A real, honest-to-goodness 3-rail railroad in 1:1

[Anonymous]

James/Lotus098, please stop coming over here to try to pick fights with antagonistic posts.

It is Un Pleasent.

I know you are a great defender of the UP and have stepped in several times here to defend them and thier business practices. However you are not "into" toy trains while most people on this board are. Why are you trying to pick on them for what they like (i.e. toy trains) on a forum that is intended for them and thier interests? I know you are a high school aged kid but you need to learn that others are allowed thier opinions. This is true in many areas of life, as you will learn.

[palallin]

I've seen two or three published photos of prototype rolling stock or physical plant painted for Lionel Lines, including a Geep, three rail track, and a couple of plate girder bridges. CTT has showcased a couple, MR and Trains a couple more over the years.

On a related note, MR did an article on the Undec RR 'way back in the late '70s.

[Anonymous]

The London underground has been using a third center rail (Actually 4) for a century.

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?12688

[Anonymous]

[(-D]So where is the prototype Lionel Lines stuff? [(-D]

[Anonymous]

If you were looking for some three rail track alittle bit closer to home the Washington DC Metro has a third rail that is centered between the rails AND has power.

If you travelled back in time by climbing into the WayBack Machine you would even find that the old Washinton DC streetcars had a third rail that was buried in a trench in the street in the city because of Congressional Laws forbiding overhead wires. There is even a cut away showing this on an old DC streetcar at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It's right next to the Southern PS4 Pacific (if you can pull yourself away from that).

If you wanted to model this the new K-line Super Streets look very close to accurate. I know MTH offered a DC PCC car sometime in the late 1990's. Marx made models of the Capital in N scale and the Whitehouse in HO in the past that show up once in a while. Just think, you can run those cars with the poles down and without having to string overhead wire and no one can complain.

[palallin]

That's precisely the effect I'm shooting for with my O/On30 dual gauge track. I'm going to throw down some regualar 3-rail so that I can run trains for Christmas, but, come January, it will be time to begin implementing my plans. . . .

[lionelsoni]

Here are the real prototypes for inside third rail:

http://www.wilbursmith.com/WSA%20TRB%20Webpage/Bordeaux%20LRT%20Paper-Farran.pdf

[FJ and G]

I forgot to mention that there appears to be a liberal sprinkling of green ground foam on the tracks, nearly to the level of the rails (which, incidentally, need cleaning). Also, the weathering on the boxcar looks a bit much. [:D]

[Munster518]

Now if only there was an 1:1 128 Animated newsstand. Awesome picture[:D][8D][:)]

John

[IRONROOSTER]

I guess there really is a prototype for everything.[bow][bow]

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Looks great Dave. Let's see what those 2R American flyer guys have to say now! [;)]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Dave, could you imagine how much a roller for that size would weigh?. Of course then there's the problem of stepping on the center rail. OUCH, shocking to say the least.[;)]

[FJ and G]

Elliot,

Close enough for the rollers to make contact [:D]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Pretty close to dead center too. Of course it's two different railroads sharing a common rail, but it looks just fine to me.[swg]

[FJ and G]

http://harrymarnell.com/alton.htm

Alton & Pacific and the Carlotta Branch of the NW Pacific. One is a 2-ft gauge.