Large Scale Central

Aristo Announces-Cheap Track

Quote:
ARISTO-CRAFT ANNOUNCES "ECONO-FLEX" TRACK!

August 2nd, 2008

Aristo-Craft has developed a new flex track using an economy type brass with less copper content to fight rising copper prices. As you know, Aristo-Craft track has 85% pure copper content. This new track is at the legal limit of copper content to be still called brass.

Our flex ties are innovative and match the colors of the ties you have expected from Aristo-Craft for the last 20 years. We also will continue our Lifetime Guarantee on the ties, so you can use our track with confidence.

The ties are designed to be super flexible yet sturdy. Screws hold the ties firmly in place to the rail. Also, the flex track comes with our innovative and easiest-to-use rail joiners. With interlocking ties that will not slide over our true Code 332 rail, this new flex track is a winner!

For this new arrival, we are offering consumers a special introductory deal for 90 days upon first delivery where they can buy 4 boxes of 12 of the brass style. We will also include a FREE Dual Aristo-Tech Rail Bender with each 4 boxes purchased through any one of our trade partners. As you know, the dual rail benders cost as much as $300 and we’re giving it away free! This rail bender was designed in-house by our own staff and made by us, not imported through a third party. The rail bender will include our standard five-year warranty that you have learned to trust.

Our flex track is in production now and will come in either the Euro or U.S. versions at really affordable prices. As a surprise announcement, we will also have our Aluminum flex track available at even better pricing, as well as a full line of switches and crossings in Aluminum 332 early next year. Our flex track will be shown at the Midwest Large Scale Train Show and at the I-Hobby Show in Chicago both in October.

These items are in full production right now and will be here when you have finished your track planning.

As an aside, you can get these great deals from any one of your favorite Aristo-Craft dealers and not have to join a club to get our best deals.

Aristo-Craft has also upgraded all of their tooling on switches and moved production on these switches, so we can have a tighter control of the Q.C. Please note that we have shown a fabulous slow motion switch machine, also due out in the Fall, and hope to see this water-resistant version become a standard.

These items are available for order now through the entire Aristo-Craft network and the free offers will require the consumer to pay the freight portion as usual.

All the best,
Lewis and Scott Polk

ART12101 ALUMINUM STRAIGHT 12 42.00
ART12105 ALUMINUM RAIL 8’ (12 PCS) 200.00
ART12111 ALUMINUM TRACK 4’ CURVE 42.00
ART12160 ALUMINUM 19.5 DEGREE CRPSSING 30.00
ART12161 ALUMINUM 30 DEGREE CROSSING 30.00
ART12162 ALUMINUM 90 DEGREE CROSSING 30.00
ART12175 ALUMINUM WIDE RADIUS CROSSING LEFT 60.00
ART12176 ALUMINUM WIDE RADIUS CROSSING RIGHT 60.00
ART12181 ALUMINUM TRACK 10’ CURVED 146.00
ART12190 ALUMINUM TRACK 72" ST FLEX (12PC) 234.00

ART11095 72" EURO STRAIGHT FLEX W/CLAMPS 6PCS 255.00
ART11096 72" STRAIGHT FLEX TRACK(12PCS) W 510.00

Quote:
> > > > As an aside, you can get these great deals from any one of your favorite Aristo-Craft dealers and not have to join a club to get our best deals. > > > >
priceless! think of all the Lysol Spray you can buy with this money saved!

I really have to applaud Lewis for trying to do something about track prices and quality control issues. Going back to producing aluminum track would also seem to be a good thing, as there has definitely been a significant movement away from track power.

The statement “. . . not have to join a club . . .” makes me wonder about the state of the relationship between Lewis and the owner of one of the other LS websites. In my observation, they had previously seemed to be joined at the hip!!

Hope this helps get some of the newer LS RRers out laying track.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

Jerry Bowers said:
SNIP. Going back to producing aluminum track would also seem to be a good thing, as there has definitely been a significant movement away from track power.

SNIP!!!

Hope this helps get some of the newer LS RRers out laying track.

Happy RRing,

Jerry


Hush there Jerry!!!

