My local store told me that tubular track was going to be discontinued, does anyone know anything about that?
Thanks
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
cnw1995 wrote:Mike, I would recommend not being concerned about that - there's plenty of tubular track 'out there' - - -
Just a few boxes of what I have hoarded in my Hunt Brothers imitation of cornering the market on tubular:
Frank53 wrote: cnw1995 wrote:Mike, I would recommend not being concerned about that - there's plenty of tubular track 'out there' - - -Just a few boxes of what I have hoarded in my Hunt Brothers imitation of cornering the market on tubular:
Hey frank i notice you have the knobs on your 1033 Transformer reveresed :P
just got done putting mine back to factory cond. and http://pictures.olsenstoy.com//cd/transfmr%5Cps1032e.pdf told me the original way they knobs were, were wrong, i guess theres alot of people with this misconception then? lol. That centering spring is a pain to remake if one of the tips breaks tho, :P
Bob Keller
Just how easy is it to order the Williams track, and how long does it take for delivery?
Right now if Lionel stops making tubular track I will use GarGraves track for replacement track. Otherwise it will cost me too much to change over to a new track system that has differant sized curves than what I currently have.
Lee F.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Iruleyou05 wrote: Frank53 wrote: cnw1995 wrote:Mike, I would recommend not being concerned about that - there's plenty of tubular track 'out there' - - -Just a few boxes of what I have hoarded in my Hunt Brothers imitation of cornering the market on tubular:Hey frank i notice you have the knobs on your 1033 Transformer reveresed :Pjust got done putting mine back to factory cond. and http://pictures.olsenstoy.com//cd/transfmr%5Cps1032e.pdf told me the original way they knobs were, were wrong, i guess theres alot of people with this misconception then? lol. That centering spring is a pain to remake if one of the tips breaks tho, :P
The confusion in the knobs comes in to play with Lionel using them in different positions on other transformers.
The black RW-24 handle was used for the throttle on the RW, then they switched to the orange 1011-24 handle for throttle & black RW-24 for the whistle on the 1032/1033 types.
The orange 1011-24 was then used for the whistle/horn on the KW.
Rob
MikeG wrote: My local store told me that tubular track was going to be discontinued, does anyone know anything about that? Thanks
I doubt it. Lionel is still taking orders from dealers with no indication of stopping.
phillyreading wrote: Just how easy is it to order the Williams track, and how long does it take for delivery?Right now if Lionel stops making tubular track I will use GarGraves track for replacement track. Otherwise it will cost me too much to change over to a new track system that has differant sized curves than what I currently have.Lee F.
Lee,
Pick up the phone and call Williams. I got my last order of Tubular track in 3 days.
Chuck
ADCX Rob wrote:The black RW-24 handle was used for the throttle on the RW, then they switched to the orange 1011-24 handle for throttle & black RW-24 for the whistle on the 1032/1033 types. The orange 1011-24 was then used for the whistle/horn on the KW. Rob
So basically Almost identical transformer but different knob placements?
Mike, as Bob Keller noted, there will always be tubular track out there.
Lionel is obviously pushing their FasTrack line, which has certainly turned out to be more popular and well received than I ever thought it would be. Dealers I talk with tell me 027 track is still selling even if not in the quantites it did before all the other track choices. From a business standpoint, Lionel might decide it would be a cost saving move by dropping production of track that doesn't move as quickly as it once did.
As Bob noted, Williams is making tubular track. And nearly every time Lionel make a dumb decision like this, someone else comes along to fill the void and ends up giving Lionel more of a run for their money than they realized. Remember K-Line MDK got their start by making 027 track of all things. K-Line was certainly never a threat to Lionel, but K-Line certainly took away sales and profits from Lionel.
Many of the newer established train companies got their start by providing products that Lionel was not. And while Lionel still may have the majority of the market, these other companies have certainly taken a chunk out of Lionel's sales. Often it takes the competition to wake the lion up and get them to do what they already should have done. The MTH story is a well known example. But Industrial Rail UMD and Ready Made Toys are recent good examples.
