Lionel O-72 Tubular switches are history

Great comment Dave.  I have noticed Fastrack that has been done up and it is very well done.  We live in great times in the hobby and have many choices in track and switches.  When I started my layout 32.5 years ago, all that was available was Tubular track and Gargraves.  I am very happy with my choice.  Being a toy train guy I do love my tubular track.

I have done some DCS and Legacy work on Fastrack layouts.  Fastrack works very good with DCS.

Has Ross even added to the Tubular line yet or do they still make that one switch??

ZWPOWER,

   As far as I know the only Tin Plate Switch Ross currently has in their inventory is the 072.   Which IMO was a great place to start.

PCRR/Dave

Steve should have something to show at York.

Looks like there are some good options here--even for us true tinplaters. Now all we need is for someone to make a #4 switch that is truly tinplate-compatible. Has anyone had any success in modifying a Rossplate switch so it will work with "All O-Gauge Trains," as their advertisement in CTT states?

ZPower, according to their website, the Rossplate is available in O-72 ad #4.

I couldn't imagine anything but Lionel track & switches on my layout -

but keep in mind, that's the look I'm going for. When I had a Hi Rail layout I wouldn't have wanted tubular track on my layout. 

all that aside, it stinks that another part of Lionel's history i s becoming just that

Chris,

    Got to tell ya that both K-Line SS (RMT) and Ross make a very high quality product, in fact the K-Line Super Snap low voltage switches are some of the very best ever made, and far exceed the newer Lionel 072', especially where actual train running is concerned, and they are fully Tin Plate Train compatible switches.  If you are running modern and post war trains Ross's stuff is simply king, and their new low voltage Tin Plate Switches are bullet proof.  Don't get me wrong I love my old Lionel conventional tubular, however never rule out great engineering when building your conventional layouts, both these companies have a well engineered product, and Ross is fully American made.

PCRR/Dave 

The deal-killer on FT for me is the rail cross-section.  I just can't get beyond that inverted U, even for tinplate.  I know traditional tubular is not very realistic in cross-section, either, but it is superior to Fast Track TO ME.  My (very, very much cheapened by inflation) $.02.

YMMV, Void where prohibited, Local taxes Apply, Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate.

Dave, 

I don't doubt the Ross swicth is well made. ( I had a bunch when I had gragraves track a lifetime ago)  but I couldn't see using them on my postwar style layout where visually they would not work

I guess I find Fastrack quick and convenient to use, but I like rails to be rail-shaped, like tubular and 0-27. I don't like the rectangular Fastrack flat-bar profile. 

I assume that manufacturing costs for stamping and rolling Fastrack rails are much cheaper than standard tinplate track, and the plastic trackbed is even cheaper still.

That makes me question the pricing of course, so makes me think that Fastrack makes more money for Lionel than tubular tinplate track. 

Guess we wont really know the real reason. But I will NEVER give up on my Lionel O Gauge TUBULAR!

It seems funny that anyone using tinplate tubular track would fret over something like the rail profile.

Don't get me wrong, I have and like tubular and have an 8x8 layout with 8 022 switches set up in the basement right now. 

It's just that there are so many other aspects of tinplate track and switches that are not the least bit prototypical. 

 all rails are rail shaped ,tubular and 0-27  , like fastrack, its a rounded rail....as for those lionel 072 switches being history, no big loss.-jim

It is for some of us!!!

Art

Art,

   If you get in trouble building a layout go to the low voltage K-Line (RMT) Super Snap switches to match your Lionel tubular, they are actually far superior to the later made Lionel 072's any way.  If you can pick up some used older Lionel 711/072's that is great also.  Remember however they take a lot of power to operate.

PCRR/Dave

So the only plastic based Lionel 072 Switches were made after 1970?  When were they first offered.

I assume PW Lionel never offered an 072 switch.

Starting in 1987.

Before that, 1935-1942.

Thanks.  I and the prewar switches were all diecast?

