3 replies to this topic

[strummer]

As I've mentioned here before, in my quest for larger-scale parts, etc. a few "T-Jet" items have landed here on my desk: tons of fun, easy to work on, bullet-proof.

 

I had no HO scale track, and thought that these would run (well enough) on my 1/32 scale Aurora track; they "do" (kinda) but the pick-up shoes are really too far apart to work with any kind of reliability. (I would have guessed that the "track" of these little cars would have been to "narrow", not too "wide" to work, but whatever.)  

 

Because I did want to have some sort of test track, I picked up a small lot of the old...what is it called? "pin and lock" track. (My experience with this track was limited back in the day to friends' layouts: my brother and I were gifted Aurora 1/32, but I did have a few HO cars, just so I could "play" along with their scale.)

 

Now I get it that in buying old stuff like this some work is needed to get it to function: I expect that and enjoy the process very much. 

 

The 1/32 Aurora track I have (also purchased used) is lovely; big, stout and very easy to assemble; just (carefully) push the sections together, and you're done. This HO stuff is not "difficult" per se: but what strikes me is how much fussing is needed to get even a small oval assembled that: 1. lays flat so the cars don't hit a high spot and de-slot and: 2: has a good electrical flow through each and every section.   

 

I carefully cleaned each piece: wire-wheeled the little tabs on the ends of the track section, and made sure those tabs were of a uniform angle: "sanded" (with 600 grit) the "rails", then sprayed them with contact cleaner and wiped down the surface. Even after that, it took many sputtering laps before a car could complete a trip around the small oval unassisted. And by "small" I mean 4 curves (each corner separated by a 5" straight) and the straightaways are only (2) 9" pieces. 

 

Is there a secret process to this? I hope you "T-Jet" experts will illuminate me... and perhaps others. 

 

Mark in Oregon

[Lone Wolf]

Even back in the day it sometimes took some fiddling and pushing cars back and forth through the "dead " sections to make a complete lap. One of life's little pleasures when she made it all the way around without help

 

Can't think of much if you say everything is clean and touching. It's possible the track rails are low in spots from wear or sanding/cleaning. Do you have a piece of unused track to compare? Carefully check the rail height.

 

Also, what powerpack are you using. Try to find at least a 20V if you are using an Aurora. Lastly check the actual voltage output. They can lose output over time, like almost 60 years. Boy is that last line scary  

[strummer]

1. Even back in the day it sometimes took some fiddling and pushing cars back and forth through the "dead " sections to make a complete lap. One of life's little pleasures when she made it all the way around without help

 

2. Can't think of much if you say everything is clean and touching. It's possible the track rails are low in spots from wear or sanding/cleaning. Do you have a piece of unused track to compare? Carefully check the rail height.

 

3. Also, what powerpack are you using. Try to find at least a 20V if you are using an Aurora. Lastly check the actual voltage output. They can lose output over time, like almost 60 years. Boy is that last line scary

 

Thanks Joe

 

1: you got that right!  

 

2: I know that WD40 has a good reputation in the model train hobby for being a good electrical conductor, so I bought a small can. It cleaned the track itself really well, and did seem to make a difference.

 

i believe the issue with the tracks not "lining up" correctly and causing cars to jump the slot is due to the fact that all the pieces I have are slightly warped: lower in the center and higher out towards the ends, so this forms an inverted "V" shape where the pieces come together. The only way I could off set this was to grab a small sheet of plywood and screw the pieces down, which really helped.

 

3. I have a slew of power packs of all shapes and sizes, from various manufacturers, including several Aurora packs. They all check out as far as output goes, so I think I'm ok there.

 

In any case, it's functioning now for what I need it for...

 

Thanks again.

 

Mark in Oregon

[strummer]

As a long overdue follow up to this thread...FWIW.

 

I had occasion to look into this "HO vs. 1/32" thing again and this is what I found.

 

Here is the pick up shoe and braids of the A Jet Mustang:

 

 

You can see the outer measurement braids is approx. 7/16"

 

Here is a T Jet car:

 

 

Here the inside distance is 7/16"

 

The track "rails" are at 9/16", so the little HO cars do work; I found that by bending the pick up shoes just slightly downward it gives them more surface/contact area.

 

What does all this mean? It means I don't have to struggle with that d*mn HO track; try as I might, I just can't get that stuff to work reliably. Plus, the 1/32 track is much quieter... 

 

Mark (still) in Oregon

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