18" Passenger Cars operating with 042 switches

Given that your Legacy NPR Steam engine is scale, for the consist to look "right" I'd say 18" is a minimum. The big question are your 042 switches. I would suggest the "bigger the better" when it comes to switches. 

Right now I have about 15 of the brown lionel 042 switches. I'm pretty sure they can't be changed from one side to the other. I will go look in a min. lol. I will be replacing a few of them with Ross 054 switches. 

 

I have been thinking about MTH premier 18" cars, but have not ruled out the K-lines or lionel. Depends on the cost, but if they are less expensive and I have issues I would rather spend the money to have them work.

 

Thanks

I run 18 inch cars through some 0-42 switches.  Not an issue.

If you are using the Lionel style 042 switch for 027 track that will be a major problem. The housing for the motor solenoid sticks up too much and won't allow much through it.

 

You should consider using Ross Custom Switches 042 size switch, the switch motor is on the side of the Ross switch and don't interfere with any of the trains going through the switch.

Make the switch to Ross Custom Switches and you will have less problems, all you will need to use Ross with 027 track are adapter pins for Gargraves(Ross and Gargraves use the same track pins) to 027 track.

 

Lee Fritz

Well said Lee.

Does anyone carry Ross switches in the Philadelphia South Jersey area or are they all online?

 

Want to look at them and try to decide if I want to go larger than 54.

 

Thanks

Does anyone carry Ross switches in the Philadelphia South Jersey area or are they all online?

 

Try Nicholas Smith in Broomal, PA or Justrains in Newark, DE.

I don't know if Ross makes switches in 027 format. K-Line made 027/042 switches that would work. Just be sure to get the newer style with the low profile motor housings. The earlier models had a great big box for the switch motor that would most likely interfere with the passenger cars. The K-Line switches are brown like Lionel 027/42 switches. The 0 gauge versions are black. 

 

The 42" K-Line switches are often found at good prices on eBay and I have also seen them on the OGR for sale board. 

I've run the Lionel and MTH 18" cars through O36 Fastrack switches.  They make it, just look odd as hell.   I was testing to see if they would work at all on O36.

Guns,

   The problem is he is not running on FasTrack, I believe he is running Lionel 027 Tubular, depending on which passenger cars he purchases he may or may not be able to run thru the switches.  Your point is well taken however, he would be much better off running on FasTrack with CC FT switches, they accommodate everything.

PCRR/Dave 

Well, i doubt they'll do O27 curves!  Also, with tubular track, the issue is hitting the switch machine on most tubular switches.

 

I run MTH 18" Premier passenger cars through my GarGraves 042 switches with no problems. They look better going through the 072 switches but it works.

Yes I use K line low profile switch machine 0-42 switches and Gargraves 0-42 as well.  18 inch passenger cars negotiate those switches just fine .... but they look just a bit strange as go thru the switch.  

Working 072 switches into your layout is only somewhat difficult. They are usually 14.5" inches long and are typically 22.5°. So, this means fitters on the thru and weirdness if you are using curves made in 30° sections. Then you need 7.5° and 15° partial curves.

 

retrofitting will be even more of a pain, but it can happen.

 

If I recall your layout, it's large enough to retrofit 072 switches.

The issue is with most 'Lionel switches' in 027 profile. 

NOT all tubular switches are the same in construction!

 

Gargraves and Ross switches have the switch machine on the side of the switch and not on the top-side like Lionel. So if you hit the switch machine you have a problem with something hanging down from one of your cars or engines.

 

K-Line switches have the switch machine mounted a little ways back from the track unlike the Lionel switches.

 

Lee Fritz

You're correct, but it's somewhat of a moot point Lee, I seriously doubt you really want 18" passenger cars on an O27 layout.

 

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He's using wide radius curves like 042 and 054 in 027 style track.

 

 

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Right, but they're the Lionel ones with the big blob switch machine.  I'd want to see if the 18" car hits the switch machine going around the curve before committing to that size car.

 

In my experience, some long cars will clear the motor housing but not the piece that holds the red/green flag that moves from side to side.  This piece is easily removed and does not interfere with the operation of the switch.  If the point of conflict with a long car is the corner of the switch motor housing itself, you can carefully remove the corner with a small razor saw.  Again, there is no interference with operation.  Either or both of these inelegant steps may solve the problem, and eliminate the need for the purchase of expensive replacement switches.  For the record, I had too many of these to discard them all, but they are troublesome in that lots of cars will short out when rollers or the backs of wheels contact the very wide center rail and one of the outside rails at the same time.  An economical fix for that issue is to put a small strip of electrical tape on the vertical surface of the wide center rail.

X2000

Hi guys,

This is an issue I have been playing with. I have a set of Williams scale coaches (Mayflower set, big 18" heavyweights) and I use mostly wide-radius O27 for my track. Outside of switches I have absolutely no trouble running them.

I usually run them on 54" track, they do great on that. They will run pretty happily on 42" track but they look pretty strange doing it. I have run on 36" with them; they will tolerate it but only at low speeds and not through s-curves.

I recently bought a couple of Lionel O27 42" switches for a pittance. I tested them last weekend with the coaches, which are my biggest pieces of rolling stock. My coaches take the curve okay but they do scrape against the highest part of the housing. I removed this part of the housing (one screw on the top and it comes right off) and then they went through fine.

Gargraves switches will work with most Williams trains, however I have problems with MTH engines and Gargraves switches.

The Ross Custom switches are similar to Gargraves in height and use the same track pins.

 

Lionel made wider raius curves in 027 track profile in 42 inch curves and I think an 18 inch passenger will go through those pretty well.

 

I had a set of Atlas 21 inch Amtrak passenger cars and they would handle 042 curves in O gauge tubular track. The only problem was I had to use an SD-45 or larger engine(3 axle truck on the engine) due to coupler swing on the curves or I would derail the Amtrak passenger cars. 

 

Lee Fritz

Here's a photo of an 18" K-Line streamliner on a 42" K-Line remote control switch (newer style, low profile). No clearance issues at all.