You guys have infected me again. I thought I had gotten SG/WG out of my blood, but apparently I am having a relapse. As if I don't have enough trains already . . . .
Anywho, I believe I will have a #10E set under the tree this year (wrapped, that is: a present from my wife) and maybe another goodie or two. In anticipation thereof, I have been adding a little track to the simple oval which I had left over from my previous bout with the illness.
After the split pin era, what sort of pins did Lionel track come with? I have encountered:
- hollow pins, duplicates of O gauge pins
- solid pins, about an inch long or a little more, with ends like nail points on both ends
- solid pins, about 3/4 of an inch long or a little less, with one pointed end and one blunter end.
Most of both of the latter kinds have obviously been manufactured with a sort of thick fin that is about 1/3 or its length from one end (the blunt one, when there is a blunt one) that seems to have fit into a crimp in the rail.
Is there reliable information on when which kinds were used? Are they manufacturer dependent? some of the track I have gotten is identifiable, but some isn't.
On a related topic: some of the track apparently had all the pins in one end (on the curves, the right one when the track is turned down, or frowning, from the viewer's perspective. Some pieces had two pins on that end on one on the other end. again: era or manufacturer dependent?
Trivial stuff, I know, but quite curious.
