Fred,
I'm not too worried about other O gaugers say about me or doing a stud rail layout- I came back into the hobby for my own personal enjoyment and I doubt anyone will discourage me from trying build my own layout and running my own trains as I see fit. Hopefully this time Rich and Allan will just edit out the negative posters and keep the thread alive so that myself and other 3-railers can try to duplicate your efforts. I'm going to pick up where I left off years ago, work on a layout design that suits my space better, build better benchwork, and then begin the task of laying the actual track down.
What amazes me is how 3-rail scale guys could find such an idea as stud rail w/ 2-rail track so horrible that they would attack you and your work. I remember when 3RS emerged in the early 90's and there was some negativity from the tinplaters and 2- railers, but nonetheless it still took off and grew in popularity- this no doubt made the introduction of more scale-appearing 3-rail track like Atlas O and MTH Scaletrax possible. These same 3RS guys pushed for more detail, 2-rail TMCC from Atlas and Proto-scale 3-2 wheelsets and fixed pilots from MTH, and the O gauge manufacturers responded with the equipment the 3RS market wanted.
I don't see the same thing happening with stud rail, since it's not a RTR track system, the economy is in recession and there's not enough demand for it to be made. The biggest issue I see is the manufacture of the stud rail- easy enough for a large corporation with millions in resources to bring a new item to market, but difficult at best for a single individual with only the will to create the part that makes it all happen. If others found a way to make it on their own in the past, I will too. I have no illusions about going into the track manufacturing business either, but
I will attempt to reproduce the stud rail to a quality similar to the product I bought from Hugo. I know I have all of the parts to make this track system happen- only time will tell how my quest will end.
Geno