B Tank Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi all,Recently got the R9283 Thomas (first train set) and just ordered the R9284 Percy from Rails of Sheffield too as it's on clearance, as an expansion to the Thomas set. These are mainly for my young son for when he get's older but in the meantime I can have a quick play!I'm looking for one Track Mat that I can use with both of these sets to make it all look more involving, but I'm put off by the Hornby one because of bad reviews. Is there a suitable alternative I could buy that anyone is aware of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 How can a Hornby TrakMat have a bad review?........it is just a printed sheet of paper 1800mm x 1200mm that needs to be properly glued to a piece of plywood as a pictorial guide to a suggested layout which can be expanded by purchasing the additional Packs.......some very good layouts have been created, look on ytube for examples........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 As far as I am aware. The TrakMat concept is unique to Hornby and nobody else makes them. Hornby produce a standard TrakMat that is orderable as a separate item R8217. The Thomas specific TrakMat is only available from Thomas themed sets or from sellers who have separated the mat from said Thomas sets..Everything you ever wanted to know about Hornby standard TrakMats is covered in my downloadable PDF. It can be downloaded from here:https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/track-extension-pack-guide/?p=1.TIP: As this is your very first post, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new lad on block Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi B Tank, Welcome to the forum.Hornby did a seperate trackmat for the Thomas range, it was R9086.Unforfortunately very hard to find,and does have a different layout to the more common large trackmat and the smaller midi trackmat.Hornby also produced trackmat add on packs marketed as Thomas acessories.These are also very hard to find and can be quite exspensive.A better choice may be the to use the common mats and use either add-on packs or a cheaper option to buy loose component parts.Photo 1,Thomas trackmat.Photo 2 & 3 View of Thomas trackmat with the add-on packs.Photo 4,Large normal trackmat with the add-on packs./media/tinymce_upload/6777e0ba8719a0d3326404fe03fb61a0.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/eda196260632594600d73d7cc43e5588.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/f7ec6ef8aa8c4f2db19676c0b0e93d4e.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/9e2d13be9d96ef1ec1932411d2cd5dc9.JPGPhotos of leaflets taken from literature found in old trainsets so some of the R numbers /contents may be obsolete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Tank Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 Thank you all for the responses.I think the problem I have is that Hornby TrakMat in the Shop is £18.99 for what is effectively a printed sheet of paper. My setup will not be long term it will be packed away after each play so I won't be doing a wood base setup, it will be used more like a mat for the dining table or coffee table.My Thomas set cost £32.50 brand new and the Percy I paid £59.50 new from Rails and because if this in comparison I struggle to justify the £18.99 TrakMat.I had a look on Ebay however and I can find R771 TrakMat for a lot cheaper, I.e. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223541502831I am more comfortable with ordering this one.. any reason why I shouldn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 That TrakMat is obsolete, so the layout design won't be an exact match (but it is close) for the current Extension Packs A to F which are designed for the R8217 TrakMat. The R8217 is also very slightly bigger..R8217 R771/media/tinymce_upload/578d54a60730cb13f383b12890c7912a.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/64cb7775ad20bf1d7cf9727222000ecd.jpg.Cheap R8217sebay 1ebay 2.Personally, I think you would be better off with a small roll of green baize or felt it will lie flatter and be more robust in the longer term. I would expect it to give increased friction to hold the track in place and prevent creepage when trains are running briskly around the layout ovals and provide enhanced protection for a polished table top from scratching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new lad on block Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi B Tank, If you email Adam, and ask him to send your email address to mine and I will send you any different trackmats I have spare.If I have thomas will send if not any different others I have.May be used so would need to carefully iron them, but not the plastic version.If I have the early one, that was made from plastic sheet. Will send as more durable.Very rarely check emails so could you advise you have sent message in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWR-Gordon-4 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 TrakMats also do not come packed inside of Train Sets, that have been produced with in the past 4 or 5 years. I guess the reason for this is to encourage the sale of them, as an separate item and to reduce the cost of Train Sets a bit. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Tank Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Thanks all for the replies. I actually really like the idea of buying felt. I've ordered the cheap mat from Ebay anyway but I'll also look at getting a felt mat that can be easily rolled up and put away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 TrakMats also do not come packed inside of Train Sets, that have been produced with in the past 4 or 5 years. I guess the reason for this is to encourage the sale of them, as an separate item and to reduce the cost of Train Sets a bit. GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)That is not correct, Jacob, 4 of the trainsets on sale today have midi TrakMats included............HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Plus the only TrakMat currently listed in the Hornby shop is the R8217. Any others that might be found online are either old / obsolete stock or separated from sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Hodges Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I rather like the Hornby TrakMat concept. It got me started and I think its a well thought out, compact layout and it's easy to extend if you have the space. Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Tank Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 So tried to line my 2 sets up with the 'obselete' mat I bought from eBay.The Percy set fits perfectly but unfortunately the curves for the inner track on the trackmat are a smaller curve angle and my Thomas curves are the same as the Percy set so unfortunately can't use both together.I thought it would be a little off but looks like I'd need all new curve tracks for it to match this mat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Tank Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 So it looks like I need 8x R607 to give me the inner radius curve, thanks to the PDF doc!Looking on eBay they aren't that expensive so I think I'll go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Hello B Tank I was going to offer you 1 of my spare Paper Trakmat to you - the R771 (Which Chris has shown) but by the looks of it - looks like New lad has beaten me too it!!!My offer still Stands & any one else who is reading this!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Tank Posted September 29, 2019 Author Share Posted September 29, 2019 Hello B Tank I was going to offer you 1 of my spare Paper Trakmat to you - the R771 (Which Chris has shown) but by the looks of it - looks like New lad has beaten me too it!!!My offer still Stands & any one else who is reading this!!!Hi Jimyjames,The thank you for the offer but the R771 TrakMat is cheap enough I just bought one from eBay.What I didn't know is that the curves provided in sets can't be used together to complete the mat. I didn't know about the different radius curves. So I'm currently looking at buying separate pieces. I was researching this yesterday.Currently looks like I need a set of 8xR607 to complete the 2nd radius and probably buy a couple of Y points to join the tracks together as it will be cool to have my 2 trains be able to switch tracks.As I have 2 controllers I'll buy insulating Fishplates to keep them separate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Hiya B Tank You can use 8xR607 if you want to but with most of my Train sets (Highland Rambler, East Coast Express & a few others which I have) seems to use R609 3rd radius curves for the outer ring!!! I'll leave it up to you 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 This might help you :- The Hornby Track Planner... https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-track-planner It shows you all the track you can get!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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