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Hornby 3 Rail 00/H0 (as they and Airfix used to describe their stuff... allowed a little engineering tolerance I suspect) used to run okay as 3rd rail only... I only really recall seeing it once... on someone's carpet... must have been posh - to have carpet in those days. I'd forgotten that Marklin did a stud system... now I recall they use a copper wire with "bumps" bent in it to stick up as the studs... using screws would be a whole lot easier than sitting for days bending the wire just right. You do only need a screw thick enough to hold itself up and provide the tip for contact... you could use copper hardboard nails... but getting the head height constant would be almost impossible. When I suggested that 3rd rail would be difficult in 3.5mm above I was meaning accurately modelled 3rd rail. Could be done... but easier to stick with 2 rail... as per Hornby Dublo... which was a real revolution made possible by plastic/insulated ties... I've been wondering since my last on this... how comethe electricity throught the studs - through the baseboard (which was hardboard indoors and plywood out) didn't just short straight to earth... but it didn't and it looks like John Armstrong's system was basically the same. I've never seen the juice arc on the 4th rail (tube) underground and wouldn't want to... thinking about that... maybe a little bit of flashing around points just beyond platforms... I'm biased, a 3rd rail man, the tubes didn't fla***hat much where I worked with them on the surface at Wimbledon Park. Just after I started, in the winter of '78, Southern was shut down several times by frost because we didn't get a good warning from the Met Office to send the de-icers out. One morning we had a station FULL... 3 twelve car platforms plus the Booking Hall plus... (You wouldn't believe how many shivering people do not understand the sentence "There are NO commuter trains running on Southern EXCEPT on the Reading-Tonbridge and Hastings Lines"). Anyhow... after a bit a driver reckoned that if he could pull one of the old SUB units out of the yard the ice might be mushy enough for it's weight to get it through and scrub the juice. We announced like crazy that he was going to come back through platform 2 and would most likely arc a lot. A few people cleared the platforms as we suggested. Those that saw him move out of the siding in a shower of sparks like Guy Faulkes night went (like us) and hid... To make sure he got through he came back through 2 road as fast as he could... the sparks wer going up above the gutters over the 1st (2nd to you) floor. You've never seen platforms clear so fast... In snow on the Brighton Line I've seen a 200' deep cutting lit up like a football stadium. (One train stuck in the queue the Guard came over to my Box and we brewed up a baby's feed while they waited). NOW THAT WAS CUSTOMER SERVICE! Meanwhile, back at the prewar Marklin... I'd go with either going the full hog on juicing 3rd centre rail... just raid some plain track for the parts and work out where you need the rails in switches. This is favourite if you want to keep the locos original. 2nd choice I'd go for centre studs . With modern adhesives you should be able to attach the skate hanger brackets inside the loco frames with as little "damage" to the original as possible. If you do have to use screws (I wouldn't solder) it would only mean a few small holes (out of sight behind the drivers)(use countersunk 10BA - 12BA if you can- pushing the screw in from the outside/nuts inside the frame). I'm sure that this was a conversion used when I was a kid. Oh yes, the "tolerances" on most of the old 0 Gauge 3rd railers were sledge hammer size... we used to refer to them as "Steamrollers" because of the enormous wheel treads... something like 6 -10mm. I don't know what you'd have to do to not blow everything up but, if you have 2rail track you could use stud (or 3rd rail) OR 2 rail on the same track... I suspect that all you'd have to do is put a changeover switch between one rail and the studs/3rd...OH YES... AND TAKE OFF ALL THE STUFF WITH NON-INSULATED AXLES/FRAMES ETC... OR SECURE THEM IN ISOLATED SIDINGS. Bit of a bother but it would increase the scope of your efforts. You could probably put in an RCD or some sort of trip/reset to test that nothing non-insulated was still on the 2 rail each time you changed from 3rd to 2rail... I don't THINK you need to do it the other way. DON'T BELIEVE ME...MY WIRING IS (to quote "The Mask")... "SMOKING BABY"! ...'still... if it doesn't smoke; it must be right... Studs done well barely show.. they are FAR easier than 3rd rail... and you don't want to look at the 3rd under steam or diesel if you aren't running electrics... The 3rd aslo NEEDS cleaning just the same as 2 rail... I don't recall ever having to clean the studs... the rails yes but not the studs and that included outdoors. Have fun! Oh yes... those camera flash units... the disposable cameras have a warning on them to not take them apart... they are some sort of capacitor discharge... if you know what you're doing take your own risks (don't blame me!)... BUT... they can hurt AND THEY CREATE HEAT... may be brief... but the fire they might start could be a bit longer... especially if it smoulders un-noticed until after you've left your train room...
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