Tubular Lionel track and Hirth Hobbies switches will handle everything from most prewar, to postwar, to modern hi-rail models. Prewar Marx with tall gears is a no-go though. The nice thing about the Hirth switches is that they can handle large articulated engines.
The modern Lionel O-72 switches cause derailment issues with a lot of hi-rail and brass steam locomotives. K-line super snap switches work nicely with modern era hi-rail engines but I have had issues with certain engines shorting out on them and cars with sliding shoes catch on the guard rails which can cause some pretty spectacular wrecks.
