Why do toy trains have a third rail? Does it matter? | Model Railroad 101 

Model trains are so fun. You get the experience of operating a railroad without the need to pay or even have employees. It’s every introverted rail fans dream

I enjoy lego trains. What they lack in realistic detail, they make up in the satisfaction of putting them together piece by piece, and their subsequent heft. (Plus from what I've seen, despite being expensive, they're notably cheaper than similarly sized model trains with good detail.) Also you can 3D print more track sections for yourself. My favorite is the orange TGV lego train. I just wish they'd make them again.

I'm actually very fortunate in that both of my grandfathers had Lionel Postwar as kids, and they've both passed it all on to me. I still need to finish servicing the old beasts, since it's been decades since they've gotten some oil and grease, but I'm looking forward to really getting to enjoy them once that happens.

Its for electricity-short answer

In HO scale, Märklin uses a similar 3-rail AC system (but since the 50s, it's used a less visually-intrusive "stud-contact system", with power pickup from a sliding contact shoe). Like Lionel 3-rail, you can make wyes and loops without needing any special circuitry. The main disadvantage is that it's something of a closed system, with modellers having to buy or retrofit everything to be compatible with their system rather than the default 2-rail DC used by almost all of the rest of the HO scale manufacturers.

The worst part about O scale is the price

Being an O gauge model railroader I've heard a lot from others looking down at O gauge not being a true model railroading scale and not being realistic. My argument in defense of O gauge is just look at some of the scale models that are out there and look up Norm's trains on youtube. He has on of the most realistic layout, locomotives, and rolling stock I've ever seen. Plus like Hyce said sometimes you just need some old fashioned fun.

When I was a small child my dad "bought me" a Lionel set. A couple of years later I was allowed to run it. It was my first experience of a string line derailment. I put unshelled nuts in the hopper and gondola but didn't work well at the end of the train. Have my own layout under the tree now, 100% conventional, bought on Ebay.

Märklin, an ancient German manufacturer, also uses a 3 rail system but interestingly they run the third rail underneath the railbed and only have little points protruding through it. That way it's less obvious and less visually distracting. They make some absolutely stunning models as well!

My first train set was the og Lionel Polar Express and every year my grandma sets up her G Scale Christmas train with like 8 CARS!!! And now I have a G Scale Colorado and Southern Mogul 2-6-0 for Christmas that I set up every year! I have a regular loop around the tree and with a throw of two switches, a loop going around the WHOLE LIVING ROOM!!!

I model HOn30, which is basically a kitbasher's scale. And even I still plan to have a huge loop of 3 rail around my living room. Had the same set-up as a kid some 30+ years ago with a small diesel critter and a 2-4-2 steamer. I still have them, plus a FM Trainmaster just waiting for the moment lol

Merry Christmas! Glad to see the ZW is thriving, and I see you’ve even gotten yourself TMCC! Love to see it.

The idea of the third rail while maybe looking out of place if your after scale is that it’s absolutely foolproof, you don’t need switches or isolating plates when laying out any configuration of track. The centre track is always the centre so you never need to worry about short circuits on things like reversing loops.

Maerklin use a variation where they have changed the middle third rail into studs (on each sleeper), so the concept is still popular today interestingly enough. Also, the stuff I have seen Lionel stuff capable of is so awesome! I hope to buy a Lionel Set for my Christmas Tree one day - O-scale and Lionel are not too famous in South Africa, more 1:24, HO/OO, N and Z Scales.

Had a small Lionel train set and always loved running it around the Christmas tree too! Such great memories. Not sure what happened to that set, but remember them being an expensive toy though.

This exemplifies what I like about your channel: it’s enjoying what you do, no matter what it is. I know I get sucked into the day-to day of my flying job, and forget that it was Flight Simulator and model airplanes that got me into this career. Same with model trains and Lionel. Don’t forget the fun, or the magic goes away. Thanks for the reminder of that.

My first train sets were G gauge trains. Only owned LGB trains. The Rio Grande Alco 420, and the 2-6-0 2119D Lake George and Boulder Mogul. Then I got into HO gauge because actually was size efficient and was the easiest to get ahold of at the Trains and Lanes near Easton. Have a fair few HO trains currently. The UP Challenger, Big Boy, a Saddleback Reading RR 0-6-0, New York Central Hudson 4-6-4, a 4-4-0 Genoa, and another Alco 420 but UP this time. Still looking to get ahold of a PRR T1 and Q2 but can't seem to get ahold of any...

heres a lil Christmas story, i really wanted a lionel set under my tree this year, mom said no, still out side and i see why. its the biggest 2-8-4 iv ever seen and its really big. i call it "big chonk." Hyce if your reading this, the big boy is now the big chonk.

