I'm in the process of planning my next model railroad and looking into all possibilities including going O scale 2-rail. It looks really cool. I have a number of questions. If you think I'd be better off posting this some place else let me know. I do worry about getting into a minority scale and discovering that I can't get track or repair my engines or equipment.
I'm thinking about a branch line or short line with 4-6-0's 2-8-0's and Geeps. Point to point operations with considerable switching. WM, B&O or some other West Virginia prototype. I like prototype modeling and I'm not interested in Tinplate. My MR skills are pretty solid.
1. Is Proto-48 worth the extra effort? it does look great.
2. Is there anyone making prefabricated turnouts and flex track besides Atlas? Their turnouts appear nice but pricey. Anything prefab in Proto-48?
3. How hard it is to convert 3 rail engines to 2 rail?
4. Are 2 rail MTH engines and equipment scale? How detailed are they? Can you close the gaps in the pilots of the diesels and convert to Kadee couplers easily?
5. Are detail parts readily available on the web? How about parts to fix and repair old engines? Some O scale equipment looks less detailed than HO.
6. Are structures readily available?
7. Will 48 inch radius work for what I have in mind? I'm not interested in large engines.
8. Does anyone make a stock Baldwin 2-8-0 or 4-6-0? How about 2-bay hoppers?
9. Will my DCC equipment work? I know I'll need bigger decoders.
10. any other suggestions?
You could look here for Proto 48.
Their was an article (last year I believe) on an O layout where the builder discusses how he converted three rail to two rail locomotives.
Just found the issue: November 2017
Hi there. I have a portable O scale layout. Here are some thoughts based on my limited experience.
2. New stuff in O scale is generally pricy. You can find used Rivarossi/AHM track and turnouts.
3. Steam engines: generally hard. Diesel: some manufacturers sell conversion kits
5. Generally a lot less than in HO. I bought engines for parts for that purpose.
6. Maynard's offers some... I would answer yes, but the variety is limited.
8. For steam, brass or used Rivarossi. Atlas makes a nice 0-6-0... Hoppers are easily found on Ebay.
9. It should. That's what I have read.
10. The toy train forum is worth checking.
Simon
I have dabbled in 2 rail O off and on for many years. I like the size of the trains, but the layout size needed for what I want to do is too great.
1.Proto 48 - I have no experience with, but have heard that it requires even larger curves.
2.Pre fab is Atlas turnouts and track, Peco has the same, ME makes flex track, and MTH has 2 rail sectional track in their catalog. Atlas and ME are code 148, Peco and MTH code 125.
3.3 rail to 2 rail would require changing the wheel sets to insulated and RP flanges as well as rerouting the center rail pick up. The chief problem here is finding the parts especially steam locomotive drivers. MTH has some diesel conversion kits for their Premier line - don't know if they are adaptable to other brands.
4. MTH's Premier line is supposed to be all scale size. This is their only line that has 2 rail options or conversion kits.
5. Parts for building structures and freight cars are available. There are some detail parts available for locomotives, but this tends to be sparse. Most of the O world is 3 rail RTR, the scale side is very small.
6. Quite a few structures are available. There is a tendency in O for buildings to be undersized especially assembled buildings.
7. For what you describe, 48 inch radius should work fine - maybe not P48 though.
8. 2 bay hoppers are available from time to time. Steam locomotives are produced in brass and by MTH's Premier line. But few are available new at any given time.
9. MTH's protosound 3 will work with DCC. Current Atlas 2 rail locomotives also work with DCC. Older locomotives including Atlas will probably require adding a decoder.
10. This is a scale that has produced a lot over the years, so shopping the used markets can can be fruitful, but older stuff is usually not up to today's standards.
Paul