I have a question regarding rolling stock that might seem dumb to many of you, but as a new O scale hobbyist with out much knowledge, I would really like answered.
I want to buy some hopper cars made by Industrial Rail Models to use with my Lionel trains, but the IRM cars are advertised as O27 scale and have the following blurb in their description:
REQUIRES: O27 Scale Train Equipment.
Are these and other O27 cars compatible with Lionel freight cars (tradional ones as sold in starter sets)?
Surely one of you out there can provide me with an answer?
The IR hoppers are definitely 027 size (near S scale really) and look great with other 027 trains. They are fully compatible with all Lionel, K-Line, MTH, O guage equipment.
These are nice looking hoppers with great paint jobs and decent weight for tracking.
I think that 027 is the smallest circle (27 ") that can be made with O track. Therefore, any 027 rolling stock should run ok on any o track that makes a bigger circle…like 031 and up…
As mentioned above, “027” cars usually look fine with any other “027” cars. The only time they might look funny is if you put Scale or Semi Scale cars beside the 027 cars. Some MTH sets come with scale cars, but most sets come with 027 cars or “traditional” sized cars (a bit longer than some 027 but no hard and fast rules).
When you want to mix semi-scale and O27 cars, one trick you can use is to segregate the cars. Put the semi-scale boxcars together, then put one or more flats or gondolas, then put your O27s in. The distance disguises the difference. You can get away with mixing semiscale and O27 gondolas and flats because in the real world the sizes of those cars varied anyway.
I was really more concerned about whether the couplers would work and line up properly with the Lionel cars. Roy says they’re fully compatable, and that’s good enough for me.
Fast track is new, therefore you won’t find much of it on the resale market.
Some folks say it is noisy, so be ware.
Cost wise, it is about 3 times that of tube track.
“All O/O27 equipment is compatible.” Well yes and no. They will run on the same track. They will couple together but may not do so as easily as cars of the same manufacturer. I have noticed problems with uncoupling. Some will require more power to the uncoupling track to work. As long as some manual intervention is not a problem feel free to intermix.
Fastrack - Looks good, Noisy, Limited Selection, Expensive but still cool for floor running
O Tubular - Hard to assemble, easy to bend out of gauge, easy to modify, great for ballasted permanent layouts, less costly.
Above are my humble opinions. I have some fastrack but run two layouts. One has MTH real trax and the other is 027 tubular with K-line switches.