Tinplate on O27 track

Some of the pre-war stuff will not run on O27 track.  The wheel flanges are too large.  I know because when I was a kid, I had a set of pre-war madison cars that I brought over to my buddies house to run on his layout.  The flanges bumped over the ties on his O27 layout.  

On the prewar stuff it may be wise to ask with the part numbers of the item you would like run.

I do not have any Madison type cars to speak of so hopefully I will not have this problem (Dave, thanks for the warning).

I m also planning to run prewar Lionel they will be the Lionel 150 series, 248, 253 and 259 plus some 4 wheel type cars (passenger and freight) and post war (736, 2025 and some small diesels).

I asked this in another post that I did and was told that there would not be a problem with the 0-27 tubular track even with the 0-27 non-derailing switches.

I already have the track and switches (switches are old/new stock). If this does not work for me than I will go to "O".

Suggestion is to make a 0-27 loop to see if there is a problem with the items you plan to run. If you do not have the track yet, maybe someone could lone you a loop of 0-27 track to test with. I will be doing this

CP Bob,

  These men have given you some good advise and information, I will add a little to it.

Your O27 Track and 1122 Switches will run a lot of different Tin Plate, we ran an inside loop for many years with O27 Track and 1122 switches.  The 263E will run on the 027 Track, and 1122 switches just keep the speed to a decent clip.  Remember however you are wearing the fore and aft Trucks on the 263E Type Engine's with the 027 Track and 1122 switches.  The 259E and all the 600/2600 rolling stock will run with very few problems on your 027, we had a ball running it on 027 Track for many many years.  

Have fun with your 027 running your Tin Plate Trains, test each engine and each piece of rolling stock at slow speed 1st.

Bob invest in some FasTrack, and use it for the outside loop around your 027 Conventional Tubular Track.  Tin Plate Trains on FasTrack run smooth as glass!  

PCRR/Dave

Hi and thank you for the info!

Dan: So far I do not have any tinplate that give me problems with the wheel flanges. However, I may acquire something in the future and want to plan ahead. Thanks for the heads up and I will put some regular O gauge curves and track in also.

Ron: I am the one who tested those engines and replied on your post. So far everything I have tried has worked. I have not tired modern tinplate steam or large electrics. They are boxed up, and I plan to do more testing on spring break. I'll keep you posted.

Dave: I have been dismantling my old layout for over a year. Life's challenges have been numerous, and progress is very slow. I agree that fastrack is great and I have a lot. But, I was trying to stay with the a tinplate theme. What does the O27 do to the 263/260 steam engines exactly? I have one and I was going to test it a few weeks ( after I locate it). 

I appreciate all the feedback, and if you guys can think of anything else, let me know. This will likely be my last layout build and I'm trying to plan for all contingencies. However ludicrous that may be.  

Thanks,

Bob

Bob,

   Over a period of years it wears the wheels and the trucks because the bends in the track are just a might to short.  However this takes many years, probably longer than you and I both have left.  However if you are passing your trains down thru the family, I wanted you to know that running on 027 does wear the original O Gauge Tin Plate Engine.  

PCRR/Dave

CP BOB posted:

Hi and thank you for the info!

Dan: So far I do not have any tinplate that give me problems with the wheel flanges. However, I may acquire something in the future and want to plan ahead. Thanks for the heads up and I will put some regular O gauge curves and track in also.

Ron: I am the one who tested those engines and replied on your post. So far everything I have tried has worked. I have not tired modern tinplate steam or large electrics. They are boxed up, and I plan to do more testing on spring break. I'll keep you posted.

Dave: I have been dismantling my old layout for over a year. Life's challenges have been numerous, and progress is very slow. I agree that fastrack is great and I have a lot. But, I was trying to stay with the a tinplate theme. What does the O27 do to the 263/260 steam engines exactly? I have one and I was going to test it a few weeks ( after I locate it). 

