I’m thinking about buying some prewar T Rail from somebody. I have have a piece of T Rail that was given to me to look over, and to help decide if i want to buy some. I just have a few questions about this type of track, since I haven heard of this type of track until now (I’m alilttle new to collecting vintage toy trains and accessories) Anyone have any opinions on this type of track? I personally like the look of it, its more realistic looking, yet it still has an antique look which I like alot! I also have a few prewar lionel transformer, and some locomotives that would look great on some period track, like the T rail. Ive heard good things about the track like it has a smoother ride, and that the track is pretty desireable I just want to hear what alot of you guys have to say about this type track and if its worth buying. I know these are suppose to come with a wrench, and tons of screws…not sure if these have all of of that or not.
My first question is, how do you get power to the track? I thought maybe a conventional power clip would work, but on the sample i have, the bottom and sides of the rails are painted black, which i dont think would make a good ele
This track is called T rail. The radius of the curve is 072 and you’ll need 16 sections to make a complete circle. It is a tremendous track system but will be expensive to buy.
The radius is 36" nominally, 35.88" is the actual center rail radius. There are manual & remote switches available, but no operating or uncoupling sections were offered. It is a very expensive track system, but nice looking.
I thought it might have a big radius, based on a few pics Ive seen of it, but 16 Pieces for a full circle?! I’m hoping to get a deal on this track, he says he just wants to get rid of it, sine he bought it cheap, and only wanted it to display his collection. Hopefully he’ll accept my offer tomorrow, i couldn’t find too many pieces for sale, so my offer’s based off of one of the prices I saw.
T-Rail 072 is the recommended track way back when for my Lionel 763-E semi scale Hudson that was manufactured in 1937. I don’t have any but my 763-E runs just fine on Gargraves 072 track.
I just now bought the track, and brought it home with me. I had to move the coffee table out of the way just to set it up! I had an idea the track layout would be big, but not THAT big! It needs to be cleaned, so I havent tried running anything on it yet. Do you know how to get power to them? Would an average lionel track lock on work?
I noticed the sides of the rails, and under them are painted, i would imagine your average lock on wouldn’t make very good contact. Just wondering if there’s something just for T rail track, before i sand off any paint for a track clip…
I am not sure if the modern power to track connectors will attach to T-Rail track. If they don’t you can always solder two feeder wires to the center & outside rails to connect your transformer to.
You’re right, Bill, the connector’s too loose when it snaps into place…I might be able to wrap the wires around a screw on one of the outer rails, and the other around the connector on the center rail. I sitll haven’t had to to clean them up yet, so it may be awhile before i have time to test that…If that dosent work ill try your idea.
Thanks! No but the gentleman I bought the track from does have some switches he wants to sell, i told him I’d think about it, and might buy them later They’re in rough shape, but they may be repairable. Also depends on how much he’s asking for them…i know the switches can be pretty expensive due the their rarity…I haven’t found any for sale to get a look at prices…any idea how much they might be worth in that condition?
Also the wiring’s bad on them and they’ll need to be rewired, and he says there’s a lenses or 2 on n the lights for the switches that he says is either missing or cracked…
I’m seriously considering buying them, I might be see another switch set like that again, and will regret it later on! I’ll have to take a close look at them before I decided, and see how easy they are to take apart and fix…
My thoughts exactly…according to my price 2012 price guide, the switch track pair in “good” condition should be worth about $80, if I’m looking at the right one (its the only remote T rail switch track i can find in there)
