track identification

[balidas]

Greetings,

While going through my mountain of 027 tubular, I found a number of track, straight and curved, that have no identification.  The metal ties are smooth, black in colour, and the tabs for the middle rail are smooth, not crimped like Marx. The only id I have found is on the underside of the cardboard insulator that is stamped "Japan".

Anybody know about this?

 Thanks

[initagain]

It's probably Sakai.  They made switches, some accessories and even some rolling stock, I believe.   

These were the Japanese manufacturer's attempts at entering the hot 1950's 0-27 train market, and were a much cheaper alternative to Lionel.

 

[balidas]

 Looks like you are correct. I googled the company name and this is all I found;

 "As early as 1938, the survivors Lionel, Marx, and American Flyer faced competition from Sakai (also sometimes spelled "Seki"), a Tokyo-based Japanese toy company who sold trains priced at the low end of the market. The product designs most closely resembled Lionel, but with Märklin-like couplers and detail parts that appeared to be copied from Ives"

I also have a pair of turnouts I couldn't indentify. They look like O gauge, but with an 027 profile. The name Sakai is embossed, but I had no clue that was the name of the company.

Thanks

[Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760]

 I have a pair of Sakai turnouts that came with their box. I bought them mainly as they have given me no problem so far with my Fat Wheel  Marx locomotives and my Lionel / Flyer / etc. locos.

So far they have given me a few years of reliable service.

[balidas]

I am glad to hear that. They seem to be pretty sturdy and I like the way they look. They have some good detail. I have been looking to buy more, but I have found no info on them and they don't seem to be so readily available.

How are they wired, and do they have the non-derailing feature?

Thanx