I just got New O track for my layout and i want to get some of Pins out of some track and they don’t come out of the track. What should I do about it[?]
There are special “track” pliers used to insert and remove pins (and a few other tasks). These pliers are basically lineman’s pliers that have a hole cut in the jaws to accomodate track pins. You can use a standard pair of lineman’s pliers if you don’t close down to hard on the jaws.
I’ll see if I can find the illustration on line to pull pins.
This is from the E Hobby tool ordering site.
To pull a pin, rotate the pliers 180 degrees and lever against the side of the “tie” while grasping the pin in the pliers jaws.
Try sticking a screwdriver into the bottom of the rail at the end, twisting it a little as necessary. Then push the protruding end of the track pin down toward the bottom of the rail, being careful not to use enough force that you bend the pin. Then reshape the rail by putting a punch or drill bit into the rail and pinching the web back together. An “O” pin is 7/64 inch in diameter and an O27 pin, 3/32 inch. Put the drill bit in to where the pin had been crimped so that you can flatten that dimple out by squeezing the railhead with your pliers. After this, the rail may be just a little loose when you stick another rail’s pin into it. Just a slight additional squeeze with the drill bit out will take care of that.
New Lionel 027 track has these tiny crimps in the sides of the rails to hold the pins in. New track I bought back in the 80s didn’t have these little crimps in them and were much easier to get the pins out of. I wish Lionel did not do this.
The Pins today are harder to get out today.
Where is this E Hobby tool ordering site website? and how much does this tool cost.
The ones form E Hoby are about $20.00. I referenced their site because they had a photo.
I use a small pair of dykes and grab the pin as close to the track as possible and lever against the bottom of the rail. take a nice bite into the pin, it takes a little force to pull the pin out of the crimp but smooth sailing after that.[:)]