John,
I will be the first to admit that GarGraves track is not the easiest to work with, especially the switches. You need to persevere with GarGraves and even re-do a section of track that gives you problems. With my new T1 4-8-4 locomotive by MTH it took me a few days and about five tries to find out what was wrong at the switch area, the track was not 100% level near the switch, fixed the track and shimmed one section under the curve track coming out of the switch and it works great now.
Sometimes the most basic thing in problem solving is to start over, pull up the track & re-do it! Usually you will find the problem.
Lee F.
phillyreading wrote: John aka csxt30,A lot of times the problem with GarGraves switches is how the guys mount them to the layout or the use of adapter pins and track changes near a switch. Need to limit track changes to three feet away from the GarGraves switch on all sides and make sure that the track is level with the layout surface, if you follow these tips most problems will not occur with GarGraves switches. Have not used Ross as they are more expensive than GarGraves switches.Have only ordered DZ Industry products from the Ross website.Lee F.
John aka csxt30,
A lot of times the problem with GarGraves switches is how the guys mount them to the layout or the use of adapter pins and track changes near a switch. Need to limit track changes to three feet away from the GarGraves switch on all sides and make sure that the track is level with the layout surface, if you follow these tips most problems will not occur with GarGraves switches.
Have not used Ross as they are more expensive than GarGraves switches.
Have only ordered DZ Industry products from the Ross website.
Lee: that's what I mean about Gragraves & I know a fellow that bought over 30 Gargraves switches just in the past year & was selling them & ordered all Ross switches. I just got a new Gargraves switch & it works just fine for me. Seems they don't work for everyone.
Thanks, John
Nice to have one more brand or type of switch to choose from for some of us. Gargraves switches are prone to a lot of problems for some guys & Ross switches are very expensive & not always readily available, but they are reliable. The new K-line switches will be avilable soon, I believe. May be worth waiting for, & less expensive !
Lionel may have a new 042 switch by K-Line in the catalog but how long will it be before it is available for shipping? Or should I ask how long will it take the overworked slow turtle from China to deliver it?
GarGraves and Ross switches are in stock and available now!!
traindaddy1 wrote:Reggie: Great to see a post from you. Any new pictures?
Children, especially new ones have a way of monopoloizing your time. Just wait until they go running thru your favorite store or exhibit yelling:
More Trains! More Trains!
It's all worth it!
Kurt
Birds wrote: Does Gargraves or Ross make an O-31 sized switch? I haven't seen one on their website and want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious. Chris
Does Gargraves or Ross make an O-31 sized switch? I haven't seen one on their website and want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious.
Chris
Take a look at:
http://catalog.rossswitches.com/viewProduct.cfm?item_id=82576
Jim
no i dont have any at this time well i have a few from the last work i done, but it's not that much of a difference. the only difference is i put up the second loop of track on the second level. i just got 8 more switches in from ross, and i haven't even been in the train room for about a month now. as my little baby girl was born and i havent had any time really to work on the layout. plus i tried out for a a1fl team in nashville but it didnt work out for. but other than that all is well with me and my family. what about yourself
Lee,Thanks for the clarification... I've not heard any problems with the switches, but that doesn't surprise me as I'm no longer a tubular guy! I am plenty aware of other issues though!Brent
Lee,
Thank you for sharing about the size of Gargraves curves. That helps me understand what was taking place with the RR-Track software.
Regarding Lionel's 022 model O-31 sized switch for tubular track... I do feel these switches need to be pulled and redesigned immediately.
Brent,
Maybe I should make myself a bit more clear on this subject and that is I am talking about Lionel's tubular track switches and NOT Fastrac.
phillyreading wrote: Chris,Have you used GarGraves track in the past? If not you will notice that GarGraves curves are 32.25 inches for 031 and 42.75 inches for 042, and 054 in GarGraves is larger than 54 inches. GarGraves switches are low profile and look a bit like H.O. switches in O gauge.With defective issues with new Lionel O gauge switches I would use either pre war 022 switches or GarGraves switches or Ross Custom switches.Lee F.
Chris,
Have you used GarGraves track in the past? If not you will notice that GarGraves curves are 32.25 inches for 031 and 42.75 inches for 042, and 054 in GarGraves is larger than 54 inches. GarGraves switches are low profile and look a bit like H.O. switches in O gauge.
With defective issues with new Lionel O gauge switches I would use either pre war 022 switches or GarGraves switches or Ross Custom switches.
That is a big difference! My layout will have a very different look as I will be having to use track from several different manufacturers and some 2 rail with an added center conductor.
underworld
Reggie, thanks for your thoughts.
It really is an amazingly diverse and rewarding hobby.
i would say go with the gargraves track as you can really see the difference in the space it saves you. which in turns mean you can get more scenery, and stuff on the layout. but if you dont like to do scenery go with the track plan that takes up more space, and you want have as much scenery to do. just my opinion. you mentioned you don't like the fact that you have to cut and make your own curves for the layout. i would say thats the beauty of this hobby you doing it yourself. i can say when people come and see what i have done to my layout the first thing they asked is you did this all yourself, and i proudly say i built the whole thing myself. oh thanks to all the guys who told me in the beginning to build it myself and not pay someone to do it for you. bacause you really get more of an appreciation out of your layout if you did it yourself. for instance look at it this way when kids play with other kids toys they tend to be less careful with the that kids toys as he is with his own. hope this helps as this is my point of view, but others may and will have different views.
Below is a picture of the track plan (click on the picture to enlarge it) that I am going to be using. It looks like I'll be able to start laying the track this weekend, but not in time for Sunday Photo Fun.
The layout uses tubular track and has:
Here is the same layout using Gargraves track and using O-42 turnouts instead of O-31 turnouts.
It really surprised me how the difference in turnouts changed the look and size of the layout.
Another point I noticed is that with the Lionel O-31 turnouts and tubular track, I have to make custom cut straight sections. But, with the Gargraves O-42 turnouts and track I also have to make custom cut curves (if one uses their sectional track). I don't trust myself with that.
Also note how the sidings are closer to the mainline when using the O-42 turnouts.
Even though this layout uses O-54 and O-42 curves, it is designed for O-27 and O-31 sized trains. Staying with these sizes of trains allow multiple trains to run at the same time on the same tracks (even in opposite directions) by using sidings and blocks.
Always build the layout for your own enjoyment.
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