bit more than plastic, but less than what's currently available from "custom track builders". Does the sectional aspect of this make it less desirable than a routed track thats mostly one piece without the track seams? What's your opinions?

It is worth a shot...

But MDF is awful heavy to ship...
scott

sounds like a good idea to me even better if u could have like a standard layout to sell also so if they want a track they can get a set ready to go

What other materials would be a good track choice besides MDF? I'm with you on the heavy to ship aspect. That would drive up the cost even if the track cost is kept down.

The problem is the cost to produce such pieces, compared to how much would be made selling them. Had this been profitable in a short time, 4 and 6-lane pieces may have been already made.

As far as shipping goes; most of the increased costs in popular ground shipping comes from additional size increases more than the weight factor. (you're taking up more space in the truck) Weight becomes more of a convenience issue and the ability for the shipper to offload.

This is a popular new material for routing tracks:

Sintra (http://tri-dee.com/sintra_plastic_pvc.htm)

Somebody has been producing modular routed track sections for a few years now:

MaxTrax 1:64 Scale Slot Car Racetrack (http://home.eznet.net/~maxtrax/)

Thanks for all the replies. I'm trying to figure out why routed track is so expensive. I know it costs more than plastic track to produce, but it seems that it's pretty much cost prohibitive unless you've got a very deep pocket book. The Maxtrax are definately cool, but the cost is FAR out of my budget.

Guys like MaxTracks have to get some ROI for their expensive CNC mill that cuts that solid plastic track. Then there's assembly of the rails and so on. The material overhead probably isn't that bad as they probably purchase bulk amounts. The cost is probably the labor.

Plastic injected track pieces are cheap for the consumer, but the molds and injection machines and automated assembly line that produce those parts dictate huge initial costs up front. This is the dilemma with guys like Joe the "Grandcheapskate" who are trying to produce new track sections compatible with Tyco and Tomy track (http://p075.ezboard.com/fpockitfrm4.showMessage?topicID=1184.topic)(too bad ezBoards recent crash ate most of that thread...). Mold creation for these injection molded parts can be very costly and you have to be sure your parts will sell before making the investment.

Ron, Build your own... Time consuming but awesome when done. I love 24" radius curves and T-jets sliding around the corners. I will be posting pics of mine soon. A sheet of MDF is about $15, router bits are about $12 and the wire (rebar tie wire) is about $3 for a 300 foot roll. I'm usig the wooden track method shown on Greg Braun's web site.