In this how-to video we replace a failed switch on my layout. Enjoy! Support Eric’s Trains: / ericstrains Eric’s Trains Merch: www.ericstrains... Try my other channel: / kitbashedsurvival
'Top secret instructions' isn't that the truth haha! I love my Jetboil! Especially for backcountry skiing. I also repurposed some of my old rails, I threw a few in yard with weeds growing around them & I detailed a flat maintenance car using a small stack of rails. Great 'how to' switch fix tutorial Eric! I just learned about these adapter pins & hotwater technique to remove ballast; very cool. Reviews are fine, but I find these tutorial videos much more informative--seeing how you like to do your fixs--and also my favorite part of the hobby. It's like "This Old House" for model railroading! BTW.. nice touch using the VL GS-4 to test the rails!
I don't know if I am seeing things, but it appears that there is a rough spot in the middle of the switch. not on your joints which are perfect, but in the middle of the switch. Great video, learned a great deal. Man that cylinder steam effect has been improved a lot since the S3. Very cool.
You should have cut the rail-joiners with a razor saw before prying off the switch, but hard to down in there to do. Thanks for this demo Eric. I think I prefer the Atlas look.
Great video, Eric! I would love to see track manufacturers produce “CWR” “thermite welding” kits (molds for soldering that go around a rail joint)! That would be such a great tool for producing consistent and easy “welds” across hundreds of joints on a layout
Q: Why not use a dremel cut-off wheel and cut behind the joiners, then remove the switch and just pull the cut-off rail section out once the switch was gone, thus eliminating damaging the adjacent track?
MOW !! Great video and great workmanship! Keep that up and you will move up the corporate ladder in that company!!!!! I love the idea of using a screw and some washers to level out the rail.... quite surprised of the size difference of the ties between the two manufactures! Thanks.....
Looking great Eric, and I was going to say, if lionel does another run of 2-6-6-2's for the 1309 restoration you should get a 1309 model because the more Chessie the better :)
Great video, a little bit of aggression on the removal, lol...Not sure if you hadthis problem, but, I found that I had to fix the atlas switches on my layout by soldering together the pieced center rails. The light guage wires under the switch tend to burn out with higher amp draw trains. The ross switch looks out of scale, and switch point hinges look too loose causing the wheels to drop rocking the rolling stock. A atlas replacement with modified soldered middle rails will be my replacements. Keep the instructional videos going, always a varied opinion which makes them interesting.
Every repair requires a blood sacrifice in order for it to be done properly. I have a feeling that the new turnout should last just as long if not longer than the original Atlas with your blood donation!
I wonder If changing track would be easier if you just spread gravel that you find in pet stores for fish aquariums, that way when changing the track you simply take the gravel, remove the track and remove more gravel. Maybe by doing that you can replace the track and put the gravel back as if nobody knew the track was just switched out. Sure the gravel may get all over the track and could cause trouble, but in the end of the day it would be more cheaper and less time consuming.
i love these videos id like to see a how to video on wiring the DZ1000 switch machines for the layout im up at so we dont have to hand throw every switch
Eric Your channel is great as I get back into the hobby. I have lots of post-war tube track and 022 switches I have cleaned up the track and some of the switches I have restored. I am building out a 12 x 6 layout, in your opinion should I stick with the O tube track or move to Atlas. All my trains now are O and O27 post-war to early 70s'. Really looking for your feedback.
@@Ericstrains I searched the Tamiya paint website (I assume that's what you used) and found multiple variants of brown. Was there a specific type of brown you used?
Just out of curiosity, is is possible to ballast the track so the track merely rests upon it instead of being buried in the ballast and the glue? Would certainly make repairs of this nature a lot less destructive. On the upshot, found it very informative, thanks for sharing!
On my layout from the 50’s... 027 on a 4x8... there was just a stripe of paint uniformly painted with sand mixed in under the tracks. It gives the appearance of ballast sort of. The rest of the table was just left to age after being in the attic for 50 years... on the bright side it smells great! 😝
@@Deadbuck73 Well, I've also considered laying down a strip of cork or other material to represent ballast, but ultimately it wasn't a "must-have" for me as I went for a retro-style layout over a scale super-detailed one. Although a new-build, my layout is much the same, O-27 tubular on a 3x6 door and a 4x8 plywood table linked with a bridge piece.
Some people say the Ross track isn't much better than tubular track because it uses pins I'm gunna build my layout soon what you think about Ross Track and the pins far as flow of current I'm leaning towards Atlas but Ross is little cheaper what you think
Hi Eric I have a Athearn Genisis Promontory Edition 4014 big boy 2019 build year Question is. Why are there red hand wheels on the left side of the engine when it's not prototypical of the original after restoration in 2019? Thank you Clayton
@ERIC's TRAINS - Did one of your trains get DERAILED as a result of this MALFUNCTIONING Switcher Track? Or did you notice it before a disaster resulted?
Question: why did you use transition track pins on only one end of the switch and not the other end which you just soldered? In other words can you just solder both ends or use track pins both ends or is it just personal preference.
this is why my tracks arent coverd in ballest or have any permenant things, its a pain in the butt to remove or replace. tho thats just me. we all have are own way of doing things
