Lionel OO Question? Need help!

Very interesting 0051 I know was the curve track from back in the day and the straight track was 0052 the 0052 tracks had a hole in them with a screw. Was only familiar with them because of my Grandfathers old layout that he had stored in his basement and we would put it on wooden horses and set the layout up to run trains on and I remember that I attempted to get it up and running and add some track to it and the extra track I got did not connect and it did not have a hole in it with a screw and I am pretty certain that the extra track I got was 0062. I see your pictures here and it is very interesting especially with the numbers stamped on the bottom revealing 0062. I am really not 100% on the information as my Grandfather was born in 1930 and passed in 1994 , and I am 42 so I am guessing if I was running trains on this layout I was about when I was 10 years of age so I am guessing these tracks were made before my time

Do not know if this helped at all

Joe

Apparently, they changed in 1939.  Part no stayed same but catalog number differed.   try this link about halfway down the page.

Brendan

The track with the metal spring clip for the center rail was made in 1938 only.  It is not compatable with the track made from 1939 till the end of production in 42.  Frustrating today and I am sure back then as well.  Think about it, you got a set in 1938 for Christmas.  For your birthday or other occasion, you get more track the following year and find they cannot be connected together!!  No track switches were made for the early track as well to my knowledge.  The early track also lacked the screw mounting holes that were added to the 1939-42 track.   I have a loop of this early track for my first year 0080W set.  Even finding more straight sections to build a larger loop with this early track is difficult to do.    AD

A nice article on Lionel and Scale Craft OO track on this excellent OO blog.   http://americanoo.blogspot.com...sectional-track.html

Thank you all!  Very confusing stuff!  That link was super helpful.  Thank you!

Yes, just consider the buyer of that 1938 Lionel OO set that for the next holiday or birthday got more track to expand his empire, only find the track does not mate to each other!  Talk about shooting one's self in the foot!  Definatlly some miss communication at Lionel in those days.  Despite that, the Lionel OO line was a real jewel.  I am struggling to find enough track to build what I want layout wise.  I really want to do a 3x8 layout with a double track loop with 2 crossovers and 2 sidings for industries.  One needs to float a small loan to afford the track to do this it seems anymore.   The track costs exceed the train itself.   AD

A pipe dream if you think Lionel will ever reissue OO, even just track.  It would be a glorious day, but not in this lifetime.  It was reported that when Dick Kughn owned the company in the 1990s, he wanted to follow up the reissue 700e with OO, and the marketing dept and board of directors shot the idea down due to the market being to small to make a profit.   Who knows if Lionel even has the tooling for any of the OO line, they might, they might not. Some of it survived the war years, that much is known, but not to what extant.  Gargraves makes a track that is "usable", its a bit to tall as they use their S gauge rails, but without atleast one pair of matching switches its a dead end line in my opinion.   If someone wants to build an American OO layout today, going the 2 rail route with On3 flex track and switches is the route to take(and hand lay the middle rail if running 3 rail stuff).  Lots of time and tons of money are required to source enough original 3 rail track.  AD

Have you checked Ebay recently?  There's lots of three-rail OO Hornby track and switches available.

Hornby OO is the same track width as HO as far as I know, even the 3 rail stuff.  That goes for all the UK style OO.   Lionel OO uses track that is wider in gauge than HO, and is the Correct gauge for OO.  The UK stuff is running on track that is to narrow by several scale inches.  If only it was that simple, to just buy OO track form the UK, but it is not.  American OO is its own beast and one not seen much since prior to WWII, only a few companies kept going after the war and by the 60's even they had faded away or dropped the OO product.   Only way we see a fresh batch of track is someone to make it, especially switches for 3 rail, if only to mate with the Hi rail style Gargraves track.  But that is likely to never happen, so those that want to enjoy these little jewels, have to haunt train shows and ebay and empty their wallet to afford to build a small layout. 

Here is a piece of Walthers code 83 HO track laying on top of my Lionel OO 3 rail track to show the gauge difference between the two.  This is what confuses so many that only are aware of the UK OO trains that run on HO track. 

Hornby OO track was always 16.5mm gauge, which is underscale for 4mm/ft Scale, but it’s how you make British outline models work using mass-production wheels and train-set curves (the Hornby #1 radius is 15”, so about the same space required as O31).

There are various specialist gauges, primarily EM (Eighteen Millimetres) for a more Scale appearance and these are approximately comparable to O72 in terms of space required. There has been limited trade support for EM but mostly it’s scratchbuilder territory.

None of this is compatible with American OO, in any combination.

Remember that OO gauge is the same width as On3 track.  GarGraves sells On3 including preformed curves.  I recently bought a circle so I could test run my sets.

@Rockershovel posted:

Hornby OO track was always 16.5mm gauge, which is underscale for 4mm/ft Scale, but it’s how you make British outline models work using mass-production wheels and train-set curves (the Hornby #1 radius is 15”, so about the same space required as O31).

There are various specialist gauges, primarily EM (Eighteen Millimetres) for a more Scale appearance and these are approximately comparable to O72 in terms of space required. There has been limited trade support for EM but mostly it’s scratchbuilder territory.

None of this is compatible with American OO, in any combination.

Thanks for the definition of EM.  I read British train mags, and that was a bit of terminology that always confused me. 

The whole British scene can be confusing - OO 1:76 trains running on HO track, even though it's narrow, some people actually modeling in HO, British N being 1:148 instead of 1:160, and O can be 1:43, 1:45, or 1:48 depending on who you ask.  Can make the head spin.

I just wish Gargraves or someone would make track switches that work with the 3 rail track!  If there were switches to go with the track, it would sell better in my opinion, despite being very much Hi rail.  Now if you go the 2 rail route, then you can use On3 flex track and switches that are commonly available.  I will probably go this route for the new layout due to not being to find or afford enough of the original Lionel 3 rail track(but I keep looking!!).   AD

I'm looking for a pair of Lionel OO 3-Rail switches.  If anyone has a pair they're willing to part with, please give me a shout!

In my collection of different scale/guages I have acquired a 1937 ScaleCraft American OO steamer. I was able to buy the OO track pretty easily at my LHS.