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@dan
Just ride whatever you've got- you'll work out what does/doesn't work pretty quick. The good thing about track is that you don't need a fancy bike to be competitive, just strong legs. If you go to Wednesday night league you will see guys on t3's with disc wheels being beaten by kids on hire bikes.
Re: gearing, having options is nice but in reality you're not going to want to be constantly swapping cogs around for the different drills and races. I run a 48 and have a flip flop hub with a 14 and a 15 which gives me a decent gear for training /longer race formats and a bigger one for sprints or short races.
I'm not sure about 160mm cranks - the shorter you go the less leverage you get and the harder it will be to get a gear turning. Unless you're riding a road conversion (which you shouldn't be) then Herne hills banking isn't steep enough to pedal strike.
Two things to bear in mind (and you'll be told this by the coaches ad nauseam). First: wear a base layer as it will give you another layer to lose before your skin if you crash. Second: always wear gloves for the same reason - full finger ones are good.