Four Things I Won't Miss as I Migrate to 2 Rail

Another 3 railer...

Andre

Austin - What's involved in converting a 2-rail lighted passenger car to operate on 3-rail track and AC? Can I just run a 2-rail lighted passenger car on 3-rail track or will it screw up the operation of something like a 3-rail TMCC locomotive? I realize that I could cut the wires and just run it without any lights, but I'd rather have lights.

Austin, I echo your comments. I switched about 3-4 yrs ago and have not regreted it. Yes it will take some time to completely convert but once you have it will be worth it and plus you will have a more realistic looking RR.

I also am in the process of converting, only I am going to keep the smoke I can always turn it off or control the volume. 

tombrull.  Simplest way is to replace 2 rail trucks with 3 rail trucks with pickup rollers and then wire the lighting between center and outside rail(s).  You may have to also  replace bulbs depending on their voltage rating.  Or buy a new LED lighting strip for each car to have low current draw and realistic looking lights.  Austin Bill

Iaming,  not sure if you're congratulating me or busting my chops.  Either way, cool music and, Yep, I've pretty much bit the 3 rail dust.  Long time coming.  Long time gone.  Austin Bill

I was congratulatin' 'ya!

Seems to me that once a 3 rail guy starts wanting more realistic trains and a more realistic overall "look", it's almost inevitable.  Said 3 rail enthusiast:

1. Begins by simply enjoying his trains.

2. Begins to want more realism from them.

3. Typically explores "3RS".

4. Goes 2 rail.

Andre

I also am a convert.  Couldn't do the middle rail any longer, it just looks too toy like.  I am handlaying everything and lovin' it.

I wanted to convert….

The latest dilemma with China suppliers has driven the cost of this hobby’s prices to unjustifiable levels.

The current state of the hobby has now become uneconomical to peruse.

Most people starting a new MRR venture will never see it to its completion either by price or lack of products.

I took to 2-rail plunge 20 years ago, I have never looked back with regret.

Bruce

Iaming, exactly my progression.  All four steps! 

Step 3. 3RS turned out to be the most frustrating.  Neither fish nor fowl.  No disrespect to the 3RS guys who do awesome work and make great contributions to the forum.    Just wasn't for me. 

az2rail and CWEX it finally came to the point where I was ether going to go thru the pain to switch to 2 rail or leave the hobby.  Three rail spit me out like a peach seed.

Onward!

Austin Bill

I left Lionel, 3rail and for that matter O Gauge behind in 1962 and switched to HO because it was too toy like.  I left HO behind in 1995 because it was just too dang small for my old eyes and fumbling fingers.  Started back with O scale in 2001 when I found out about O Scale predecorated modern stuff from Overland and Key and PRB and was blown away in 2004 by Lionel's new tooling.  Converting their 70T trucks to 2-rail is a beyatch but just changing over to Atlas 2-rail trucks makes for some outstanding modern rolling stock.

I'm in the process of selling the vast majority of my 3 rail steam and diesel engines. Going for quality over quantity.

Am replacing them with far fewer 2 rail steam and diesel engines.  Already have three two rail steam engines and the new Sunset E7 AB diesels for a starter.  This way I can't chicken out!!  Well that and I have a new NCE DCC system with two wireless cabs and two 10 amp boosters.  Way too late to chicken out!!

Will mainly 2 rail Atlas O freight cars and sell most of the rest.  Will 2 rail a select set of Golden Gate Depot heavyweight and K-Line 21 inch aluminum lightweight passenger cars.  Will 2 rail some MTH cabeese and have acquired one SS brass caboose.

Same with the layout.  In the same space my 3 rail layout had over 20 turnouts.  2 Rail will have about a dozen.  Atlas O track.  Min radius will be 60 inches instead of 45 in.   Min turnout will be Atlas O #7.5's instead of #5's.

Lotsa work ahead.  But, it's the journey, not the finish line that's fun for me.  I haven't been this pumped about model railroading in over 10 years.

Actually, during the 1970's while stationed in New Jersey I visited the New York Society of Model Engineeers layout in northern NJ and ALSO I went to the old Model Railroad Equipment Corporation (I think this was the name of the place, anyway) in NYC up around 45th street.  One level below the street.  Brass, brass brass.  Because of these two experiences I was probably a goner back then and just didn't know it.  Better late than never. 

p.s. To be fair about it for the 3 railers, during the 1970's I also visited Madison Hardware down on Houston Street (I think) in NYC. Somewhere down there in teens (cross street numbers). That was pretty awesome, too.   But. not the same.

Austin Bill

Welcome Bill.  I left 3R back in 2005.  I've learn to love less is more.  

Wise man - welcome to the world of 2 rail.

A wise man told me once that is is better to have a few good items than a bunch of junk. I hate to use the word junk, but I think you get the meaning. I should have listened to him.

Before you sell off to much, take a good look at your rolling stock. It is a fairly simple proccess to convert rolling stock to 2-rail. So if you have a favorite, just convert it.

Thanks  guys.   

az2rail, excellent advise.  Since this has been coming on for longer than I probably realized, the ovewhelming majority of my freight equipment is Atlas O with a nod here and there to MTH and Weaver and very few Lionel pieces, mostly those CA-X cabeese.

And my passenger fleet is exclusively Golden Gate, Weaver and those 21 inch K-Line aluminum cars from a while back.

Zero MTH or Lionel "shorty" passenger equipment.  Well, I should say that I do have 4 of the aluminum K-Line by Lionel 21 inch lightweight Milwaukee passenger cars.  Kudos to Lionel for putting these out before giving up.

