This is really a question of curiosity since I hand lay all of my own track. Anytime I see old Tru-Scale track for sale online or ebay, it always sells. It seems that there is a silent demand for the stuff even though it has all brass rail. What is it about this track that is still so popular? I don't know anyone that has any or who has ever mentioned it yet there is apparently a silent group of people who do. Does anyone here have any or still use it? What is it about this track that is still so appealing to many today?
I laid it in 1950 and it worked just fine. It looked good and was better than any of the other stuff then. I am now using flex track and I think it is easier. I have a friend who has a bunch of it on his operations layout and it looks good. They use it every week and it gives them no trouble. Brass only is a problem if you let it sit, I am told. I don't know why anyone would lay it these days except for sentimental value.
The True Scale track I have is nickel silver rail, not brass. I bought True Scale turnout kits in the early to mid 1960's and still have two of them.
Tru-scale track started off with milled wood roadbed - think E-Z Track without rails. My objection was that the grain was lengthwise of the milled piece, sideways to the ties. I could never afford it myself, but did encounter it on several club layouts. Since the ties had tie plates milled into them, it was somewhat self-gauging when rail was laid on rail-free roadbed.
Tru-switches were unusual in that the points, closure rails and frog wings were a single assembly that pivoted between the stock rails. This resulted in a closed frog, and made them all but derailment proof.
An excellent product for its day. Of course, its day was six decades ago.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I recall that they had three products, 1) plain milled roadbed (no ties) for those who wanted a solid base for track, 2) the milled roadbed with ties for spiking in your own rail, and 3) the top of the line -milled roadbed with ties and rail included. It even had the roadbed painted with a textured gray paint for ballast.
The last was outragiously priced at about a buck a foot!
Jim
Yep, I bought some at a going out of business sale plain and with ties. Changed scales before I used it. But I still have it - I will eventually do a small display layout with all my old HO stuff.
Enjoy
Paul
My first layout, built for me by my father when I was 10 was all TruScale track. It was the premier track product in HO during the 50' and 60's. In later years it was offered with nickel silver rail and was always offered in all forms - roadbed only, roadbed with ties for you to lay rail on, and "finished" called "Ready Track".
Turnouts came in kits or Ready Track and their closed frog "high speed" design worked well. I learned how to hand lay track by building TruScale track, then learned how to lay Campbell ties, etc.
I still have a couple dozen feet of several types around here somewhere. It was still manufactured until just a few years ago, well maybe ten years ago.
Sheldon
I still have a circle of the 26" self gauging track, some of it with rail spiked by me when I was in high school around 1960. Also have a #7 hi-speed turnout with what appears to be steel rail, as well as a set of points from another one , also apparently steel. Interestingly it all seems to still match my 3 point track gauge. And not a trace of warpping, even after almost 50 years.
I have some of the straight milled roadbed with ties and I laid ns rail on it for my display cases. I also have some of the premium line with NS rail and the painted ballast, also in a display case. These were left over from a model railroad my company in New York built for the 1964-65 Worlds Fair. It was an outdoor layout under a huge tent and the track worked great for the two years of the fair. Pretty good product even today.
Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Tru-Scale Plain Roadbed for HO and HOn3 is still available from Trout Creek Engineering along with lots of other supplies for track work. See the Tru-Scale at the bottom of the page at http://www.troutcreekeng.com/bkho.html.
A search of the site reveals Plain Roadbed also available for O, On3, and S. And the Tru-Scale Hi-Speed turnout kits are still available in S because they can handle a mixture of American Flyer (hi-rail)and scale flanges better than more traditonal turnouts.
Fred W
fwright Tru-Scale Plain Roadbed for HO and HOn3 is still available from Trout Creek Engineering along with lots of other supplies for track work. See the Tru-Scale at the bottom of the page at http://www.troutcreekeng.com/bkho.html. A search of the site reveals Plain Roadbed also available for O, On3, and S. And the Tru-Scale Hi-Speed turnout kits are still available in S because they can handle a mixture of American Flyer (hi-rail)and scale flanges better than more traditonal turnouts. Fred W
Wow, Trout Creek must have found a source for the wood. Last time I talked to him about TruScale, maybe 5 years ago, he was thinking he would have to drop it all together for lack of good wood.
I had not seen any more ads from him so I figured it was completely gone.
To those of you that still have some, how about some pictures of it? I've seen what it looks like but never down on a layout installed. I'm really just curious about it's potential. I own a 3 axis cnc router and could easily make these.
fredswain To those of you that still have some, how about some pictures of it? I've seen what it looks like but never down on a layout installed. I'm really just curious about it's potential. I own a 3 axis cnc router and could easily make these.
You can usually find it at swap meets. Even if not for sale, you'll see what it looks like.
I purchased a bunch of tru scale roadbed about 30 years ago at a garage sale. It actually had steel rail. I used it on my previous layout. It was a real pain to solder with the steel rail. I didn't use it on my existing layout. I actually have a bundle of rail that was never installed. And it has weathered just like real rail since it is steel.
I don't recall ever having seen their track . . . . . I knew it was manufactured . . . . . I just don't recall ever having seen any. I have, however, seen humongous amounts of plain milled and tie milled roadbed . . . . . all three of the clubs I belonged to in the '60s and 70s used it. I utilized plain milled roadbed and Code 100 flextrack on my first postretirement-from-the-Air Force (home) layout It was nice to work with but, at the same time, it was an excellent way to drain your train budget; in addition to the expense involved I found the roadbed-flextrack combination noisy so, on my second and last HO-Scale layout I went the plywood-Homasote®-cork route with Codes 83 and 70 flextrack. I found this combination no only cheaper but quieter..
I was unaware that Tru-Scale roadbed was still being produced until it was brought to my attention here on the forum a few years back.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet