lionel passenger sets/cars?

[Deeker]

 Hello again.  I am new to model trains and O gauge.  I am looking into getting a passenger set or loco and cars.  I see many of the ones listed are O-27 but I am going to run lionel fastrack.  I am wondering which cars/sets would work best for 48,and 60 dia. layout.  Also would O-27 trains look silly on the fastrack.  I am trying to keep my collection/hobby to scale items.  thanks for any help.  Derek

[tim o'm]

Hi. First of all, every train looks better on a wider radius, so a smaller set won't look silly. Most passenger sets, whether Baby Madisons, Irvington (also called Madisons) or the postwar aluminum cars are all built with a 31 diameter in mind. They can only look better on a wider curve, provided you have the room. The "holy grail" among most scale enthusiasts are the K-Line 21" long passenger cars. They were only made for a year or two, so they are rare. K-Line by Lionel hasn't reissued them yet. Best wishes for you in this hobby. Take care.

[phillyreading]

Derek,

I would not worry about any trains looking silly on Fastrac. The main things to keep in mind are; is your engine able to pull all the cars that you want it to & maybe keeping passenger cars of one type together, also will my transformer be able to handle the train set?

If you have several lighted passenger cars you may need a higher watt transformer to power the lights. A CW-80 or Z-1000 should work fine but a smaller 40 watt transformer may get hot having to power a lot of lights in several passenger cars.

Lee F.

[sir james I]

I try to make up trains that look "right". So what you like is what you should buy.

[Deeker]

 Thanks for the advice.  I would like to find a set that is good looking.  I have searched through the lionel catalog and the stuff that is O-27 looks different to me.   I am not sure if this is true or not since I am unable to physically see the items.  I am looking for something a little more scale I guess.  i am not focused yet on a railroad, but more on the train running and looking good. I have just purchased a Legacy controller.  I think  I would like to stay with diesel for now for a loco. 

[phillyreading]

Deeker,

If you are looking for some good quality trains at lower prices check out Williams by Bachmann, www.bachmanntrains.com then click on Williams.

There are some very long passenger cars that Atlas trains makes for the Amtrac Roadname, some cars are 21 inches long.

Lee F.

[traindaddy1]

Derek:  I run mostly Postwar on "O27" Tubular Track.  That being said, let me comment:

I have the Traditional "O27" Lionel New York Flyer Passenger Expansion Set cars plus the Vista Dome and Baggage cars pulled, at the present time, by a NYC Beep Diesel running on the "O27" track.

I also have a set of the older "Silver Dawn; Range; Cloud; Bluff" series aluminum passenger cars pulled by  SF A-A deisels running on Standard "O" track.

I have run both on my neighbor's "Fast Track" and they look and work well. (BUT, I have to say that on his track (wider curves than mine) they look much better.)

As far as looking "silly"..... NO.    The only thing that I may suggest is to run consists of the same type ie., "O" with "O" and "O27" with "O27" for appearance sake.

Best thing about the hobby is that If it looks good to you then it is.  Good Luck.

 

 

[cnw1995]

Welcome to a great hobby. I also have 027 track - the passenger cars that run most easily around 027 curves are shorter than the other cars mentioned - they aren't close to scale but look appropriately accurate in my opinion rounding these sharp curves. Fastrack has wider curves than 027 track (various sizes 036, 054, 072, etc) so cars you buy that are 027 compatible will work fine on Fastrack. That said, you can also buy longer cars that are closer to scale - your seller or hobby store (or Lionel, Bachman or MTH website) will note the track curves required for the cars you buy. The cars available fall generally into two types - older (Madison, Irvington) looking cars and modern (streamlined) looking cars. There are many many color schemes and road names available. CTT has a wealth of sources.