I tried very hard to stay 3 rail. I pursued stud rail really hard as an option and have always loved outside 3rd rail. I still do but for historical reasons. I don't have much in the way of equipment or engines so any transition is fairly easy for me compared to many others. I love track work but the one thing I have always hated is wiring. I find no pleasure in it. 3 rail was easier for me to wire. Now I have decided to pursue radio control which means track wiring will soon be a thing of the past. If there is no track wiring there is also no justifiable reason to have a 3rd rail. I've decided to go straight from 3 rail, past DCC and DCS, straight to radio control. Going from the past, through the present and straight to the future. We just moved into our new house 2 weeks ago so I've got a blank slate to work with.

Hi Fred,

As you may know I followed that lengthy and fascinating topic you started a while back on stud rail and dealing with the center rail  It was great.  Informative, etc. etc because I was going thru the angst of dealing with the center rail.  Considered replacing my Atlas O trackage in key places with stud rail or MTH Scaletrax to mininimize the center rail and lower the track height to a more "reasonable looking" height.

Looking back on it all now I realize that I should have gone 2 rail a couple of years ago.  Monemtum based on all the equipment and trackage I had/have and belonging to a 3 rail modular club held me back.  But, it was no use.  So, I switched.

As for radio control, I've chosen for now to use NCE DCC and the latest, best decoders from whoever thinking I will be less isolated in being able to run on other layouts and have guys run on mine.  But, the truth of the matter is there are so few 2 rail O scale guys with operating layouts and DCC equipped engines in Central Texas that being DCC is probably not an advantage for this reason. 

I looked at Airwire briefly.  There was a vendor at O Scale West a couple of years ago who had and Airwire system with enough battery power for more than an hour of operation in a medium sized O Scale engine with batteries in the square tender.  And batteries are only getting better.

So, I complement you on going radio control and will be looking for you posts on your progress.  

And as for outside 3 rd rail, brings memories of John Armstrong's and others early layouts. I think the New York Society of Model Engineers layout in northern New Jersey may have been outside 3rd rail when I first saw it in the 1970's.  Pitogo will know.

Austin Bill 

They did a long time ago. I have a small outside 3rd rail switching layout. It is currently my only layout. I have a small outside 3rd rail yahoo group. There are only 4 or 5 of us on there. It is called outside 3rd rail modeling.

I did just the opposite about three years ago and switched to 3 rail. I was in O scale for about 15 years...got tired of the small variety available and tired of converting/scratch building.

I have some two rail trucks and other misc. item left if anyone is interested.

P.S. I would be interested in any 3 rail trucks you might be wanting to dispose of.

Rockyroad

Model railroading and in particular, O Scale/Guage is a big tent.  Room for everybody.

And boy can we do business as I start converting passenger and freight rolling stock.  Email me and let's discuss. 

Austin Bill

Hey pitogo, I did see this video recently somewhere else.  Thanks.  And I still have a very real technicolor but kinda fuzzy memory of the two times I visited your club. 

You're a really lucky guy to be a part of one of the most fabled model railroad clubs of all time and all scales. 

The third rail between the tracks has made me crazy for years.   So, moving it outside would certainly finish me off!   Thanks a bunch!!

Austin Bill

What a great video Michael!

THANKS FOR SHARING THAT!

Rocky,  I have a briefcase filled with 40lbs+ of 3 rail parts, mostly wheelsets and trucks.  Interested?

Good Morning Pitogo,

Yes I would be interested. Let me know a little more about what you have.

pitogo

     I also would be interested in what 3rail trucks you don't want. email in profile.

Ray Marion

Pitogo, I might be interested. There are about 4 Atlas cars or so that needs 3R trucks and wheels.

Wow, never knew pizza cutters had such a big market on the 2 rail forum.  Wheelsets and trucks, I have a mix of Atlas, MTH, Lionel and GGD.  Bags and bags full of new pickup rollers and bin full of electronic lobster claws.  

I can post info photos in the FS/Trade side.  I will likely be going to my first ever trip to York for the TCA meet in April, I can bring em up there as well.

Me neither.  I've got a couple of boxes full including about 75 rotating coupler ones from the Lionel bathtub gons.   I keep telling myself to go to Cal Stewart just to offload these but then...

Hi Guys, Brand new here and new to O scale,but living here in Scotland it was a great shock to me to be honest that America was still dominated by 3 rail operation in O. I rememebr the old OO (4mm to the foot British scale) Hornby dublo trains with their tinplate 3 rail track. I certainly wouldn't contemplate 3 rail at all. I have been collecting American O scale mostly B&O brass now for the last few weeks and will be using Peco nickel silver track when I start the layout ,which at this point in time will be outdoors in the garden methinks. Discovering that the US was still using 3 rail was a shock,but then I wasn't familiar with the tradition of Lionel 3 rail and semi scale stuff which seems to have been the norm in America for long and weary in O. Anyway ,look forward to my O scale 2 rail B&O layout.    DAVY

Hi Davy, welcome to the OGR Forum.  Lots of good info and good fun.

Over here in the Colonies those in HO are by far the biggest group.  And as you say the majority of O Guagers are 3 rail.  But, the 2 rail bunch is a hearty group and is growing due to the increased availability of products in O scale 2 rail.  In the final analysis, model railroading all over the globe occupies a big tent with room for all.

Regards

Austin Bill 

Just rotating lobsters.  I'm working on making the rotating caps version useful.