TA-DA!!! and a learning experience

Hi Walt,

First, I wanna spend Christmas at your house. Second, what happens when the train hits the 027's? Does it stop, derail? Finally, thanks alot! You're starting to get me interested in tin plate! As if I didn't have enough on my plate already with regular OG.

Hi Scott.

 

It derails.  Sometimes it's the engine's wheels and sometimes it's the tender's wheels. 

 

The cars, the box couplers don't allow the swing needed so they push against each other and either the front or the rear car will derail.

 

Walt, keep repeating "Lesson learned.  Lesson Learned.  Lesso....."

 

But I do love this stuff!!!  Starting next year I'll know better but my layout for this year is a lost cause relative to tin-plate.  Post War F3 here you come.

 

- walt

The sets are beautiful! Personally for next year I would loose the 0-27 all together. I know you have a lot of it but I think it's run it 's course. It's causing way touch grief or at lest it would be for me. Look around at York I 'll bet you can find some used 0-31 switches and track for fairly short money.

I got rid of all of my switches and have 8 separate loops. I know that it would be boring to a lot of people but not to me. I find it very relaxing to run my trains around and around without worrying about derailments or the collisions that sometimes happen with switches.

 

I used to cringe at every derailment because I never knew when the electronics would get fried. I was lucky and it never happened.

 

I hope that you enjoy your Christmas layout and have a stress free holiday season.

 

I run switches on my standard and O gauge lines. No switches no hassles. I just sit and watch them run!

Both of those set will run perfectly well on either O31 (such as RealTrax) or 036 (such as FasTrack).  As I believe I noted in a much earlier thread--way back when you first mentioned your plans for this year--I would not use anything but Marx tin on O27 track and switches.  All of my tinplate curves are either 036 or O42 (GarGraves), Both of those set will run perfectly well on either O31 (such as RealTrax) or 036 (such as FasTrack).  As I believe I noted in a much earlier thread--way back when you first mentioned your plans for this year--I would not use anything but Marx tin on O27 track and switches.  

 

All of my tinplate curves are either 036 or O42 (GarGraves), and all of my MTH and MTH/LCT runs just fine on them. The current roster includes 249s, 254s, 255s, 256s, 260s, 261s, 263s, 264s, 265s, and 1694s.

 

I would do as Chris recommends and just lose the O27.  Just do it a bit at a time, if necessary, and work with a more modest-size Christmas layout that can grow over time.

Chris and Allan:

 

A few explanatory replies:

1. ALL years from now on: all 42" and greater.  I have tons of those too.  Lesson learned.

 

2. Yes Allan, I remember your comments well.  But with the Christmas set having such small components I was thinking "well, this is probably comparable to Marx".  Obviously incorrect thinking!!!!

 

3. Remember: my decision was based on seeing Ryan's 4 engines and multiple pieces of rolling stock run perfectly well on my temp layout.  Not only that, but he brought his PS2 version of my Blue Comet to my house and ran it on this year's Christmas layout and it handled EVERYTHING perfectly.

 

#3 was a very powerful influencer.

 

Like I said though, lesson learned.  Albeit the hard way.

 

One positive came out of this: I'm running my Postwar 'family train' on the lower level and it is very happy on it.  I never before considered, or thought, that it would be happy on O27 track with 27" curves, but it is.  So I'll keep some of my 27" stuff and now I know I can use it on the PW train.

 

- walt

Walt,

  I have a Post War Northen Pacific O/027 that runs the same way, it was manufactured as an O but runs just as well on 027 tubular track and switches, that train is the only reason I still keep my 027 stuff around.  Glad to hear somebody else has a similar situation.

PCRR/Dave

 

Gave my tinplate Christmas set its first run today, Walt.  It's performing just fine.  I'm operating it on a circle of O42 GarGraves that will be around the Christmas tree.  A second tinplate set runs on the inner O36 circle.  Nothing elaborate, but I enjoy laying on the sofa and watching those two trains pace each other.  I fitted the Christmas locomotive with passenger cars just because I like all the lights.  The inner-circle train also is pulling passenger cars (crackle black 249E locomotive with the orange-and-blue LCT cars).

 

Had to turn off the smoke in the locomotives, though, because my pooch is not a fan of that stuff.

Allan: glad to hear  that, for you, your draw-bar connection isn't coming apart like mine is.  I have it running on trackage with min 31" curves, what it's rated for, and it's come disconnected 4 times in about 45 total minutes (broken into separate occasions) of run time.

 

I'm talking about the one that's hidden under that black box thing in the cab of the engine.  When it disconnects the engine shuts down completely.  Frustrating but I'll keep trying to find a solution.  Maybe next year when I bump up to 42" the problem will get resolved, but I don't have trackage ready to prove that this year.

 

Have you used the PFA function yet???  If you haven't you're in for a REAL TREAT!!!!!

 

- walt