I appreciate all the feedback, and if you guys can think of anything else, let me know. This will likely be my last layout build and I'm trying to plan for all contingencies. However ludicrous that may be.  

Thanks,

Bob

 

 

Thank you Bob for all the information you gave me and thought I would pass it on

Below is a layout that I m planning (still trying to learn Scarm software).
The standard gauge loop is on the lower level then the 0-27 loop is on the next level.

The top level is the loop with the switches.

The two upper levels for the 0-27 track will be moved over to the left with a tunnels for the first two levels, this will allow for a bunch of accessorizes that I have.

The back of the tunnels will be on the outside as a doors would be added in the back for any train or track problems.

Trying to fit all on a 4 X 8 plywood table.
Have all the 0-27 track and switches and looking for new standard gauge track. From what I read on the forum is that the USA standard gauge tubular track is best to go with as folks had problems with the MTH track.

My layout is O-27. 39" x 80" with two loops. the outer without any switches, the inner with four Marx all metal switches. Can run as oval, oval with reverse, or figure eight. Most of my tin is Marx, but I also have some prewar Lionel and American Flyer. Everything runs well on the layout, but all the cars are on the small side of O-gauge, 6 to 8 inches or so in length. No room in the house, or budget, for bigger stuff.  LOL

Hi Ron and Andy,

I like your track plans and I am thinking about something similar. USA track is the best. Our club built 5 rail modular layouts with USA track, and I had that on my old layout. They are very nice to deal with and they will make custom length straights. 

Bob

Hi Dave, thanks for the info. So it is the not the depth of the wheel flange, but the sharp curves. I have larger O27 curves (O72,O54,O42,O34), but I will use at least a loop of standard O gauge. My kids could care less about my trains and think I'm a ridiculous train hoarder,lol. 

Bob

Trying to learn how to use the free Scarm.
Will try to learn how to sculpt the landscape next for my accessories.

This is what I came up with so far.
It is a little bigger than a 4 X 8. It is still 8 ft long but about 55 inches wide.

The layout will be a fun layout  to run 3 trains.
As you can see the standard gauge is on the bottom and the top two levels are the 0-27 track.
I may try to bring the middle layer down to the standard gauge level, still not sure.
Any suggestions for a 3 train fun layout on a 4 X 8?

All O27 track with three loops 2 lower and 1 upper loop, no switches. I run some pre war and post war trains on it with zero problems.

jvega2 posted:

All O27 track with three loops 2 lower and 1 upper loop, no switches. I run some pre war and post war trains on it with zero problems.

 

Layout looks great, Thank you for the update on the use of 0-27 track.

CPBob, I do not mean to post my layout/questions on your post but it is about 0-27 track and prewar too. Plus this information is important for me and I m sure for others

I m still getting thins together as I have a couple of ZW and a couple of Type Z transformers and all of my 0-27 track and switches except for two custom lengths of straight that I will cut when needed. Starting to save for mys standard gauge track.

CP BOB posted:

Hi Dave, thanks for the info. So it is the not the depth of the wheel flange, but the sharp curves. I have larger O27 curves (O72,O54,O42,O34), but I will use at least a loop of standard O gauge. My kids could care less about my trains and think I'm a ridiculous train hoarder,lol. 

Bob

Bob, there are some that do have deep flanges that will cause problems. Maybe one in a hundred will have a problem. The Varney/Wheeler 700 series cars come to mind. I  changed the wheels on mine and Jeff’s to solve the problem.

Steve

Ron, don't worry about asking questions on this post. Keep the questions coming. I like your layout plan.

Steve, good to know I can bring my stuff and have you fix it, lol. 

Thanks,

Bob

CP BOB posted:

Ron, don't worry about asking questions on this post. Keep the questions coming. I like your layout plan.

Steve, good to know I can bring my stuff and have you fix it, lol. 

Thanks,

Bob

 

Thank you Bob. I m in the planning stage and want to make sure that problems will be miminal.