Same system used on some European model railroading stuff too. I have a bunch of HO scale Marklin equipment from my Grandfather with some dating back to the late 50's. The older versions if it used the full center rail like the Lionel does, then they moved to an updated version that has little pips in each of the ties for the center pickup to touch (connected underneath by a hidden rail). Hides the center rail basically - and the pickup is going to always be touching a few of those pips to get its power.

Even tho I'm an HO guy, I also think back to the countless times I watched 'I Love Toy Trains' as a kid and how much Lionel played a big role in my life that way.

Someday we need to get this man into 7.5" gauge shenanigans once he's out of the apartment, one of those Godshall H10s, some 55 ton hoppers and a pennsy caboose would make a nice starter pack I think.

I have such a big sappy grin on my face. I remember being four years old or so and a train set arriving under the tree. I think it was HO -a circle of track, one engine, a mixpack of cars and a red caboose. Watching it run round was so fun. As an adult with a bachelor pad I now want to find a cheap toy train set with a circle of track and run a train round and round while my cats question my sanity and derail the rolling stock. Thank you for bringing back some good memories (and answering the third rail question, which has been lingering in the back of my head since I first saw Lionel when I was a teenager). Merry Christmas to all ☺💜🎄#merrychristmas #hugs #staysafe

Last month some other guys and wives and I spent 12 days running big 3 rail trains - Standard Gauge. Our eighth annual Holiday Toy Train event. 3 loops of track on a brightly decorated, well lit 20x24ft layout. Trains were pre-war Lionel and American Flyer (about 100 years old) and some newer MTH reproductions. Power from 2 big MRC dual controllers. A 30"x15ft G scale layout on the side. Over 1600 visitors with lots of smiles and stories shared. Most folks, young and old, participated in our scavenger hunt. Seeing trains go in circles for hours at a time is not boring, it is relaxing. A good time was had by all.

That’s a great set up. I only learned several years ago that there is a bias against Lionel and other 3 rail sets. I hear things like. “Too unrealistic” and “not to scale”. To that I say, “humbug”. I have almost every scale and love them all. Great video. Merry Xmas.

I had (and still have) my Märklin (German toy/model train company) HO scale trainsets. Those too have a third rail and as a kid it specially makes sense since you can indeed just put them together whatever way and it works. IMO cool detail was that if you got an electric locomotive, you could get the overhead wires and they were actually functional. I didn't cos money but still cool.

I love how at 7:57 you loaded that hopper with limes. "Coal, for a hopper? NO, limes!"

As a young dad, I was pretty excited that I could get battery powered Brio wood locomotives to be able to play with my little kid as an accessible starting point.

I’ve always loved Lionel and O scale since I was a kid, I grew up watching I Love Toy Trains and I’d always try to get my parents to get me a Lionel train. I finally got one a few Christmases ago and I’m slowly building up an O scale collection, though it’s absolutely dwarfed by my HO collection lmao. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year Hyce!

My association with trains started young. I live close to a railway within easy walking distance from the house. My late father bought me a Hornby 00 train set when I was 8. I was taken to steam fayres and preservation lines. My parents met artist and railway enthusiast Alan Shepherd. I remember having tea in mugs with his artwork of different locomotives. Today, I stream Derail Valley and have a variety of interests.

i have a 4-6-4 model train, for christmas time. model trains have always been a thing i've liked. your outro music also just is amazing. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the information on this. gives me an idea of what imma do for when i get my own place in a few years.

The old Lionel VHS tapes were definitely my start, I had like 3 or 4 of them, and pretty much watched them until the tape wore out! Merry Christmas Hyce, thank you for a year of amazing videos!

Merry Christmas to you and the fam! Great videos! Thanks!!!

Unrelated comment but the song at the end of your videos is super calming to listen to and I often find myself watching the whole supporter scroll just to listen to it.

Merry Christmas. Yup, 50 years old, and still have a simple O-gauge train in the living room. My daughter and I incorporated it into a lego setup

My dad's father got a bunch of O-27 Lionel train stuff: a circuit of track, a transformer, the Wartime Freight set (S2 turboloco included), a freight station and barrel loader. A few years ago one of my cousins gave me his Penn E6 Atlantic (#1645) and a second transformer. Both are compatible with the tube tracks. Before I started watching Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid, the Pennsy S2 was my first step into the world of railroading.

If someone can't sit down and have some simple fun with modern or old school O, they're missing out! Glad to see you enjoying some O scale shenanigans!

Funny this came out right after I set up my family's Lionel train around the tree. Have a great rest of the year Hyce!

