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@AlanRail posted:

mixed.  I think as a hobby a lot of us have gone beyond 042 style switches.

Ross and DZ have taken us to a much better place when it comes to scale turnouts.

This switch-style seems needlessly regressive to me and to those who seek better scaled turnouts.

For others, these switches are just fine!

Um, except that, based on the endless posts here from forum members in previous Menards track threads, lots of people were asking for these switches. Plenty of people still favor such track.

Ross stuff is great, of course, but at a substantially higher price point, and not everyone likes to tinker with DZ installs.

Long Overdue!!

Although I have about 100 Lionel 072 and 022 switches, this is great for the Tubular guys!!!

As for Feedback for Menards, Not only try to make the switches in different radiuses, (096 would be great) try to make it so you can reverse the switch motor from opposite sides like on the Lionel ones to get different track alignments etc.

I might order a set just to compare.

Last edited by ZWPOWER13

The little locomotive shaped remote control is a little childish. I really wish the remote control had a red and green light on it to indicate track alignment that would be great. Sometimes the switches are further away and us old folks can't tell which way it's aligned plus we love lights on everything! However you do get an A+ for effort!

Good pricing on both the switches and the bumpers.

What I like about the switches: the rotating red and green lantern that can also be used to operate the switch; what appears to be a metal frog (is that right?); no need for fiber pins.

I don't care for the remote - too "cute" and not control panel friendly.  Is there only one button and when it is pushed, the switch changes positions?  I think having a control with separate red and green buttons would help ensure that operators are throwing the switch in the direction they want.  Also, if people want to integrate these switches into an existing layout and control panel, it would help to see how they can be wired to do that.

It appears the switches operate off of track power.  Are they designed only for layouts that have constant power to the track? If they are meant to be used on layouts with transformer contolled power (conventional), what is the minimum voltage that will operate the switches?  Could conventional operators provide a separate source of power to the switches?  It appears the wires are colored green, red, black and white. If the red and green are the directional control wires, can power be fed to the switch motor and lantern through the black and white wires?

I think these are a welcome addition for people who like the traditional O gauge tubular track.  The "proof of the pudding" will be in how well they work with a variety of rolling stock.

Last edited by PGentieu

Love this. Just need to have the switch machine removeable. This will allow it to be moved to the left or right. To allow for putting switches in various configurations. Plus try to make the switch controller smaller and with lights. Think old school lionel here menards.

Love the way it connects up though. Great to see this added to the line. More wider radious switches above 072 are desperately needed in tubular track. No one makes #6 or #5 switches. Most people have large locos like the big boy and steamers that require large turnouts.

For a first attempt these are great though and I applaud menards for adding these to thier track line. Btw are the lights led?

@Micro posted:

Thank you so much for your response!  I appreciate it.



As others have commented, for future switches it would be great to be able to move the motor to either side of the track.  It would also be fantastic if it could be independently powered.  But thank you for coming out with these at all!

Respectfully, you gotta remember who they are marketing these to. Keep it simple so first time users can get a layout set up quickly. W/r/t O-31 switches - will Menards current diesel offering run through an O-31 switch w/o issues? Independently powered - I’m sure once these switches get into the hands of our “top men” ( or women) , they’ll figure out how to power them independently.

Steve



PS: after reading a couple of posts, it would make more sense for O-36 switches vs O-31 as Menards offers O-36 curves.

Last edited by RideTheRails

As of this morning 158 people have ordered some.  Wish these were available 6 months ago.   Once someone gets one and looks it over, could we get the answers to some of the following?

Will it "drop in"  to replace the Lionel 072.

Is the motor reveseable.

How is the wiring to the switches.    Any Idea if the Lionel type switch (ground activated) could work with it.  Also constant voltage hookup possibilities. 

How do various engines run through it from a  0-4-0 to a modern bigboy or similar. 

Hoping switches are successful for Menards marketing and the users.

perhaps eric segall could do a review of them. he would be able to also write it up for the magazine. he definitely has the engines to give them the torture test lest just say. 

I hope they work well as far as the main design is concerned. glad to see the metal frog also.

the advice given in this thread is all that is needed to get these switches to be even better.

once they prefect these then they can concentrate on making other radius. yes 036 would be nice but, larger radius would fill a need for the tube track users that currently is not being met.

there are lots of older in great condition lionel 031 on the second hand market. however there is no 042 or 054 or Lets say a #4,#5,#6.

with most operators chosing to buy scale engines these days and most are big steam that need at least 054 or greater. menards has a real chance at a market share for there track system if they do this right.

I know atlas and ross are king, but they are pricey when trying to build a large layout. so is fastrack.

I have seen layouts that have used tubular track and made it look good. so for me if they could keep the cost of the various switches around $50 each and the quality consistency there. they could once again perhaps revive the tubular track market for a vast majority of new people entering the hobby or older hobbyists who just like the old school look.

just my 2 cents here.

there are lots of older in great condition lionel 031 on the second hand market. however there is no 042 or 054 or Lets say a #4,#5,#6.

with most operators chosing to buy scale engines these days and most are big steam that need at least 054 or greater. menards has a real chance at a market share for there track system if they do this right.

I know of very very few modelers outside of this forum who buy scale engines.  I know you said earlier in this thread that "most have a big boy" and this is, imo, flat out wrong.  I don't know any operators IRL who have a Big Boy or similar articulated steam engine.

That being said, there is a need for large curves.  Just not for the vast majority of us.  More for the permanent club displays.

Last edited by Micro

I believe it was Henry J Kaiser who offered this marketing advice: "Find a need and fill it." That's what Menards has done with their new tubular track switches at an attractive price. Surely more switches with other curvatures will follow.

I installed Lionel O-gauge tubular track (not FasTrack or other brands) on my 15x19-feet L-shaped layout because I wanted to emulate the track style of my boyhood layout of the 1950s.  Nostalgia triggered that decision, and I have never regretted it. Kudos to Menards for producing tubular track for me -- and many others like me.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

lets not forget what menards is saying here. these are limited quantities so they can test the waters and get feedback.

I hope they are following this thread and taking what is being addressed here and applying it to the next test run.

k-line 072 supersnap switches were supposed to be the best for there time. lionel 072 switches the earlier ones were also good. later ones I guess had issues? not sure on this.

I did an ebay and trainz search for both the lionel and k-line and they are scarce right now. so menards maybe onto a winner here if done right and at the right price as I have stated.

When the first users receive their order, maybe one or two will be brave enough to take the switch apart, giving a report on things like if it is screwed together or riveted,  and see what is needed to separate the solenoid power from the track voltage to wire it as a separate circuit.  The online instructions are very vague, but the control line is 4 wire instead of the usual 3,  so that 4th wire may be adaptable to double duty for external switch power with a little re-engineering.  And as noted, it appears there is no way to swap the switch machine position.  But, anybody making tubular track today is 100% in my book, so thanks Menards for another great item.  Now, if Chevy would make a modern version of a 1953 Corvette like Menards makes tubular track, it would be a perfect world.

Last edited by CALNNC

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
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