O & O 27 Lionel Good track / bad track questions

[Anonymous]

Hello guys!
I went to our local VTC (Virginia Train Collectors) show Sunday and several guys gave me MANY boxes of O & O 27 track, with crosses, and some manual switches. They did not want to lug it home with them.

I did not inspect the track at all, my only concern at the time was helping them get rid of it all[:)]. Now I have to look it all over. I have about 8 or 10 total boxes including my own junk.

How would you guys sort this stuff?
How do you determine what is a "good" piece of track?
What exactly should I look for?
What do you call a "bad" piece?
Can "bad" pieces be repaired?
How do you clean track?
Is there a way to test if it will carry current properly?

I would like to use as much original track as possible for nostalgia, hope I don't have to ditch too much.

Thanks guys!

[Dr. John]

Well, I'll jump in.

As to sorting: Separate the O from the O-27, the curves by radius the straight pieces by length. Of course, separate out switches (left & right) and UCS or uncoupling track.

Check for rust. Surface rust can be cleaned, but some pieces are beyond help, consider also the rust you can't see inside the rails.

Check to make sure the ties are on fairly tight. Sometimes the small pieces of insulation on some ties can be missing. This can ne replaced with electrical tape or salvaged from too-rusty rail. Loose tie connections can be tightended with pliers and/or a flat screwdriver. Check the track pins, if rusty discard. Replacements are very cheap.

As to cleaning, this has been covered on a number of threads, Basically, it takes some elbow grease and mild abrasion (emory cloth or Brite-Boy or track-cleaning eraser). NEVER use steel wool - the filings will get into the motors of your engines. You can use goo-gone or denatured alcohol to help in the cleaning process as well.

The simplest way to test the track is to hook a few pieces together, attach a lock-on with wires to a transformer, and run a locomotive back and forth.

Hope that helps. I'm sure some of the other forumites have some good ideas too.

[lionelsoni]

When tightening a ties to the rails, put something under the joint as an anvil, so that you don't deform the top of the tie when you push down on the tab. A 1/4"-20 nut works for O27.

I wouldn't worry about cleaning anything but the top of the rails. That's all that really needs to be clean. The rest looks better to me rusty or dirty.

[GPJ68]

Dang James! Where was this show? I'm just down the road in Southampton County (at least until Sunday, when I finish my move to SC). Mighta coulda used a train show fix last weekend.

The way I handled the boxes of track I picked up over time is a probably a little more involved, but it worked for me, and I haven't had any problems with shorts or such.

First move would be to give a quick look at each piece and discard the most obvious junk - the badly bent, twisted, heavily rusted (pitted, flaking, rough to the touch, looks like it sat out in the rain or in a bucket for awhile, the stuff that would take time with a wire wheel to get the rust off) and sort it into appropriate lengths, radius, guage, etc. I also separate between Marx, Lionel, K-Line, etc. (IMHO, the Marx O27 track is a little lighter and not as robust as the Lionel, so I don't use it - just sell it off - except for the O34 curves)

Next, mix up some water soluble degreaser (like Greased Lightning) in a tub. Soak shortly and give each piece a quick scrub with a bristle bru***o clean off all the loose crap, oil, and grime, then rinse the degreaser off. Lay each piece out on a table in a warm room or near a heater to dry off (not in a pile).

Once completely dry (I waited until the next day to be certain), give each piece a close look for any hard-to-see problems like slightly bent or crimped or crushed rails, loose ties, missing center rail insulation, and such - set those aside for possible repair or trimming later. For those that passed the closeup inspection, I pulled out my multimeter and used the resistance leads to check and see that the center rail was still well insulated. I did find several pieces that had damaged/cut insulation that was not easily visible - that's the track piece that will drive you nuts if it gets into the layout and is a bugger to find when the problems start. Also, the track must be completely dry before testing since any dampness in the insulation will cause a false reading.

After I was certain I had good useable and insulated track sections, I pulled out the maroon Scotchbrite pads (made specifically for metal work) and gave each piece a quick rub along the tops and just over the top edge (to about where the wheel flange will contact the rail). Some pieces will take more elbow grease than others, but you should've discarded all the really rough stuff at first. One more fast rinse under the faucet to get rid of the residue, let dry overnight again, and then assembly started.

Like I said, probably more involved than others do, but I didn't clog up the Scotchbrite with excess grease and grime from cruddy track, I started assembly with very clean track that didn't leave me looking like I'd buried my hands in a tub of grease, and I didn't have any mysterious shorting problems (at least not track section related) to have to tear it all down to trace.

To butcher the woodworking catchphrase " Measure twice, cut once", when working with used track "Inspect/clean twice, assemble once".

GPJ

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by GPJ68

Dang James! Where was this show? I'm just down the road in Southampton County (at least until Sunday, when I finish my move to SC). Mighta coulda used a train show fix last weekend.

Well I'll be switched! I'm right next door to you, in Sussex County, my momma's a Southampton girl from Capron. Yeah, it was a good show up in Chesterfield. Sure am sorry you're leaving, I ain't got hardly no train buddies out here, I'm so far back in the woods lightning has to drop in low gear to get here.

Thanks for the tips. Hey, can i have all your train stuff so you don't have to haul it all down to SC? I don't mind helping a neighbor out!

[BR60103]

Further things to check:
The shape of the rails especially at the ends. They should be tight on the pins of the next section.
See if you have any sections with one of the outside rails insulated -- that's a bonus!

[GPJ68]

QUOTE: I'm so far back in the woods lightning has to drop in low gear to get here.

I know what you mean James. When the WalMart is pushing 40 minutes away, and most everything else is way over an hour....

I've been living just south and west of Capron for the past several years. I like the area and the people (been in the general area for 12+ years), but the job has no future or pay potential (and with the current crop of clowns running the department, it never will), and I really don't want to be living in a rented trailer 30 years from now, so..... it's off to Columbia, SC (key up The Beverly Hillbillies theme) to give working for the Fed a whirl (as an Army civilian).

And sorry, but the trains were among the first to get packed and moved [:D]. While I've been unloading a bunch of other long-time unfinished and failed projects, the trains have actually been one of the few things that have worked right for me recently. Now I get to set 'em up all over again.....

Now where'd I pack the Scotchbrite?......

[phillyreading]

On the subject of 027 track, the switches are too narrow for cars over ten inches long or long engines and can not move the solenoid to one side or the other, at least what I have seen in 027, also dents very easy when a derailment occurs. My preferance is O gauge sectional, not Fastrax or Railtrax, may look nice but is harder for me to wire.
Lee.

[lionelsoni]

I have yet to meet a model I wanted that I couldn't modify to get through an O27 switch. However, that challenge is a large part of the appeal of the hobby for me but might not interest others.

[waltrapp]

My layout is all O27. Ever since I converted from Lionel's to K-Line's O27 switches I can run everything that I tried. I'm not trying to say that everything works - just the stuff that I am interested in, which is not the larger stuff.

Bob's comment " wouldn't worry about cleaning anything but the top of the rails. That's all that really needs to be cleaned" is interesting to say the least. It's something that I've been curious about for a long time - I've asked on various forums if rust on the sides matters but never got an answer. I trust Bob so since he is saying that if the tops are clean the track is OK, well, that's good for me!

I think I would be carefull though if the track is rusty as to the rail/tie connection on the ground rails. That, in my mind, WOULD matter.

- walt

[lionelsoni]

I agree, Walt, that those connections are important. On the other hand, they are duplicated every couple of inches along the track; so you would have to have a great deal of rust, almost to the point of structural failure, before there were no effective connection.