This actually brings be back to my childhood and what got me into wanting to railroad. My first set was a BRIO figure 8 wooden train set in the early 1990s. In fact I still have this set in the massive bin of wooden track in my closet some 20 something years later

Marry Christmas hyce, thank you for the past year of great videos. I how you enjoy the holidays and can't wait to see what shenanigans you get up to next year

This mostly applies to 3 rail o scale. HO and N only have 2 rails but as always great video Hyce

You should have mentioned Märklin as the biggest third rail manufacturer. But today the use regular DCC/MFX instead of AC voltage. In Germany half of the model railroader use Märklin, so it's not an oddity. And most European manufacturer offer their models also for the Märklin system.

Merry Christmas to you Mark, cheers from the Mid Atlantic🎄

1:15 its alright hyce you can just say the model trains are decoration! should work especially if you have a polar express model

I find it amusing that us in the UK started with OO when young and then seeing the difference in O gauge scale, we all start somewhere and modelling is what we make it

Merry Christmas Hyce, and may the ES&D turn a profit in the next year. I got into model trains due to the little blue puffball, and currently deal with HO scale trains, with the Big Boy under the tree with a unique livery. (Insert breaking of Christmas wafer here with Hyce)

This video was a treat! I have to admit Mark, that I really like Lionel trains too. My dad had a pre WWII set that we got to play with. Even had the model buildings. Speaking of which your grandfather had a beautiful layout! Wow, a kid’s dream come true. I also like the metal buildings they made, my favorite being the monumental terminal-even better when placed on its special platform complete with electric lights. Thanks for sharing your Lionel set with us Professor it’s fab (complete with limes!) and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family! Cheers to you!

It was not only Lionell that used alternating current and a three-rail system in 0 Scale, but also the German manufacturer Märklin, which at that time produced 0 Scale locomotives from cast iron and cars from tinplate. This went on until Märklin thought that 0 Scale was too big to be built on a table and halved the size, which is now known as H0 (1:87). At the beginning of H0 there was also the third rail which was quickly replaced by point contacts which were placed at equal distances between the rails. As an example you can take the M-track or today's C-track which still has the positive contact between the rails to this day.

Fond memories of the 1970s Lionel set I was given as a kid - Wabash Cannonball with a blue transformer that had a single black handle which swung in the horizontal plane for a quarter turn. It ultimately got setup on a sheet of plywood in atop a couple scrap tables in the basement where i played with it a lot. Some HO was added when my brother briefly got interested. As this was in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania I had to keep on top of maintenance or rusty spots would appear on the track. The HO seemed to fare worse for that. As I got older I wanted to make it look nicer than barely plywood; I tried to add to the layout but being a dairy farm family kid money wasn't there. Eventually I stopped playing with it and my parents decided that because I wasn't anymore it had to be donated. It just vanished one day.

As a OO gauge modeler, Lionel trains are very fun to play with, I wish they made British engines, I’d love to run Mallard with some Pennsy coaches

I been around model trains my whole life Hyce, mostly 3 rail O gauge early on. My Dad and Grandfather were seriously into it as well. My teen years I started modeling in H.O. but now I'm 40 I'm back into the 3 rail where it all started with a 8X14 O scale layout in the spare bed room.

I'm more of a HO scale kind of guy. But that is cool that you have model trains. I wouldn't mind if you did a video explaining how HO scale model trains work.

When I was a kid, I remember getting one O-scale train car or locomotive sent to me from my Grandfather who had the trains in the family. This was every Christmas he'd send me one more "piece" of O scale train-age and eventually this led to my dad and I building (but never finishing) a basement layout in our house. While it's not practical in terms of space needed or cost (in comparison to HO or even N), O-scale has and always will have a very special and dear place in my heart from when I was a child. Thank you for making and sharing this video Mark. Definitely gave me plenty of genuine smiles.

Lots of fun Hyce. I have a Fleischmann Diesel HO set that I got sometime in the mid 60's. I also have a larger scale ("0"?) set that dates back to the late 50's that my dad bought to put around the Christmas tree. Its a 2 rail system. I don't recall the brand (I should drag it out) but I remember putting these small gel caps into the smoke stack to get "real" smoke as it went round and round. Oh and it has cardboard trestles of various heights to enable a figure 8 setup. Cool stuff! Thanks for triggering the trip down memory lane. Cheers!

Oh wow, had no idea you were into Lionel, Hyce. I see I'm not the only one who likes a challenger... Thing that really sets 3 rail apart for me are all the operating accessories, you just don't tend to see that in other scales these days unless it's something DIY. Milk car and the sawmill are some of my favorites!

I’ve been collecting HO for 53 years and I just bought my first O scale set. I got the Lionel Willy Wonka (my favorite movie) set and put it under our Christmas tree. I agree with you it’s a fun size to have under a tree. My family is having a great time running it! We’ve had smaller scale trains under the tree in previous years, but the Lionel just feels perfect.

Merry Christmas! We have one going around our tree this year!

