Originally Posted by Reading Steam Guru:
Re: Tubular Lionel O-72 switches,
I'd like to hear opinions from those of you who have been down this pike for a while.
I need to add a lot of O-72 switches to a large ( 12 x 32 ) Holiday display layout at a RR Museum.
What are your experiences with the various "eras" of the O-72 switch ?
-Pre-War 711's , which did evolve from the original production, with Constant Voltage plugs, etc.
-Post-War.
-Modern Era 5100 series.
-Current-Day 60000 series.
Opinions of which ones give the best results, aka trains NOT derailing on the points, etc.
Tricks you have used to get the best performance from them.
( I bought a brand-new one a year ago, and did use it for the 2 month duration of the exhibit,
but it was a challenge to get the points bent just right so that the trains would not de-rail going thru the switch.)
Thanks in advance.
Steve
I have 28 modern era O-72 switches of different vintage on my layout. I have never had a problem running diesels or rolling stock through any of them. The only issue is steam and not every steam has a problem, although most will bump through the center frog.
The bumping and rocking of steam engines is caused by fully retracted pick up rollers hitting the rivets that should be recessed (some are not) holding the shiny center to the track base. Sand them down to smooth out the surface. Makes a big improvement.
The real problem, the shiny center area on some switches were installed too high on the track. This causes the pick up rollers on some steamers as they pass over that shiny center area of the switch to retract to the limit (not able to retract enough) which then causes the engine itself to rise or lift. Depending on the engine this action will lift pilot wheels or trailing trucks and sometimes derail the engine.
Joe
