Old Wiliams Trainmaster

[rtraincollector]

I have an old FM Trainmaster PRR By williams this is so old it has the plastic fuel tank area instead of diecast which Williams switched to for weight. any way my question is will this run on O-27 track I know the new ones say O-31

[DominicMazoch]

It will do 27 straights, but not the curves.

[phillyreading]

Try it on 027 curves, it may go through them but not the 027 switches on the curve without getting hung-up in the switch housing. That is why a lot of companies say that something is made for 027 rather then 031 curves.

Lee F.

[GTBob]

I have a WbW FP-45 loco that is the same length as your Trainmaster (17").  I run it all the time on 027 track.  It handles a 90 degree 027 curve without any trouble.  It will not work on a Lionel 027 switch as the fuel tank of the FP-45 overhangs too much and hits the relay housing of the switch.

As long as you can get away w/o using Lionel 027 switches, you should be fine.

Bob

[rtraincollector]

No switches for this plan just a big loop around the ceiling area of the room ( 14' X 16' ) it will be the train on the outside inside and on either 1x4's or 2x4's for a little lift will be my standard gauge set I discovered I actually have room to run 2 standard gauge sets but only have one lol so figure run this with some passenger cars in front of my prewar standard gauge set an 8E and 2 passenger cars all in olive green.

[phillyreading]

If you are going to run a train around the ceiling, supported by wall brackets, make sure to leave enough room between the wall and the track or you will scrape the wall with a long engine or passenger car.
Also run feeder wires around the outside of the track near the wall to keep power loss down. I run 027 track around a 13 by 11 foot room and have power connections every three sections of track, have extra power hookups as the last thing you want is a dead or weak spot on your tracks.

Lee F.

[DominicMazoch]

Lionel does make track in the O-27 profile in 36" straights.  That's 3 less places where you would lose power via track connections.  L also makes O in 40" sections!

[Joe Satnik]

Make sure there is some kind of safety fence, as a train is just a derailment waiting to happen. 

[rtraincollector]

If you are going to run a train around the ceiling, supported by wall brackets, make sure to leave enough room between the wall and the track or you will scrape the wall with a long engine or passenger car.
Also run feeder wires around the outside of the track near the wall to keep power loss down. I run 027 track around a 13 by 11 foot room and have power connections every three sections of track, have extra power hookups as the last thing you want is a dead or weak spot on your tracks.

Lee F.

Yeah I've done this befor the last time was with O-54 curves and I had 18" passenger cars. I may put the Standard gauge track up on blocks instead that way I don't use as much wood and 2 less area for the O gauge to compete with. and wouldn't really have to do custom cutting for the curves. I will do a section of standard gauge then put O in front of it till I get it how I want it. Still putting the shelfing up. have about 13' left to go. then I get to put the green indoor outdoor carpet on about 3/4 of it as figure I have about 1/4 done at present. When get tracked laid I will probably after happy with everything will solder wire connections between center rails and between either inner or outer rails so I have good connections all the way around. I normally do it on the inside of the rail as less noticeable but if you ever look at real rails they have wire between rails not really sure for what other than maybe some type of grounding.

Joe I will look into some type of railing but not sure at present what I will do for them.  that also will be down the road as I still see this project being a couple of months till done as I work a lot of 12 hr days and then when I'm not I'm usually tired so only work on it when have my 2 days off in a row and work a rotation where I off one weekend every three weeks and I also get a Tuesday and Wednesday in the middle of that also. Still have to pick up the green indoor/outdoor carpet from the floor where I laid it out so I could have a carpet central layout. so I need to get the fastrack up first lol and still have a few buildings and train cars down there that I need to pack up. then will cut the carpet about 10" wide as want to cover the 7 inches on bottom and 3/4" on side and about 3 inches on top for the O track to go on so guess I need 11"

[MAPA JCT]

I have an old FM Trainmaster PRR By williams this is so old it has the plastic fuel tank area instead of diecast which Williams switched to for weight. any way my question is will this run on O-27 track I know the new ones say O-31 

As already advised, will not run on 0-27. But all may not be lost. After the first track (of the curved section) put a STRAIGHT section, then your next curve. The straight can be a full track, but a half straight (5 inches) or even SMALLER will take out the curvature

[phillyreading]

Something similar can be done with 027 half curves and half straights to take the shortness out of the curves. Use a section of 027 half curve then a section of 027 half straight and again a section of 027 half curve and repeat until you get a half  or a quarter circle.
I have done this with O gauge track, using half straights and half curves, to make a simulated 054 curve.

Lee F.

[rtraincollector]

I have O-42 and O-54 in gar graves so thats not the problem I was just wondering what I had that would run on O-27