will triang3 track join with hornby set track

[kebang]

Will Triang 3 track join with Hornby set track? I Intend to use it on a O-16.5 layout. (I have asked a similar question in the Narrow Gauge section - then I realised it was not a question limited to narrow gauge)

[luckymucklebackit]

Will Triang 3 track join with Hornby set track? I Intend to use it on a O-16.5 layout. (I have asked a similar question in the Narrow Gauge section - then I realised it was not a question limited to narrow gauge)

Straight answer is no, Triang series 3 track could connect to Triang Super 4, but neither of these can connect to the current code 100 brand whihc was originally marketed as Series 6. Hornby did manufacture an adapter track section and I you can pick these up on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Triang-Hornby-R476-Super-4-to-System-6-Converter-Straight-Track-MINT-Boxed-NJ/1556746085

Jim

[Emettman]

As well as being steel (allowing Magnadhesion!) Series 3 track (black narrow sleepers) and Super 4 track (brow, broader sleepers) had a heavier rail section than the System 6 (I always wondered what happened to 5) which introduced the code 100 rail height,

For those caught in the transition a cast ramp section of some unhelpful length was produced as a converter piece. R 476

example:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Hornby-R476-track-converter-Super-4-to-current-OO-Gauge/352247911806?hash=item52039c957e:g:1OYAAOSwE8daT3w2

Chris.

[b308]

I can see the reasoning behind using S3 track for Narrow Gauge, after all it probably looks nearer to NG than SG! But i wouldn't bother, I suppose it bears some resemblance to the Decauville "portable" track but even then only a passing resemblance, and the rail is far too heavy for such track.

Get some code 100 rail (or 80!) and build some of your own, it's not difficult!

[kebang]

Thanks for the replies..
How easy would it be to grind the Triang 3 track where it joins the set track my with my dremel to make a transition? The reason I want to do this is that the 13.5in rad will reduce the size of the layout to a 36 x 60 inch baseboard.
If its not going to be possible I'll stick with set track (with every other sleeper removed). Its Impossible to purchase flextrack here, If you order by mail order the parcel is to long. If using an international carrier the fees are extortionate plus they add a further 40 to 50 quid onto the bill for filling in the customs form!
Set Track increases the baseboard size to 38 x 66 inches. (Using the R476 converter would increase it to a similar size)

[luckymucklebackit]

As well as being steel (allowing Magnadhesion!) Series 3 track (black narrow sleepers) and Super 4 track (brow, broader sleepers) had a heavier rail section than the System 6 (I always wondered what happened to 5) which introduced the code 100 rail height,

For those caught in the transition a cast ramp section of some unhelpful length was produced as a converter piece. R 476

example:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Hornby-R476-track-converter-Super-4-to-current-OO-Gauge/352247911806?hash=item52039c957e:g:1OYAAOSwE8daT3w2

Chris.

There was a website that described the history of the Triang and Hornby track systems but the link I had is dead, it was planned but I cannot remember why it was not released.

im

[Bigmet]

My recollection is that Triang were developing what would have been 'system five' track, when it became apparent that it was much cheaper to buy complete track tooling from Roco (or the company that became Roco, I don't recall the detail) for an HO set track system which was already superseded on the continent. A 1950s track design already considered out of date in the 1960s in 'HO world' remains the standard set track for OO fifty years on...

...How easy would it be to grind the Triang 3 track where it joins the set track my with my dremel to make a transition?...

Very easy, but don't do it. What stops the steel rusting is that it is tin plated, and that will all be gone with the first pass of the tool in your dremelly thing! It's not just the little piece of ground down rail where the problem will be either, rust is a major contributor to non-conducting track dirt if present, you really don't want that spread all over the rails.

What is essential with two tracks with different rail heights is to get the rail tops aligned. Easiest method, card or other packing under the smaller (code 100) rail section track to bring the rail height up to a perfect match. If you are building a layout from scratch, the easiest plan is to lay all the code 100 on the selected packing, leaving sections of the baseboard where the type 3 will be laid without any packing. Done carefully you should be able to get a good match, any slight steps in rail top height cured by using thin paper as packing, to raise whichever track needs to be slightly higher.

How to join the rails? There's no rail joiner that will make a good job of it. I would solder the rail ends together at every transition. Tin the bottoms of the rail ends before fixing down the track. Then applying the soldering iron to the rail underside, solder them together. Why the underside? You don't want solder on the running surface of the rails if you can avoid it, the tin and lead oxides that will come off the solder as wheels run on it are another bad source of track dirt.

[Bufferstop]

It would be advisable to start the Series 3 - or 4 - track with a short straight section, rather than combine the start of the curve with the change in section. I had a similar transition from code 75 to code 100 settrack at the start of my hidden sidings, before Peco's adaptor was available. The short straight bit improved running no end, and I was able to leave an insulation gap in both rails filled with Milliput and filed smooth. The track either side was just pinned down firmly. Worked OK for years.

[b308]

Regarding the issue of the "tin plating" unless you buy it new (i.e. unused) the chances are the tin plate has already been worn off. That's why the Triang track cleaner used meths so it didn't scratch the surface of the rail, if the previous owners have used a Peco track rubber or similar that you've had it!

Re the history of the tracks I wonder if HornbyDublo's last track system was anything why the % never appeared. It was based on Continental HO practice and I think came out before S6 and used nickel silver rail. If Triang were still messing around with steel at the time it may explain it? Has anyone got one of those big books which were published on the history of the two companies which may help solve the issue?

[luckymucklebackit]

Regarding the issue of the "tin plating" unless you buy it new (i.e. unused) the chances are the tin plate has already been worn off. That's why the Triang track cleaner used meths so it didn't scratch the surface of the rail, if the previous owners have used a Peco track rubber or similar that you've had it!

Re the history of the tracks I wonder if HornbyDublo's last track system was anything why the % never appeared. It was based on Continental HO practice and I think came out before S6 and used nickel silver rail. If Triang were still messing around with steel at the time it may explain it? Has anyone got one of those big books which were published on the history of the two companies which may help solve the issue?

Don't think that's the reason, my first trainset in 1962 was Hornby Dublo two rail and that used track that was very similar to present day set-track, at that time Tri-ang were still converting from Series 3 (ended in 1965) to Super 4 (started in 1962) and first brought out the convertor rail when they merged with Hornby in 1964, the Hornby track was discontinued and for a good while if you wanted to extend an existing Hornby layout the options were to use Peco Streamline or Super4 via the convertor rails, I had a layout at one time that had all three! It did not do much for the appearance
Series 6 did not appear until 1973, nine years after the equivalent Hornby Dublo Track was discontinued.

Jim

[kebang]

A wealth of Information! Thanks folks.
Looks like its back to plan B, the larger board & set track, (you know with every other sleeper removed it looks quite like NG, unless you are a railway modeller! )

[Emettman]

Have you seen some narrow gauge railways?
You can't see the sleepers!

It might be mud and stone fragments in quarry areas, or grass on cane railways.
The track was as rarely "freshly maintained" as the locos were.

In the model form you can't count on the loco cutting its own swathe, however.
In the past I've used Plasticine for this, in grey or brown. Laid in soft snakes it's quite quick, and it can then be textured and adjusted, unlike any material the sets solid.
Not saying that's the best way, but it worked for me.

Chris.

Spot a sleeper:

[whufcfan]

You can get a converter track section, that will take you from Triang super 4 to system 6 & the current Hornby track, part number R476, made by Hornby back in the day, couple on EBay at the moment 17 hours to go! The rails have an incline, approximately 3 inches long.