Hey Everyone:
Just a generic question; If I purchased a 2-Rail piece of rolling stock, would it run on 3 rail track ? If not what do I have to do to convert it to make it run ?
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Typically, the flanges on 2-rail cars are too small to operate reliably on tubular rail. If you're using flat-topped rail like GarGraves or Atlas-O, you may be able to get away with running a 2-rail car on those, although they will jiggle quite a bit being pulled through 3-rail switches, as the frog on those is designed for the wheelsets to ride across the gap on their flanges. Most of the time they'll climb back atop the correct rail leaving the frog. If you push a 2-rail car through either type of switch, your odds of success drop considerably.
(source: experience of others on this forum, as well as my experiments moving European O-scale equipment around on my "layout", which is 99% tubular track/072 curves, with some converted Atlas 2-rail switches connecting it to tubular storage tracks.)
The other issue will come with the couplers. If the car is equipped with Kadee couplers, it may link to a 3-rail coupler:
Other brands of scale couplers may not do so well. AtlasO's version that I found on one of my AHM O-scale cars, didn't want to hitch to a "lobster claw". The last issue is one of the body-mounted couplers limiting your minimum curve radius. I don't know how your layout is configured, but count on the 2-rail car needing roughly twice the curve radius of a similar car equipped with truck-mounted couplers.
---PCJ
@marshelangelo posted:Hey Everyone:
Just a generic question; If I purchased a 2-Rail piece of rolling stock, would it run on 3 rail track ? If not what do I have to do to convert it to make it run ?
Typically you have to replace the trucks. Some two rail like Weaver has larger flanges and will run on most three rail track. Few two rail will run on tubular track.. Depending some of the underbody detail may need to be trimmed if the larger flanges hit it.
Pete
@RailRide posted:...snip...
---PCJ
I like the Lima car, DB or SBB?
Hey Guys, thanks, y'all saved me some $$
A. I know of two 3 railers who easily converted Lima psgr cars to 3R operation by substituting Lionel PW wheelsets -- the kind where the wheel rotates on the axle -- into the Lima truck frames.
B. The Lima car is an SNCF Vru "Restaurant rouge"; Lima used that style of car end only on it and its cousin the Gril-Express.
SZ
@PRRMP54 posted:I like the Lima car, DB or SBB?
SNCF, as Steinzeit stated. Full pix here. Also some more UK coaches I acquired.
@Steinzeit posted:A. I know of two 3 railers who easily converted Lima psgr cars to 3R operation by substituting Lionel PW wheelsets -- the kind where the wheel rotates on the axle -- into the Lima truck frames.
Would one of those operators be BrunoMTHtrain?
Although he does state in the description that he keeps this train on the AtlasO trackage, so maybe these cars are running with their stock wheelsets.
---PCJ
I. No, both of them were here in the US, were long time [ 71-xxxx ] TCA members, and are now, most regrettably, deceased. They both also augmented their European locomotive fleets by putting Lima bodies atop 3R mechanisms, mostly Lionel.
II. Bruno did state that his Lima cars retain their original wheelsets, and only operate on the upper loop because of turnouts. He does have a good collection of those reefers, including the relatively obscure Fiat one and the 1991-ish cars. But he is missing the same one I am, the Nordsee Fish reefer -- now I'm wondering if it was ever produced !?
The two Felsenau cars are not original Lima; a Swiss modeller created them and many others, from memory all breweries, from Lima cars with adhesive or glued on graphics over a brush paint job. Some of them aren't too bad, while others, shall we say, "could be better"......
Best regards, SZ
I have run 2 rail cars on Atlas 3 rail track.
