Seeking Info on ETS Products

I have several ETS locomotives and a lot of rolling stock. They are excellent runners. I've run them through some Gargraves switches and they were fine - the 3-rail versions have deep flanges like American 3-rail. They have a freewheeling clutch in the drive mechanism, which is handy if you have small children - the kiddies can push the engine around without damaging the mechanism. The only drawback is that the 3-rail ETS locomotives use a center rail pickup shoe instead of a roller. These shoes are subject to wear, especially on track that has a square section center rail. I prefer to run mine on tubular track for that reason.

If you are looking at sets on eBay, be sure you are getting 3-rail. There are quite a few ETS 2-rail starter sets out there. These normally come with an oval of track and a power pack, which would be fine under the tree but, of course, rules out your running one on Fastrack. ETS 2-rail power packs use an unusual control system that, as near as I can tell, provides a fixed voltage with speed and whistle control accomplished by modulating the frequency of the 60-hz power supply.  (The explanation in English is a bit opaque, and I don't read Czech.) The 3-rail trains work fine on a regular U.S. transformer. 

Thanks for the reply.

I did have a link to the Ebay listing in my original post for reference, but apparently the powers that be have deemed that a no-no. The listing was for a small 0-4-0 steam engine with a passenger car and caboose for (as I recall) $139. The engine is a rather short wheel based thing and I was concerned that it might not make constant contact running through the crossover, but I think you have satisfactorily addressed that question. 

Eventually, after all of the Christmas activity, it will be running on tubular track. The seller had excellent pictures and it is definitely a 3 rail setup - just the train itself without track or transformer.

There were also a couple of 4-6-0 engines listed on Ebay that I really liked the looks of, but I noticed that all of the drivers were flanged, not blind drivers such as you see on Lionel, MTH, etc. Any information on the minimum radius that these engines can handle?

I actually have little or no experience with the 0-4-0 type locomotives (I think I own one, but I've never run it and I don't recall offhand if it's 2-rail or 3-rail), but I believe all the ETS locomotives use the same center rail contact plate with two shoes. The shoes are far enough apart to maintain contact over most switches, though I can't guarantee all of them. 

Thanks for the replies.

These things are interesting enough that, if I don't get one of the current offerings, I'm going to kind of keep them on my radar for future purchases. I really do like the looks of the various models that I have seen.

Here are a few pictures of some of the more interesting items from my collection.

Beer Train

Seetal (Baby) Crocodile

Beyer-Garratt

Wine Train

The only way to buy beer - by the tank car! (If you've never tried it, do yourself a favor and get a six-pack of Pilsner Urquell. It's the original Pilsner beer.)

Nice pics. These trains really do appeal to me, even though I have next to no tinplate and know little about it. I think that attitude is starting to change, though. I especially like the looks of that wine train.

Originally I was looking for something to run on a temporary fastrack christmas tree layout. Now I'm tending to look for something that will run on 042 tubular, which would be their permanent home. I doubt that Crocodile or Garratt would negotiate the small diameter.

I was really impressed with the Czech Republic in general and Prague when I was there - really liked the people. I also was quickly schooled on what you get when you order a "Bud" and the Budweiser court battles. Interesting stuff. Also reallly liked the Skoda, which I think is now owned by Volkswagen. By the way, found a recipe for pilsner pickles (I do a lot of gardening and preserving) that is now one of my most requested Christmas gifts. I plan on giving over 40 quarts of the stuff away this year.

If you have more pics, lets see them!

ETS makes two flavors of track, with metric curve diameters roughly equivalent to 027 and 054. I don't know what will or will not run on 042, but I have a loop of 042 on my layout and can test some of my larger locomotives (I normally run my ETS on 063). The layout is down for some painting, electrical, and scenery work at the moment, but I'll test the Croc, the Garratt, and the 0-4-4-0 on the 042 when I have time and post the results. 

Here's a shot of the 0-4-4-0. It came in a set with a logging train. I'm not sure if they still sell that set, but it shows up on the Bay once in a while. They also made the locomotive as a 2-4-4-0 for separate sale. I have both along with some extra log cars, and I'm planning to modify one of them so I can doublehead them. I think it would look pretty cool to have the doubleheaded logging engines and half a dozen log cars. (The basic engine is modeled on a Swiss prototype. The balloon stack and paint job were added to make it look more American.)

TripleEO: I have an extra ETS beer train set I'd be interested in selling. 0-6-0 and 3 cars, with US-style trucks and couplers. It's in the original wooden case and in good running condition. I might also have an extra Budvar car with US type trucks and couplers. E-mail me if interested; my e-mail is in my profile. I don't see an e-mail address in your profile. 

I have the Sequoia Lumber 2-4-4-0, set up for three rail AC and Lionel style couplers. It runs great on 042 track, but will not run on 031. It easily pulls three MTH log cars.

I also have a Victoria 2-6-0, set up like the Sequoia, it runs great also, and does operate on 031 track and Lionel 022 switches. It handles four of the ETS passenger cars without any apparent effort.

The quality of the ETS products is very good. Lithography is nice, motors are smooth, couplers very reliable.

As an aside, I wish that all the makers of these small articulated engines (Shays, Heislers, etc.) would design them to operate on 027/031 track. It would make it very easy - and appropriate - to work a backwoods logging railroad into the hills and hollows of our layouts.