If someone had proposed the 027 BEEP loco to Lionel years ago, they probably would have said their was no market for it. Then along comes RMT to make Lionel take notice and acknowledge that the traditional 027 market is the LARGEST sector of the 3-rail market, though the much smaller scale end makes far more noise and complains much more. It has taken the presense of Jerry Calabrese to get Lionel to focus more on the majority of the market and less on the minority. And Calabrese is not even a train guy as were Kughn, Brady and Maddox.
So if it turns out to be true that Lionel is going to drop tubular track, it will end up being yet another in a line of dumb decisions Lionel has made over the years that allows another company to get a start and give Lionel far more competition than they bargained for.
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
Chuck,
Thank you for the reply! I like Williams trains and may buy some new tubular track when I need it.
Have plenty of extra ties from 3R Plastics & Moondog Express to fill the spaces between the rails to make the track look more realistic. To keep the ties in place I glue them in with Squadron green putty as I have green mats over the plywood.
If Lionel stops making tubular track it may be just like Brianel027 mentions, another company will fill the void. Could it be possible that Lionel sold the patent rights for tubular track to Williams?
Bob Nelson
Iruleyou05 wrote: ADCX Rob wrote:The black RW-24 handle was used for the throttle on the RW, then they switched to the orange 1011-24 handle for throttle & black RW-24 for the whistle on the 1032/1033 types. The orange 1011-24 was then used for the whistle/horn on the KW. Rob So basically Almost identical transformer but different knob placements?
These are three vastly different transformers, actually.
The 110 watt RW is a one train, with a black throttle handle(RW-24) & red(S-25) direction button & black(S-24) whistle button.
The orange 1011-24 handle for throttle & black RW-24 for the whistle was used on the 75/90 watt 1032/1033 one-train types.
The two-train 190 watt KW used the orange 1011-24 for the whistle/horn for both A & B outputs.
Not confusing enough?
The "1033 cousin" 75 watt 1034 used a red direction button and a black throttle handle.
phillyreading wrote: Chuck,Thank you for the reply! I like Williams trains and may buy some new tubular track when I need it. Have plenty of extra ties from 3R Plastics & Moondog Express to fill the spaces between the rails to make the track look more realistic. To keep the ties in place I glue them in with Squadron green putty as I have green mats over the plywood.If Lionel stops making tubular track it may be just like Brianel027 mentions, another company will fill the void. Could it be possible that Lionel sold the patent rights for tubular track to Williams?Lee F.
I doubt if Lionel would give up the rights to tubular track. There are too many people that use it. The Williams tubular has 5 ties. Lionel has 3 ties. I do have some older Lionel track that has 5 ties.
Blueberryhill RR wrote: phillyreading wrote: Chuck,Thank you for the reply! I like Williams trains and may buy some new tubular track when I need it. Have plenty of extra ties from 3R Plastics & Moondog Express to fill the spaces between the rails to make the track look more realistic. To keep the ties in place I glue them in with Squadron green putty as I have green mats over the plywood.If Lionel stops making tubular track it may be just like Brianel027 mentions, another company will fill the void. Could it be possible that Lionel sold the patent rights for tubular track to Williams?Lee F.Lee,I doubt if Lionel would give up the rights to tubular track. There are too many people that use it. The Williams tubular has 5 ties. Lionel has 3 ties. I do have some older Lionel track that has 5 ties. Chuck
You fellows with the tubular track could be in a real bind if we have to go to war & the Govt. has a scrap drive like in the 2nd. world war. There goes all your tubular track, with 48 million tons out there, for the War effert !!
csxt30 wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: phillyreading wrote: Chuck,Thank you for the reply! I like Williams trains and may buy some new tubular track when I need it. Have plenty of extra ties from 3R Plastics & Moondog Express to fill the spaces between the rails to make the track look more realistic. To keep the ties in place I glue them in with Squadron green putty as I have green mats over the plywood.If Lionel stops making tubular track it may be just like Brianel027 mentions, another company will fill the void. Could it be possible that Lionel sold the patent rights for tubular track to Williams?Lee F.Lee,I doubt if Lionel would give up the rights to tubular track. There are too many people that use it. The Williams tubular has 5 ties. Lionel has 3 ties. I do have some older Lionel track that has 5 ties. ChuckYou fellows with the tubular track could be in a real bind if we have to go to war & the Govt. has a scrap drive like in the 2nd. world war. There goes all your tubular track, with 48 million tons out there, for the War effert !!
