Good Evening Menards,
Do you have any plans to build "O" Gauge Tubular switches this year or 2023? I sure hope so.
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If they were to somehow acquire the tooling for the K Line Super Snap switches, that would be a huge win for those of us who run both modern and prewar trains.
Im not sure that the menards price will be lower than lionel tubular switches on the secondary market.
What price would you be willing to pay for brand new tubular switches?
I have plenty of postwar 031 radius switches but I'm always looking for 072 switches. I found 8 mpc-LTI 072 switches last York for 85.00. 7 with boxes, missing a few controllers and a few lanterns, but definitely usable.
I’d love to find a tubular switch that doesn’t cause everything to bounce and slam around. I run mostly MPC and LTI era trains, with a couple MTH and Williams mixed in, and they all run roughly through 022 and 042 type switches.
@mlavender480 posted:I’d love to find a tubular switch that doesn’t cause everything to bounce and slam around. I run mostly MPC and LTI era trains, with a couple MTH and Williams mixed in, and they all run roughly through 022 and 042 type switches.
Have you tried the K-Line Super Snap switches? If not, I recommend giving them (or one of the reincarnations of them by RMT or O-Line Reproductions) a try. I have found that all my trains (except for Marx with the large gears on the drivers) roll right through them--even prewar trains with the deeper-flanged wheels. The switches can have some electrical quirks, but they can be fixed fairly easily. The big challenge is finding them as they haven't been produced for some time, which is why I'd love to see someone acquire the tooling and start producing them.
I agree, wholeheartedly. These are wonderful switches with a much smaller footprint that the venerable Lionel 022. I have learned that they operate best if solidly attached to a layout, as level in both directions as possible. This is likely due to the electrical busswork under the rails in the ties. You can add some wire jumpers underneath in order to bolster the electrical reliability.
"You can add some wire jumpers underneath in order to bolster the electrical reliability."
This really helps eliminate dead spots if they develop. In my opinion, the electrical connection to the rails is the weak link, but if you're careful with a soldering iron, jumpers can be installed without melting the plastic ties.
I modified my O-72 SS switches used in crossovers by shortening the diverging rails. With a little cutting and re-soldering of wires, I was able to tighten the gap between mainlines to roughly 4.25" which is almost as good as what you can get using #4 switches.
@BlueComet400 posted:If they were to somehow acquire the tooling for the K Line Super Snap switches...
Kader has the tooling, and as some of the Menards rolling stock was cloned from Kader products, maybe their supplier could clone the SuperSnap line as well...
@BlueComet400 posted:"You can add some wire jumpers underneath in order to bolster the electrical reliability."
This really helps eliminate dead spots if they develop. In my opinion, the electrical connection to the rails is the weak link, but if you're careful with a soldering iron, jumpers can be installed without melting the plastic ties.
I modified my O-72 SS switches used in crossovers by shortening the diverging rails. With a little cutting and re-soldering of wires, I was able to tighten the gap between mainlines to roughly 4.25" which is almost as good as what you can get using #4 switches.
In order to avoid the melting of ties, I've found that small fast-on male tab connectors can be stabbed into the underside of the rails. The narrower series tabs can be used or you can trim & file larger terminals. You can solder wire to the connectors and construct your jumpers on the bench, then stab into the rails and route your wires to suit (under/around/through ties).
Great idea, nxs205. I have wanted to start a thread showing how I modified my O72 switches as well as some of the "fixes" I have discovered, but as they say, I haven't "gotten around to it."
Believe me, I understand that sentiment! If you ever find your round tuit, I'd love to see the photos.
The Rossplate tubular switches are very smooth and operate flawlessly for most O gauge. All of my prewar stuff glides through the switches but I have heard there are a few pieces that can cause issues.
Interesting about the K Line product, especially when recommended by Blue Comet 400 of NJ HiRailers, but I'm a big fan of the Lionel Postwar 022 switches.
I love the way they look, the fixed voltage plugs giving them power from the transformer, the glowing lanterns with the green and red lens, their reliability, durability, and fixability, and abundance of product and parts at reasonable cost.
Twenty five years ago I graduated from 027 Gauge to O Gauge, and found the 022 switches to be far superior to their 027 counterparts, mainly because the 027 switches had no fixed voltage plugs, but I understand that they can be geri-rigged (sp?) so the fixed voltage plugs can be installed on 027 switches. Arnold
@mlavender480 posted:I’d love to find a tubular switch that doesn’t cause everything to bounce and slam around. I run mostly MPC and LTI era trains, with a couple MTH and Williams mixed in, and they all run roughly through 022 and 042 type switches.
Mike, I used to get a fair number of derailments when running trains through my numerous Lionel 022 switches.
Now, I rarely have such derailments. I keep the wheels of all of my Postwar train cars properly lubricated with light oil, and run my Postwar operating cars with sliding shoes slow and smooth through my 022 switches using speed control (DCS or LC+ or Legacy using the Dedicated Remotes or Universal Remote).
