Outside third rail

[underworld]

Does anyone here have experience modeling outside third rail???

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

underworld

[Dr.Fu-Manchu]

The Doctor Is In !!! If you look in the May 2005 Issue of CTT, There is an article about a
outside third rail layout built by a fellow named Cal Schmahl. He uses modified Lionel
equpment. This should give you a place to start.

Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble Yet Strangly Evil Doctor !!! [}:)]

[trigtrax]

This group, the Bay Ridge Model RR Club has an entire layout built with outside third rail.

http://www.members.tripod.com/~KnightTime/bayridgemodelrailroadclub.html

[virbet]

The layout that Cinergy, AKA The Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company ,puts up in their lobby a Christmas is outside 3rd rail.. Really Great.

[Anonymous]

For those of us new to the hobby (two years), what is "modeling outside third rail"?

[csxt30]

sbnr466: That just means instead of the center rail, like in the 3 rail 027 Lionel track, is not in the center , but to the outside of the track. It works the same way as the center rail, and is prototypical like on Metro passenger trains. The engine has an outside shoe that rides on that outside rail to pick up the electricity to run the electric traction motors built in to the trucks under the engine, that power the wheels. Hope this helps, thanks, John

[underworld]

Hey guys, Thanks for all the information! Now I'm trying to think if there is someplace I can get a May CTT at 10PM! Oh well, I can get one tomorrow morning.

Thanks!!!

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[dougdagrump]

A couple of years ago my sister gave me a VHS tape of the Cincinnati Gas & Electric layout. Brought back some fond memories of my youth. [^]

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dougdagrump

A couple of years ago my sister gave me a VHS tape of the Cincinnati Gas & Electric layout. Brought back some fond memories of my youth. [^]

That one is real good;my sis was just down from the Cincy area today,
and she gave us a video of that layout,plus the brochure about it.
Not had a chance to watch it yet,but it's going to bring back memories
of the days I actually got to see it in person.
My father ALWAYS ook us to see the layout; in the years we lived around there.

[Bob Keller]

We ran an article about the CG&E (now Cinergy) layout in the Dec 98 CTT.

[spankybird]

OGR has a great Video on the Cinergy layout

http://www.ogaugerr.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=V-Adventures-01

[daan]

They say outside rail is more prototypicall, but it isn't. It's prototypicall to metroliners, but everything else is as odd as the thrd rail in the middle.
It's a lot of extra fuzz and problems, which are solved already by industries of 3 rail tracks. It could be my own vision, but I don't see any advantage on rebuilding your steam engine from 3 rail into outside rail only to gain "prototypicallness". You want prototypes? They also have 2 rail 0 gauge. it's surprizingly even more prototypicall then the outside rail.
That it's technicly seen, a brilliant piece of art, is another story and seen from that view I agree, it's something special. But the prototypicall thing is a bit nonsense...

[cnw1995]

How could I forget all the articles in Model Railroader on John Armstrong's Canadaiga Southern -that was a classic outside-third-rail layout.

[lionelsoni]

I have heard that third rail was more common in the northeast early in the twentieth century, although I can't find anything definitive to support that. It was an expedient for early "scale" model railroaders, who often adapted "toy" trains for their layouts. The Lionel hudson was supposed to have been prized for this purpose. The idea was that the third rail was prototypical because it would have been there for the railroad's electric locomotives. The observer was not supposed to notice, or was supposed to overlook, the pickup shoes on the steam locomotives.

[marxalot]

A couple of friends and I were given a behinds the scene tour of the Cinergy display last year. What a beautiful layout. The history of the thing is impressive and it is interesting to note that way back in 1930's the B&O folks built it using the outside 3rd rail. What I appreciated is the committment of the operating folks to keep the old equipment in use. Sure they could replace every motor with a new can type......... but that is the last thing they wi***o do. And visually I think the outaide rail dissappears a lot more than the center...... but like a past poster said, if we were concerned about that we'd all be doing 2 rail O. I'm planning on going back this year with the wife to see it again.

Jim

[underworld]

Thanks for the continued information guys! This place is great!!! [:D] I just picked up a May issue of CTT today. [:)]

daan I wasn't looking to be prototypical. What I have is some old Gauge 1 Marklin trains. I have had a hard time finding much Gauge 1 three rail track. I used to see it a lot at train shows around here, but now since I have the trains I can't find much track. I got a lot of Gauge 1 track from a friend of mine, but it is two rail. I figured I could add a third rail either with bare wire in the center as the third rail or try an outside third rail. I thought that an outside rail would be easier for switches (points). Is Gauge 1 three rail track easy to find in Holland?

underworld

[underworld]

trigtrax I tried the link that you gave for Bay Ridge, but I couldn't find any pics.


underworld

[tsgtbob]

The old Hagerstown Model RR. club was outside 3rd rail. There was a story in MR many years ago about it. Sadly, the club lost it's home whan the fairgrounds closed in the early 90s.
They used Loubaugh and some other early scale locomotives.
I think one of the clubs in Altoona is also outside 3rd pail, not sure which one.

[Anonymous]

As I see it, there's very little reason--today--to consider using an outside third rail. It served it's purpose back in the early days of O scale, but involves a whole lot of work and modification with little useful gain. Better, in my opinion, to simply go with two-rail these days, or resign yourself to accepting that center rail which the vast majority of O gauge/scale models are designed for. You would not be gaining a whole lot in the way of prototypical accuracy by going with outside third rail unless you're modeling an East Coast terminal operation of some sort (using electric-powerd locomotives), and you'll definitely not find any steam locomotives that required an outside third rail to operate.

Great for someone who is interested in studying the history of the hobby, but of little practical value today to anyone who is most interested in doing away with a third rail altogether, or who is striving for more prototypical accuracy (with the exception noted above)..

[underworld]

Allan Miller I'm not trying for prototype look or accuracy. I have some prewar Marklin Gauge 1 trains. I haven't had much luck finding track. GarGraves does make a Gauge 1 three rail as flex track....but the turnouts are only available as two rail ( although they do make three rail turnouts in O and Standard Gauge ) . I even called them to see if it might just be an error in their website. They said that there just wasn't enough call for three rail Gauge 1 turnouts. I thought about putting in a center rail on two rail track ( I just got a lot of two rail from a friend of mine for pretty cheap ) and that's when I started to think about outside rail. I thought it might be easier to do for the turnouts. I have also posted the question in the Garden Railways and the Model Railroader sections and I've gotten quite a bit of interesting information and ideas. I think I am going to make a few small sections. One with center rail, one with outside rail, and one with "studs" in the center.....like the current Marklin HO Gauge track. I'm also open to other ideas. I think this multiple current feed source experiment will be fun.

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]