K-Line shadow rail or snaptrack

[Anonymous]

Hello how many of you have tried the K-line shadow rail or snaptrack for a permanent layout and how good are the switches? It is available in alot of various radius's for any layout size. thanks for any help.

[mpzpw3]

I am using K-line shadow rail and snap track on my layout. I chose it for a number of reasons. It is readilly available at a retail outlet in my area, and I wanted to use an O-gauge tubular track profile for some of my older equipment. It mates up perfectly with Lionel's O-22 switches also, which is mainly what I use. I would recommend the shadow rail over the snap track mainly because it is cheaper. I did notice a bit of a power drain on the snap track, which was cured by installing track pins in the offending sections, and went on to add track pins to all sections. Except for that small problem the track works flawlessly! It looks nice ballasted, and gives a nice kinda postwar-modern look to the track. Be warned, it is still O-gauge tubular track in profile, and does not look as real as some of the other brands on the market.

[Anonymous]

Yes I like the look of the shadow rail as opposed to just tubular track and the price is nice too. my local dealer has quite a bit of this track.

[Big_Boy_4005]

From what I've seen and heard, I like both of these product. They address the appearance issues that some people have with traditional track, while remaining compatable with the older style. They have a nice selection of pieces available, and are priced nicely. It sounds like an excellent compromise for those who don't want go to Gargraves or Atlas.

[Anonymous]

Check on Ebay. They sometimes have some large quantities for sale.

[Jim Duda]

I like the Shadow Rail because it requires ZERO adapter sections to mate with Lionel traditional O track. I prefer the O22 model switches so that was an important point. I believe the Snap Track does require adapters. Further, it is truly isolated track, meaning the outside rails are electrically isolated from each other - which is important if you want to operate accessories using the inside rail method. The ties have simulated wood grain molded into them and look pretty good, except they are "thicker" than full scale ones...but they have to be to match the old Lionel track height. 40" sections are available for long stretches.

And for those that want to "weather" the rails - it's very easy: wipe down the track with a wax/degreaser avail at any auto paint store. You don't even have to mask it if you shoot it with an airbrush! Just cut your fan down and shoot the outside and inside of each outside rail - the slight overspray you get on the center rail is barely visible. Just take a quick swipe with a lacquer thinner moistened rag along the very tops of each rail...a one direction swipe works best. I did mask the pins with model airplane medium fuel tubing. I used Floquil Roof Brown and Rust about 50/50.

Here are two pics of what it looks like. I think the entire trackage took about an hour to paint - goes pretty fast. I chose not to ballast and used the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed...the table took two 25 foot rolls with about 10 feet left over. I don't even have to use track screws!

Bottom line: Even if I built a much bigger layout, I'd still probably use the Shadow Rail.

http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/LinkPhoto?GUID=1ff94139-5273-1a9e-7a85-7431794e1c6f&size=

http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/LinkPhoto?GUID=3c0c66c6-324b-1475-6405-117166f5160d&size=

[spankybird]

Hi Jim,

Yes the [img] would work fine.

you can alwas check with preview.

tom

[Anonymous]

i like k-line tubluar track beacause its cheap, rugged, and its the only stuff Focus (fond du lac's only hobby shop) has![:P]