I have reverse loops so my trains never exceed 10 train cars in length.
Over the years, I have also used shims to eliminate places prone to derailments on my layout. Arnold
Some good suggestions here, thanks all!
I have not tried the Super Snap switches but I might just try to find a couple and see how they work out. Looking at photos, I see they have a frog setup similar to Fastrack switches, so I can see where they would have less clang and bang when going through.
Bluecomet400 I would love to see/hear your tips on 072 switches.
I use 6 SS switches on my layout, 4 072 as a crossover. No problems ever! Can't recommend them enough!
For those who want wide radius, I’m quite fond of the Hirth Hobbies “100 mph Switch.” They’re close to a #4 and can handle most scale articulated engines as well as postwar and prewar. The only thing they don’t like is tall gear Marx and similar prewar engines. Their only short coming is the switch machine sucks. They can be easily connected to an under table switch machine like a Tortoise. You could also use a table top mount machine like a DZ1000 or 2500 if you fabricate a throwbar.
I’ve had a few issues with K-line SS O-72 switches. Cars with sliding shoes do not like them evidenced by the spectacular wrecks I have had when a shoe catches the points wrong. Cars have literally somersaulted across the table. After a few of those incidents, all the mainline SS switches got replaced with Hirth switches. I’ve also had issues with specific engines’ pickup rollers temporarily electrifying guardrails/frog and causing shorts.
I just scored a pair of NOS K-line 027 switches. I've heard good things about them. I'm planning on replacing a couple of my 5122's. Not that I'm looking forward to cutting in new switches on finished trackwork but....operationally it will be worth it.
Bob
The outside loop of my last layout was K-Line tinplate 042 (with the 5 ties). I have a Williams scale GG-1 that wouldn't go through K-Line, MTH, or Lionel Fastrack switches, but easily flew through an old prewar Lionel 072 with a 1/3 length of 042 curve attached to it on the curved end and it doesn't affect the diameter of the of the rest of the curve. This may be slightly off-topic, but maybe someone could use my solution on a smaller 4x8 layout.
Bob, it will be interesting to see how they work out. Your track department is always ahead of the curve.
Jay
@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:Bob, it will be interesting to see how they work out. Your track department is always ahead of the curve.
Jay
Thanks Jay- I've wanted to try the K-line switches for a while now. They are hard to come by so finding 2 NOS from the same seller was great. I have a couple of MTH RS-1's and the fuel tanks hit the switch machines on the 5122's. It looks like the K-line covers are more tapered so hopefully I will clear the ROW for these two locos. I would still need one LH switch to make my whole main level accessible but these two RH's will open up more real estate.
Getting rid of the annoying solenoid buzz will be great too.
Bob
I started with Lionel 027 switches, moved on to Lionel 022, added Lionel 072s, then K-Line Super Snap 072s and finally ended up with and found the absolute best IMO: Ross tinplate #4s and 072s - the best in all respects IMO. I suppose I could have saved a lot of time and money had I gone directly to Ross, but it was a trial and error, live and learn journey:
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Bob, I have some 18” passenger cars which I love but they derail when the undercarriage hits the housing on the 022 .
When the K-Line SS switches came out I bought a couple to test and found that the bumping, lurching, and derailment of steamers on Lionel O-72s was not present. "Lionel speed" was feasible on both through and turnout routes without derailment. I subsequently bought and installed 20 or so SS switches. I was pleased with the price (less than $50 ea) and performance. Electrical issues with the points and crossing rails being hot were diagnosed and fixed. Almost all of my RH switches needed attention. Once "tuned up", the switches were reliable and derailment-free.
That was almost three decades ago. These days, trains still track through the switches fine, but the switch machines are failing. The miniature limit switches inside the machine appears to be the culprit. The switches have a design flaw in that A) they require removal of the switch from the layout to work on the machine (the body of the machine is molded into the switch base) and B) cleaning the limit switches is not always successful. Replacement of the switch machine with a DZ-1000 has been a kludge and the DZ-1000 is under-powered for the K-Lines.
I have run out of NIB K-Line replacement switches. So, for those switches where reliable remote/automatic operation is critical, I replace the failing K-Line switch with a Ross tinplate O-72. It is not a drop-in replacement - some adjustment of the adjoining track is required. The DZ-1000 on the Ross switches is under powered and I need to raise the switch motor voltage to 18v for reliable point throws.
My experiences with FastTrack switches has been positive so far and my next layout will probably be FastTrack. I'll use command switches and retire my ASCs.
I actually like tubular track, and most of what I have is older stuff that was made when it was the only real option besides GarGraves. I’ve been using Fastrack lately just because the switches are smoother, but it’s come with its own share of problems such as conductivity issues and noise. Two trains running on tubular are quieter than one on Fastrack, and I don’t run at ridiculous speeds either. A “good” tubular switch would a great thing in my opinion; the old Lionel ones are functional but the banging and bouncing, even through the straight side, are annoying.
