Super O Track information.

There is a Super O special interest group on Yahoo.

Forum member H. Michael Spanier is an expert on Super O....if you google hits name and Super O track, some of his articles will come up.

Peter

Peter

Thanks for the information.

What do want to know?  My layout growing up was SuperO and I have a section of Mainline that's SuperO.  I may know a think or two about it.

Ebay

Thanks for the replies.

Dear Gary

I understand that Super O has to be fastened to layout or it will come apart, unlike Atlas track which snap together and you can run it on carpet layout, am I correct? Also I have read that the original connector are better than the after market stuff. Also the common Ground Coupling Pins do you need a special tool to crimp them on the track like regular Lionel O gauge? Cleaning the rust off and maintenance issue any suggestions?

I understand that Super O has to be fastened to layout or it will come apart, unlike Atlas track which snap together and you can run it on carpet layout, am I correct?

Nope, Super "O" track has ball and socket connectors molded into the plastic base.

Never had to crimp the rails to hold the outer rail pins.

The snap together structures on regular track pieces are usually quite secure as long as they remain pliable.  I have noticed a serious degradation of plastic on the switches however and the "socket" side tends to break apart as they become brittle. Placement of the switches can help alleviate the coming apart issue.

I prefer not to crimp the ground pins on the outer rails, however having a pin that pushes its way all the way into the rail is nearly impossible to remove rendering the piece unusable, so I try to monitor for this.  There is a tool for crimping the rail, but I just prefer to bend the pin slightly before inserting.  This helps to improve contact and conductivity as well.  Lionel has pre-crimped the rail at one end, and sometimes those pins get pushed in anyway, but with a good pull, you can remove the pins to clean and reposition.  Always use the pre-crimped end for inserting pins if possible to reduce the chance of the pins getting pushed in too far. I have collected a lot of really marginal track over the years, and I generally harvest the pins from it to supplement my good track sections.  Sometimes the sellers include genuine bus bar connectors as well.  Toss the track and keep the connectors! 

Yes, there are a lot of repro power bus connectors out there made of soft copper.  I don't think that is the formulation of the originals which are less pliable and more secure.   The soft ones flatten and spread out, losing their ability remain in place and are prone to pop up on one end snagging the rollers.  Nylon Bus bar insulators are also problematic as they have become brittle over time as well.  If at all possible, try to acquire bus bar connectors that are still sealed in the original packages (Lionel sold these as packs of ten).  Some track pieces like uncouplers and power connector track were also sold in packages that included a connector.

Switches vary greatly in quality and specs with redesigns and mods made over the lifetime of the track system.  So do your homework before buying these. 

Rust can be a problem on the tinplate, so inspect your track regularly.  Its possible to remove it but its a tedious process.  The biggest annoyance is the hard plastic edges of the ties roughing up your hands when assembling the track, especially in the cold dry air of winter.  I suggest using comfortable thin cotton gloves. These have the added advantage of helping to remove oil and dust from the track as you use it.

Dear Tommy_Trains

Thanks for the information it answered a lot of my questions. As Columo would say one more question. In regards to cleaning. I have a Lionel 3927 modified to use the Scotbrite pad. Is that o.k. to use with the Scottbrite pad dry method? After the clean what kind of oil should be use to keep it from rusting?

I have experimented with a lot of methods of rust removal and can't say  I particularly recommend any of them.  IMO there is plenty of good quality track available, much of it obtainable through the aforementioned Mike S.  I tried solvents like Braso which removes rust effectively, but leaves a residue, particularly on the plastic ties in the faux wood grain, but if weathering is your thing, you might like it.  Some realists might actually like rust on the side of the rail...  I have tried dremel wire brushes but really don't recommend it, particularly steel brushes,  as it leaves wire bits that get pulled up into magnetraction axles and motors.

I generally avoid using oil on the track, but rather wipe down my track with a good quality lint free cheesecloth rag.  Oil defeats the purpose of magnetraction, which is one on the finer attributes of Super O.  I hate traction tires!  The rubber really dirties up the track. 

I haven't tried the track cleaning car, and am considering buying one for Christmas, as my LHS has a stock of the Holiday version.  I am concerned that a pad like the Scotch variety might snag on the bus bar connectors.  AND it is virtually impossible to run one without them in place.  I actually thought of using a good lithium power pack of the size and weight of one for Roomba or Scooba (iRobot), to power such a car so I can run it on unpowered track. 

Let me know what works out for you.

One last comment, as the track varies greatly in quality after all these years, I try to sort my track first, before assembling.  I look at the top of the rail and match per brightness, and then at the side of the rail.  Some track has a lighter color tie, I would say almost a milk chocolate hue, while others are more like dark chocolate.  Assembling track after sorting gives it a more uniform look.  Longer runs generally have higher voltage drops, and while I try to use a distributed power track section strategy, the finicky nature of the layout geometry sometimes requires use of lockons and power bus spade connectors to get voltage.  One of these days I am going to pull all the pins and use a good copper cleaner to refresh them. 

I like to collect rare track sections that come in handy, like accessory oriented pieces.  The one piece I use to match up my bascule bridge to fastrack on one side of the layout to Super O on the other (North pole Central, and PE respectively), is the O gauge accessory adapter that has only a few ties and easily fits into the drop down side.   

I am no expert on this stuff, but have used it for 50+ years, as my Dad first bought a Super O set  (with N&W J 746) back in 1958, so I urge you to consult the groups mentioned above. 

To answer your question on rust prevention, I would probably recommend one of the Hoppe's oils (No. 9) used for the same purpose on firearms.  Probably OK to rub on the side of the rails, but I would still rub the top clean with a good rag periodically. 

Dear Thomas_Trains

Thanks for the wealth of information about Super O track. This was the part of the information I was missing. I when to my local LHS and they sold me the Super O track cheap. I am planning I using it instead of my Fastrack 36" loop on the floor lay out.

Also thanks about the detailed cleaning instruction for Super O. I knew that there would be a problem with the cleaning cars going over the power lock on. I will run the car over the track and stop it at before  the lock on pick the cleaning car up and move it over the lock and let it finish the track.  I would then go back and by hand clean the track where the lock is located. Or I could remove the lock on and use alligator clips for temp power to the track. When the cleaning engine and cleaning car reach the alligator clip stop it and place the alligator clip behind the train and then let it finish the job of cleaning the track. Once the track is cleaned I would reinstall the power lock on to the track. Since I do not have any switches on the floor layout I think this would work best. Before I am ready to put away the layout I would run the cleaning car again and then use Hoppe's oils (No. 9) to prevent rust when I storage it away.