(the cars in the foreground? Why, that's two foot gauge equipment!)
Anyhow, the Fastrack and the 104 weren't what I call 100% compatible...
This can, I believe, be attributed to the fact that the Fastrack isn't matched terribly well to the bridge proper and, in fact, is riding above the deck far enough to cause problems.
I will tackle modifying Fastrack to fit this bridge in a future instalment. For now, however, what I'm in the process of doing is modifying the existing standard gauge track on the bridge to take regular O gauge trains as well! How? Read on!
For each 14" Standard straight you modify, you'll need 1 10" O (not O27) straight:
The reason this stunt works at all is that Lionel Standard and O use the same height rail:
First, dismantle the O gauge section completely. Since we'll be using the existing Standard gauge third rail, the former third rail will be repurposed into running rails. Very ecologically sound!
Next, the O gauge ties are clamped to the Standard third rail. Make sure the insulators are sound and aligned properly.
The original running rails are in place, ready for the third rails to be spliced in. Note the O gauge tie locations.
The former third rail, having been bisected off camera, is spliced into place and is ready to be trimmed off:
And trimmed to length!
The final step prior to installation is to trim the O scale ties flat, as they'll be down on the bridge deck.
And here's the bridge, ready for customers!
Hope you found this informative and useful! As I say, I'll be going into Fastrack modification to fit this bridge in a future article; for now, I'll be converting the track on the bridge ramps and getting a couple of O to Fastrack adapters.
Mitch
