How to identify various eras of O27 (& Marx) Track?

[pgtr]

 How to identify various eras of O27 (& Marx) Track?

I was sorting through a lot of old track I have. I noticed not all the O27 track is identical. Some are marked LIONEL and some are not. some have brown and somme have black 'ties'. Some of the brown ties actually have 'wood-grain' instead of just brown. Some of the black ties have 2 holes for mounting and some only have one. There are some slightly different crimping styles on the bottom of the tubed track where they are bound to the cross ties.

I'm curious if any of these pieces might be Marx rather than Lionel? Is Mmrx track easily distinguished from Lionel O27? Or are they quite similar?

Also what are the different 'generations' or eras for O27 as indicated by some of the tell-tale signs I'm seeing above.

thanks

[lionelsoni]

There are lots of differences:  Marx rails have a distinctive knurling along the web; Lionel is smooth.  Marx rail flanges are folded under the rail; Lionel is folded up, on the top of the flange.  Marx track pins are smooth and blunt, except for a very narrow groove on the end meant to be crimped into the rail; Lionel pins are more pointed and have a wide groove on each end.  Marx ties have two (small) holes symmetrically located on the tie; Lionel's holes are offset from the centerline of the tie.  Marx and early Lionel ties are black with square sides.  Late Lionel ties are brown and have a curved edge similar to but smaller than the curl on O31 ties.

[GPJ68]

Some of the earlier Lionel square ties are also silver.  I have a few sections of K-Line 027 that have wood grain ties and I believe are slightly longer at maybe @ 1/10" or so.  Marx track is typically somewhat "flimsier" than Lionel - it's easier to twist the track in your hand (and also permanently mangle it).  I don't remember which (Lionel or Marx), but one of them has the end ties a little closer to the ends of the rails - I know you can't use Lionel/Ives track clips with Marx or between Marx and Lionel sections.  I don't recall any of my Marx track being ID stamped, while I think all the Lionel and the few K-Line's are.  034 Marx is identified by the presence of 5 ties and is overall a couple-three+ inches longer than standard 027 (curved & straight), and still 8 sections to a full 360.

Never noticed or paid attention to the knurling, the flanges, or the holes - will have to observe that once I finally dig it all out of the moving boxes.

[lionelsoni]

Look for the knurling on the web, not the flanges.

[phillyreading]

Another thing about 027 track is the variations of track pins, Lionel are round with a small point on the end and have a small slot cut into them near the end, both ends. Marx or Ives look more like cut off nails with a small lip on one of the brands near one end of the track pin.

Along with that Ives made some look-a-like 031 curves that are 027 in diameter but have the higher rail heigth of 031. A friend of mine bought some 0 gauge track on ebay and couldn't fiquire out why it didn't work right with his other 0 gauge track, it has Ives stamped on the ties. One other thing that I have noticed about Ives and Lionel track is the length of the straight track, Lionel is around ten inches in length and Ives is closer to nine inches in length.

Lee F.

[dmestan]

Hi guys-

I picked up a box of track today and I'm trying to identify it.  It has square black ties, definitely looks like Lionel pins, and has 2 semetrical screw holes in each tie.  Based on Bob's description the screw holes are a characteristic of Marx track, but they are Lionel ties.  Do the old Lionel black ties also have semetrical holes?

thx, Don

[dmestan]

I found another thread that mentioned Lionel rails are folder toward the top of the rail (which is what I have), and Marx folded under.  So I must have Lionel track.

thx, don