Yes, the prewar 072 switches are die-cast and are superb items. My railroad is built using tubular track and we have two pairs of prewar switches which we installed as mainline crossovers. The trains glide through them smoothly. I'm not going to sit here and tell you the switches made beginning in 1987 are awful because I've certainly found them to be usable for certain applications but I don't consider them the same level of quality as their prewar predecessors. If you have an interest in acquiring tubular track items for historical purposes, I'd recommend searching for a pair of the prewar switches. I believe you'd find the workmanship which went into their production quite impressive.

Bob   

Merkur manual switches here, in 0-48, 0-63, and 0-72.  

Read all about them here. 

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...erkur-switchespoints

They are coming out with remote control very soon.

I picked up some new stock 072 and 022 Tubular Switches.  I was shocked to see every one of them with some type of odd stress cracks in the black plastic...some were completely split.  The motor house was cracked on one.  Most all were cracked where the hexagonal nut is set into the plastic between the housing and the track.  Are these prone to this issue?  It seems like the plastic is super brittle and splits without any effort.

Given O-27 kinda has gone the way of the dodo, and from what I read here Lionel is having quality issues with the switches it makes sense to me. No point in digging a hole with your customers.

I have some fas-track really enjoy the stuff, works really well on carpet where so far I have had to set up my layout, and has less sag on the corners with a train on it. I just wish the switches were not so expensive. They also show some quality control issues, in the joints, some are loss some tight in alignment, fortunately I think they were designed with the new issues in mind.

I picked up some new stock 072 and 022 Tubular Switches.  I was shocked to see every one of them with some type of odd stress cracks in the black plastic...some were completely split.  The motor house was cracked on one.  Most all were cracked where the hexagonal nut is set into the plastic between the housing and the track.  Are these prone to this issue?  It seems like the plastic is super brittle and splits without any effort.

I bought about 20 - 30 of the O72 switches in the 1990s before I knew about this problem.  I am down to about 10 of these left working.  The plastic breaks and splits even if sitting in climate controlled storage.  I have glued some back together and have moved motors from one to another to make one out of two, but mostly I have now been giving up as it seems hopeless.  They did work ok when new.  I don't understand why Lionel let this go on so long.

Bill

Does the motor cover just snap off or do you have to unscrew it from the bottom?  I am certain if any screw is touched the plastic will crack.  But in the modern era there is no reason for plastic that looks thick to just crack when not under pressure.  

The motor cover unscrews from the bottom.  I always remove the screws and just leave them loose to lube and clean the mechanism.

Bill

I wonder if the plastic is still phenolic resin? 

I just bought a few pairs of 072 early 90's switches in the boxes for $40.00 a piece at the train show here in Wilmington DE from Ed Dougherty, the PGA man himself who I talked to for about 20 minutes who gave me his number and invited me to see his complete postwar Lionel train collection and postwar displays anytime, since I only live about 20 minutes from him. Very nice man to do business with, and the switches were practically brand new!!

Anyone else that has 072's and want to sell them for about 40-50 a piece, let me know!! :-)

I've been paying $35 with controllers, $32 w/o. I can fine tune the faulty ones - guard rails etc. - and/or replace the stamped points with the cast ones.

Lionel Tin Plate tubular track has been out of their catalog for over a year. With so many choices in track, their sales likely have dropped. RMT is producing the former K-Line SuperSmap switches and track and there are other alternatives. The people that will be out of luck are the ones with O-27 layouts.

I posted previously that I have several operating Lionel 072 Switches which have provided me with reliable service over the last 25 years but I know they won't last forever.  They were made in the late 1980s so I thought I would do myself a favor and search for a few  of the old Lionel pre-war 711 switches just in case I need them.  I found a couple in pretty good shape but they did require a little tweaking before they worked smoothly.  Inasmuch as they were made circa 1936 that certainly is not surprising but they seem good to go now.  Good old Lionel. 

In any event, it is hard to believe the difference in the heft, durability and overall quality of workmanship when comparing the old USA made switches and the stuff we have become accustomed to over the last several decades.  Those pre-war switches are like a Saturn 5 Rocket compared to our modern era chinese firecracker switches.  Everything is heavy duty from the metal base of the switches, to the die cast controllers and thicker gauged wiring.  I'm glad I bought them even if it turns out I only have them for just a slice of classic Lionel history.