They'll have to pry my tubular track from my cold, dead hands. Right...Frank53 ??
Tubular track is a fact of life. It is here to stay. It won't go away and there is nothing your dealer can do about it.
Blueberryhill RR wrote: They'll have to pry my tubular track from my cold, dead hands. Right...Frank53 ??
word up.
Frank53 wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: They'll have to pry my tubular track from my cold, dead hands. Right...Frank53 ??word up.
That goes for me too.
Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.
3railguy wrote: MikeG wrote: My local store told me that tubular track was going to be discontinued, does anyone know anything about that? ThanksTubular track is a fact of life. It is here to stay. It won't go away and there is nothing your dealer can do about it.
"You fellows with the tubular track could be in a real bind if we have to go to war & the Govt. has a scrap drive like in the 2nd. world war. There goes all your tubular track, with 48 million tons out there, for the War effert !!"
The key word there is "scrap." When the scrap drives were held, these were donations of items that were scrap. I doubt many of us 027 tubular guys would consider our track "scrap." Though to continue on this speculative thought, the guys who would be in REAL trouble would be the guys who like the new electronic loaded scale sized trains. For one thing, all the trains are made overseas in China, so that would stop. Even with trains currently still coming stateside, parts for these newer trains are not widely available if available at all. On the other hand, the kinds of parts I need for my simple non-scale traditionally sized trains are widely and readily available. And with all the used non-scale traditional trains out there, I would hardly be in any trouble.
On the other hand (as easily witnessed on the other forum) the more advanced train enthusiasts are hardly happy now with all they already have and all that's available. I'd gander they're the ones who would be in deep do-do since there would be no new trains to buy and no parts to buy for the trains they already have.
Truth be told, as unpleasant as it is for the scale guys to swallow, we non-scale traditional sized operators are the unquestionable majority in this hobby. Tubular track is FAR more used and popular than any one thinks. As with command control, my own personal numbers put traditional control operators as well as tubular track users at over 95%.
And as far as a patent on 027 track? Well MARX was making it decades ago and K-Line was making it years ago. As I said before, if Lionel was utterly dumb enough to stop making 027 track again, look out Lionel.... you just opened the door wide open for your next new competing company. Or maybe RMT would take the natural step and make 027 track to add to their line of 027 locos that no one thought would be successful.
Sorry Charlie, but we 027 guys rule, whether we get the attention or not, the hobby cannot survive without our participation, support and purchases.
RR Redneck wrote: Frank53 wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: They'll have to pry my tubular track from my cold, dead hands. Right...Frank53 ??word up. That goes for me too.
- Clint
prewardude wrote: RR Redneck wrote: Frank53 wrote: Blueberryhill RR wrote: They'll have to pry my tubular track from my cold, dead hands. Right...Frank53 ??word up. That goes for me too. - Clint
I may only have this one piece, but I'll go down a fightin' for it !!
Thanks, John
BDT in Minnesota wrote:Well said John,,The tubular is a classic item in itself....there is no reason to change due to a trend...BDT
The design has gone practically unchanged for 92 years. Not many manufactactured goods have this kind of track record.
----------------------
Well, that wouldn't happen in any event--not in the "me"-oriented society we live in these days. Back in the WWII era, virtually everyone of every age sacrificed--willingly--for the war effort. These days, the only folks making any kind of sacrifice at all are the uniformed military and their familes (all of whom are volunteers). Indeed, that is the whole problem with what is going on in this country at the present time, in my opinion. We Americans have become a very self-indulgent and narcisistic people.
All that the majority of train hobbyists seem to "contribute" these days are ideas for more and more products, at every level, that they can eagerly consume (take note of the Lionel Christmas catalog thread, for example).
As for tubular track: It's not likely to disappear in the near future. It has been around for a very long time and is likely used on far more layouts than any other track type, despite the competition posed by FasTrack, RealTrax, Gargraves, Atlas, ScaleTrax, Curtis, a couple of K-Line types, and several others. Even if Lionel didn't offer it, you would still be able to obtain it from the likes of Williams and others.
In short: If you like and use tubular track, I don't think you have anything to worry about in terms of a continuing supply of the stuff.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month