Does anyone have any experience / thoughts on the Lionel 42" Path switches - Lionel Part# 6-12080 / 6-12081 - O Gauge, not O-27? Any reliability issues, electrical issues, snags with locos, dead spots, do they work well with sliding shoe type trucks, etc.?
I am thinking about tearing down the current layout (Atlas Track) and rebuilding with O Gauge tubular track - I believe I can do everything I want to with all O-42 curves / switches. Since the “new standard” seems to be FastTrack O-36, I am thinking about staying away from the O-31 curves.
Is cost a factor for you? If so Lionel’s Fastrac will eat up your track dollars rather quickly.
I use GarGraves track and switches and have almost NO trouble with the switches, Gargraves track has many curve sizes, from 031 to 096 which is even more than Fastrac, and the switches are low profile so almost anything will go throw without a hang-up issue.
I have used Lionel 031 switches # 6-23010 & 23011 and had the most problems with them so I went over to Gargraves track and switches and love the reliability of Gargraves switches. The only real issue is that all three rails are insulated from each other unlike Lionel’s track.
Cost is not the deciding factor, but I also do not want to spend more than necessary. I have thought about FastTrack - I do have enough currently for a 4 x 8 plus a few switches. I am primarily leaning right now to O Gauge tubular - I mentioned the O-36 vs O 31 because of some of the threads here and on OGR discussing the new standard of O-36 in starter sets and the fact that the Harry Potter set will not run on anything smaller than O-36. If this is the sign of things to come, I would probably rebuild using O-42 instead of the O-31 curves.
Your feedback on the Lionel O-31 switches is appreciated. Do you recall what the problems were (electrical, mechanical, etc.)? Also, on you Gargraves track, what kind of trains do you run? I have a couple of smaller semi scale Lionel steamers, Lionel GPs, Century Club F3s, a few cars with the sliding shoes on the truck, etc. I just had to grind the edges off some of the Atlas switches to stop one the cars from snagging - even with the shoe Atlas supplies with their switches specifically for that. I also started having problems with one of the Atlas switch machines acting up and the newer HotBox NYC Mikado’s rear truck periodically catches somewhere in the switch when backing through one of the Atlas switches - I am still researching why that is happening.
I have a mixture of Atlas nickel silver and steel track, so I get the benefit of Magnatraction on some areas of the layout. Is the Gargraves track steel?
I really like Atlas as a company; they have a nice track system, however, it seems more geared toward the hi-rail community. There customer service has been fantastic.
The 23010/23011 have not been made or cataloged for some years now. They were a footprint replacement for the old 022 style(which was noted for durability & longevity) that did not pan out. They had little detachable partial “make-up” sections that were optional in use. These switches were not as robust as the 022 style, they were easily broken by turning the lanterns by hand instead of by remote, the non-derailing was finicky due to the short trigger rails, among other failures(tracking/derailments/electrical, etc.). The 022 was rather quickly reissued(14062/14063).
Yes. GarGraves is also available in optional Stainless Steel, which contrary to popular belief, also has some ferrous content and some magnetic property(just weaker than the steel track).
I think everyone is missing the point of Luther’s question.
I also would like to switch to tube track, but found modern O31 switches unsatisfactory. I also like the gentler curve of O42 compared to O31. I am currently using fastrack and like the smoothness,but I would prefer the look of tube track.
The switches Luther is asking about are in fact “O” profile. They are the former K-0375 & K-0376 switches, albeit with the late production low-profile switch motors.
They have the same features as when K-Line made them, and should have the same good reliability.
The fixed voltage feature is a big plus, & K-Line did have this advantage on their “O-27” profile switches(K-0275 & K-0276) as well. I wish Lionel would ditch their “O-27” design switches for the K-Line designs as long as they now have them.
The Lionel 6-23010 & 23011 were famous for coming up with problems as I like to put it; were not Williams locomotive compatible, electrical failures inside. The design was rather nice but in actual use they lacked any purposeful capacity, in plain english the more you used the switch the more problems you would encounter.
That was one(Lionel’s # 23010) of the reasons I went with Gargraves switches and track, the others were appearance and being low profile to prevent overhang issues at the switch. Another plus with Gargraves track is that you can cut it to fit your layout needs unlike Fastrac! For me Fastrac just don’t meet my needs for a layout, curves are too large for minimum, switches are too expensive for my finances.
I don’t use Atlas track so no comment except that their switches require a lot of space compared to other brands of track.