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I have a 5 rail track that I made up that utilizes standard gauge and o gage track that I will be running through the hellgate bridge.  Just wondering if anybody has had any issues running their tubular track through the **** gate bridge when trying to run trains with with command.

I know there are insulated sections inside the bridge for the standard gauge but not sure what would happen if the ties are touching  the metal portion of the bridge.

Has anyone had any issues with this and if so how did you rectify the issue?

Joe Gozzo

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@Trainlover160, if your talking about the Lionel reissue from about 2000/2001, I can tell you that mine has consistently given me operating problems with TMCC locomotives. According to the documentation, it's supposed to be insulated  against such problems, but neither my standard gauge Commodore Vanderbilt nor my Hiawatha Hudson will run through it without stalling while operating on TMCC.

DCS does not cause the same problems. My MTH DCS equipped locomotives run through it just fine, as do the Lionel engines if I run them on DCS. Why this is beats me. That said, as I only use the bridge for a Christmastime floor layout, I have made no attempt to create a ground plane to address the TMCC signal issues.

At one time I also was troubled by electrical shorts, so I eliminated track screws altogether and replaced them with plastic cable ties to secure the track ties to the structure. End of problem.

For what it's worth, neither the original Lionel bridge nor the MTH repro appear to have these problems.

Good luck!

- Mike

@Trainlover160, if your talking about the Lionel reissue from about 2000/2001, I can tell you that mine has consistently given me operating problems with TMCC locomotives. According to the documentation, it's supposed to be insulated  against such problems, but neither my standard gauge Commodore Vanderbilt nor my Hiawatha Hudson will run through it without stalling while operating on TMCC.

DCS does not cause the same problems. My MTH DCS equipped locomotives run through it just fine, as do the Lionel engines if I run them on DCS. Why this is beats me. That said, as I only use the bridge for a Christmastime floor layout, I have made no attempt to create a ground plane to address the TMCC signal issues.

At one time I also was troubled by electrical shorts, so I eliminated track screws altogether and replaced them with plastic cable ties to secure the track ties to the structure. End of problem.

For what it's worth, neither the original Lionel bridge nor the MTH repro appear to have these problems.

Good luck!

- Mike

Mike,

I do have the reissue with the lighted towers. I hD considered getting the thinnest sheet of Masonite, cutting little strips, painting black. And inserting into bridge under the track. May be overkill. Since this is going into a permanent layout, I want to be able to run Conv. TMCC,LEGACY, and DCS.

Joe

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