Lest the DCC people read this, have an apoplectic attack and throw their hands up in despair at such a heresy.

does it look like $2.00 per foot to you too?

nice move Lewis!

Yeah Tony I well know what you mean!!

If a person’s hobby is oriented toward electronics, programming and computer control of things, I really think DCC based model railroading is a good avenue.

My hobby is fulfilling the management, engineering and operating job positions of a miniature railway and landscape. That includes being the engineer who runs the various pieces of operating equipment. Using R/C for the interface to the model locomotive lets me live out that fantasy without having to go through some incredible person-shrinking machine!

Still, the real deciding point in favor of R/C on my RR came somewhere around the third time I was crawling around on my hands and knees cleaning track!

Happy RRing,

Jerry

Cale:

I see 6’ sections of aluminum track at $234 / 72 feet=$3.25 / foot

–and–

6’ sections of (assumedly) brass track at $510 / 72 feet=$7.08 / foot.

I don’t see anything even close to $2.00 / foot.

The part about “. . . they can buy 4 boxes of 12 of the brass style” seems ambiguous as I don’t see any price.

What am I missing??

Happy RRing,

Jerry

Cale Nelson said:
does it look like $2.00 per foot to you too?

nice move Lewis!


Am I missing something? I worked the aluminum flex out to $3.25 a foot.
Wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong.
Ralph

The 8’ rail is just a little over $2.00 foot if you buy 12 pieces for $200.00.
Am I correct… 96’ of rail is 48’ of track. This would be over $4.00 a foot if you lay your own rail?
Ralph

A little competition can be a good thing. If it wasn’t for Apple we’d still be using DOS. :wink:

-Brian

As ralph calculated, 8’ sections of aluminum rail are ~$2.08 / foot.

That times two and then add tie strips. I don’t know their price, but the total is probably around $5.00 or $5.50 / foot for the materials to assemble aluminum track. Better to purchase it assembled for $3.25 / foot!

The $60.00 for aluminum wide radius switches sounds very good, but is really dependent on quality.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

ok so I’m dumb but not crazy…

Cale Nelson said:
ok so I'm dumb but not crazy...............
Don't be too hard on yourself. You just got caught up in the propaganda. It is bad news for me.........the 4' diameter aluminum sectional I was paying $52 a case of 4 boxes is now $42 a box. Ralph

Those prices are MSRP. We will have to see what the street price (St.Aubins/RidgeRoad/RLD) is.

-Brian

I just re-read Cale’s posting and realized the aluminum track items read:

“ART12175 ALUMINUM WIDE RADIUS CROSSING LEFT 60.00”

–and–

“ART12176 ALUMINUM WIDE RADIUS CROSSING RIGHT 60.00”

(BOLD emphasis added.)

I previously thought they were listing turnouts, but now see that is wrong. Sorry for the confusion in my post above.

Since I’ve never had any Aristocraft track, what exactly is a “. . . Wide Radius Crossing . . .?”

Lewis does mention aluminum turnouts in the text, but they aren’t on the list. Is there some mistake in the list? Along with the partial sentence I mentioned in the above post, one is left wondering what Lewis really meant to say.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

Not Propaganda…lack of sleep…and a too quick read…

It’s interesting to watch the market at work. Aristo had a good moment–cost went up, but at the same time their competition vanished, so they could raises prices a lot. Then competition appeared, and now they respond.

I’m kind of sorry, actually–I’d started buying stainless track and it was easier to justify because the price of brass and the price of stainless had gotten pretty close.

Mike,

One buys SS track because of the advantages, price is way down the list of considerations. Note: I haven’t bought any yet, but I’m also into DCC power :wink: .

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Mike,

One buys SS track because of the advantages, price is way down the list of considerations. Note: I haven’t bought any yet, but I’m also into DCC power :wink: .


For me…price is always THE point of consideration. That is why I am one of the few running aluminum with track power.
Ralph

Ralph Berg said:
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Mike,

One buys SS track because of the advantages, price is way down the list of considerations. Note: I haven’t bought any yet, but I’m also into DCC power :wink: .


For me…price is always THE point of consideration. That is why I am one of the few running aluminum with track power.
Ralph

Same here, which is why I also build my own turnouts.

See Ralph…we agree on something…:wink: