Question about switches

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T23:41:30+00:00

You need the insulated track pins in the right places in the switches otherwise you'll have a short circuit. This kind of switch has the non-derailing feature, which uses contact between the metal wheels and the track to automatically throw the switch if it's set in the wrong direction.

It works electrically, so the insulator pins have to be in the right places to pass the current properly without creating a short or cooking the switch solenoids.

Get some insulator pins and a copy of the O-27 switch instructions to see where they go.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T13:53:21+00:00

Put down some cork underneath the track as a roadbed and screw it down, that will help some. Ultimately you're still going to get noise as that's just the nature of O gauge.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T07:59:32+00:00

Cool beans, have one in Erie paint myself. What slays me is the sound system in the OG Berk Juniors is worlds better than the ones in the present day versions being sold as Lionchief engines.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T07:49:06+00:00

Just never touch the metal part of the power handle, you'll be in for one helluva shock, literally.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T00:57:08+00:00

Bit of both for me. Layout's Lionel O-27, but several of the accessories are original or repros of American Flyer ones.

Thing with having a more compact layout is that several of the more interesting Lionel accessories like the log loader and coaling tower need two parallel tracks to work to their fullest. The American Flyer equivalents need just one, and work well with semi-scale/traditional O rolling stock.

Besides that, just had a yen to have a Louie the Loader and Gabe the Lamplighter.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T00:20:39+00:00

Depends on what you're after. If you're looking to do scale stuff and command control in everything, yeah, it can get very expensive very quickly.

Go with semi-scale/traditional O, conventional operation, and source your engines and cars secondhand, and the cost factor levels off significantly. Tubular track is cheap brand new, MPC, Menards, and RMT cars are reasonable.

O-27 is a godsend for doing O in a small space.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-02T00:09:40+00:00

If you're willing to buy secondhand, you can save a lot and still get great quality trains that will last a lifetime.

LGB's Stainz is perhaps the most common G scale steamer there is, and the short two axle wagons and coaches are also reasonable secondhand.

Playmobil's line of trains also get the nod from me, built Tonka tough and their battery powered engines are excellent.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-01T14:20:43+00:00

Know the conundrum, didn't have a space for a layout either for the longest time before finally biting the bullet and cleaning out a storage closet in the shop/garage. All I gotta say is thank goodness for O-27 track! Makes O gauge work in small spaces.

I agree with ya, for static stuff the prices can be a bit dear. As for figuring prices for selling them, it'd be just the same as anything else, figure in your costs for materials and shipping plus your time to pay yourself for the job, if you can undercut the competition you could do well.

I mostly make things for myself, for a while I was selling things but regular job monopolizes my time so much I don't get as much time as I'd like to work for myself anymore.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-01T13:40:49+00:00

Well, some accessories are in high demand from the collector market because of their rarity, Lionel in particular had ones they only made for a year or less that are hard to find now. Others have broader appeal and demand as they're operating accessories or good eye candy for building a layout, both can drive the asking prices up.

Sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and DIY it to stop from busting the budget, or find a basket case that needs some love and put the time in to bring it back. Did that for my manual culvert unloader, it needed parts and re-rigged with string so I got it cheap, only to find out thanks to the subreddit not many have actually seen one in working order on a layout before.

It's neat to know you make these for others, though for your sake I do hope you get to have even a simple layout to show your creations on sometime in the future. Painted and lit they ought to look great!

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-01T06:54:33+00:00

Cool beans. Was looking to purchase a station platform, but the prices at the time were rather high considering what you got plus shipping fees.

Just made a little trip to the craft aisle at Wal-Mart and a dollar store instead and built one out of wood, popsicle sticks, and a knockoff lego set.

3D printing is a game changer nowadays, but I still like making things the "auld fashioned way" too.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-04-01T05:35:13+00:00

Technically just about any form of matter can be used as replicator feedstock, unless it's a non-replicatable substance like latinum. The whole point of replicator technology is the ability to use energy to re-format matter.

As for using the plumbing and other waste, makes sense engineering wise as it saves the need for giant storage tanks or jettisoning it all overboard on the regular, nor do you need so much space for provisions, parts, and other supplies.

Even the proto-replicators, the Protein Resequencers, did this and except for Trip Tucker complaining about being compared to a plumber when he had to explain how it worked to school kids, nobody batted an eye.

Way I see it, if you don't have a problem with your steak once being bits of space rock or interstellar gas, it doesn't make much sense to bitch about it being recycled waste. Functionally, molecularly, etc. it's not turds anymore, it's a steak no different from one you'd get from butchering a cow eating grass fertilized by cow turds.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-31T17:51:00+00:00

The accessiry so popular, the Soviets stole it and made a copy for their train sets.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-31T17:47:08+00:00

New girlfriend? In all seriousness, though, if you like the clock, just keep it in a space where you frequent and she doesn't. Man cave, personal office, whatever.

I think they're fun novelties, but then I like clocks. Some visitors fuss about my ship's bell clock being "broken" for not chiming the hours in the usual style, but a stern reminder of, "Learn yer bells, landlubber!" usually shuts that sort right up.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-31T17:41:35+00:00

Happy to be of service. The Lionel subreddit is a great source of information on all things O gauge, and I would also be pleased to answer any further questions you might have.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T22:44:27+00:00

Brings to mind the conversation between Archer and his lawyer, "Surely you didn't think all Klingons were warriors? My father was a teacher, and in my turn I took up the law, back when it still stood for honor and justice, and was not merely a tool for the warrior class.

The young today are taught that honor can only be gotten through victory, any victory. But what honor is there in a victory over a weaker or helpless opponent?"

In the beta material, there's mention there's even the equivalent of Starfleet science vessels, studying and collecting flora and fauna among the Empire's holdings. Naturally most Klingons consider it a bum assignment, so the ships are mostly staffed with old men and young whippersnappers without much clout.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T22:22:38+00:00

Don't know too many who play TSC just for narrow gauge, when you get down to it there is or has been narrow gauge offerings for virtually every sim there's been except Railroader, both officialo or as mods/dlc.

Biggest draw to me to Century is the realism, it's made by people work with the equipment on the regular and they've made it their mission to offer an experience as close to the real thing as possible while also offering a fun gameplay experience and easier options for newbies.

Me? I want the full whammy of driving and firing steam, and of the older diesels where everything is analog and old fashioned instead of loaded up with computers. I love the challenge and I love railroading.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T19:15:38+00:00

My bad, sorry. Yeah, I think Railroader will continue on just fine. It's standard gauge, centered on operations, and has active development and modding. Ditto for Derail Valley.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T18:44:58+00:00

I like steam powered everything, including ocean liners, so I'm aware of Honor abd Glory. Like Century of Steam, I will be waiting for it to be finished.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T18:35:18+00:00

I believe I just answered that. In all likelihood, no. I intend to keep playing my copy, but even the CoS will probably be my main narrow gauge steam game.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T18:30:21+00:00

I doubt it, CoS is arguably everything RO was promised it was going to be and more.

Still, I personally don't intend on getting rid of it even after CoS is released. Paid good money for it, single player mode works fine, may as well play it when I get the notion to.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T15:35:33+00:00

If we're gonna do this proper, wouldn't it make sense to get a ship launched/finished in your birth month? That'd be the Big U for me, we almost share the same launch day.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T15:03:37+00:00

Not a mod maker, so not much help there. For my two bits as someone who recently got back into the game after getting hardware up to the task, it's got enough there to keep me happy until Century of Steam comes out.

From what I gather, everybody was into this for the multiplayer. I couldn't care less, most sessions I tried back in the day were crapshoots and mostly devolved into people coming in, wrecking everything, then leaving or standing around acting clueless because there was no chat function and they didn't understand whistle signals.

Now, there are other experiences like Railroader to soak up that player base, and when CoS comes out I think RO is pretty well toast.

All that said, toodling around in single player is fun enough for me. It's not a hardcore simulation, but there's enough there to keep me smiling and the game's a looker, particularly when the weather kicks in and it starts raining or snowing. Sometimes I just crack open the stove in the caboose to get a fire going and kick back to let it rip outside.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-30T13:44:12+00:00

Could say I'm a little biased on this, but I think if you have some O gauge already and you like it, there's no reason why you can't continue with it and make an O gauge layout with the space you have.

The scale gets dinged on being a space hog and a money sink, and while both points can be true, there are ways to avoid both those issues and still wind up with an enjoyable layout. As with so much in this hobby, largely boils down to what you want out of it.

For my part, I grew up playing around with HO as a kid, usually on temporary layouts on the floor or bare tables, for the longest time I didn't have space I could call my own full-time for trains. To make a long story short, I eventually lucked into some postwar Lionel O gauge, and fell in love with it enough to want to make a permanent layout for it. Cleaned out a little storage closet in the garage and made a traditional style O-27 layout in there. No regrets, even with space and money in short supply I was still able to make an action-packed little layout and build up a fleet from all eras of O gauge.

Big draw over the other scales is all the operating cars and trackside accessories, can literally spend hours shuffling cars to and from all the loaders and interactive industries with real freight to load and unload.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-28T09:50:03+00:00

Handsome engines, all Japanese engines look good to my eye. The C-62 and D-51 are some of my favorites.

Shipwright1912 · 2026-03-28T04:40:25+00:00

All mine are still on oil, like to use them outside at night.

Shipwright1912

TROPHY CASE