A few weeks ago I introduced my 2 year old to Hornby 00 gauge. It's the most popular here in the UK and this is my first set since I was a child myself. It's honestly been a lot of joy experiencing his joy in trains.

I used to live next to the tracks. There’s a CN terminal yard near my old house. Saw CN traffic every day. I’ve moved since then, but I’m still near that area and still occasionally catch me the L570 or some CN local like that.

When we had space for it, my brothers and I had an oval of HO track with two trains. A BN GP-38 with a bunch of freight cars and a classic F40PH Amtrak with two coaches. We acquired a few other bits and pieces here and there like a tiny little 0-4-0 tank engine, but we also inherited some post-war Lionel O-gauge from my grandfather after he passed. I forget exactly what kind of steam engine it was, but it came with a jar full of smoke pellets which were great fun while it still worked. Oxidized contacts and brittle wires made the poor thing flaky to run at best, but it did the job to entertain us as kids.

Lionel and O gauge in general to me is the scale that the whole idea of rules and prototype goes out the window and lets you do whatever you want. It's why I kinda put HO on the backburner and just grew my Postwar collection for most of this year.

The dual handle controller brings back memories . When my grandfather died my family made a decision to donate his layout and trains to our community . It’s in a stand alone building at our fairgrounds for all ages to enjoy forever .

Thanks for the "Three Rail" simple explanation. I've a bunch of Pennsy HO that need a new life... John

The best part of model railroading is the smell, especially with big layouts and a bunch of trains. Went to the local firehouse's christmas train layout recently and it smelled of popcorn, hot electric motors, grease and oil, and a bit of ozone and hot wiring.

This video was bursting with nostalgia, for Hyce and for myself as well.

So cool. Toy trains are so much fun. My interest started with seeing a train set up in a mall for Christmas and yelling "train go round" as some of my earlier vocabulary. And yes that led to me getting a loop of G scale Lionel to go around the tree one year and then O as a teenager, now due to space I stick to digital choo-choos. Merry Christmas all!

Excellent video on this topic! Us 3-rail train people are always hearing about it 😂 Merry Christmas Hyce!

Great video - you make lots of good points. When I got into model trains as a retirement hobby about six years ago, I shunned the seemingly overwhelming desire for realism. My layouts are a bit abstract, where one might see a 1950s Boston PCC trolley roll by the Rogue River in Oregon. Not sure I can leave a link in comments, but check out my story at BostonType (with the usual dot/suffix afterwards). And the Lionel's third rail never bothered me. In fact, as a frequent rider of the Boston subway when I was growing up, a third rail was a common source of power! ;) Thanks for another cool video.

And the next Hyce video, the train sizes that we had as kids, pre-70's vintage. Thanks for the shows Hyce, have a fantastic Christmas panda hippo gnu deer.

Now bluetooth that sound to your Marshalls and yeah baby! lol Merry Christmas Hyce!

Great ride dude. Keep riding them rails. ; )

Merry Christmas hyce

I had a Lionel, so fun. Also, the 3rd rail is for pickups. Also *jesus* your grandpa reminds me of mine. Never got to properly know him but he had tons of Lionel and Bachman trains. I should be getting some of them.

FWIW when I was a kid I had American Flyer--my Dad decided that because American Flyer had two rails--apparently the 3 rails on Lionel offended his sensibilities.

I still have an antique O-27 set that was given to me when I was a kid in the early 2000s!

I started with cheap HO stuff and now run custom LEGO trains! I kinda enjoy the freedom in being able to build whatever I want, none of my trains are meant to be replicas of real locomotives, just what I thought looked cool. Course you _could_ do that with actual model trains too, but the skill requirements are much higher!

It wouldn't have been a Hyce video without the derail at the end.

My dad had Lionel when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, but I rarely ever saw it as he never got it out. I had HO train sets by Bachmann or LifeLike, I also appropriated some of my brother’s who moved away to college and never claimed it. The biggest thing I played with when I was young we though was Brio, which was DEFINITELY a pure toy. The HO stuff just never ran reliably enough. I didn’t really have a good way to set it up, the train would stop, I would try to push it, and the rail joiners would come apart. I was maybe 12 years old as most. Fast forward to now and I’ve got a pretty good but small N scale layout that runs really well. I’m also a volunteer with the FW RR HS, but I have yet to do really anything besides orientation. I’m also building some HO rolling stock kits. I’m also watching RU-vid videos made by people who run steam engines….hah

Probably already mentioned, I'm lazy. With an AC hot line, you don't run into power issues when combining wacky layouts because the sinusoidal signal is identical on the hot line everywhere in the loop. The signal will have the same phase and voltage (ideally) at every point. DC sets would also suffer a little more line loss on larger sets (granted, probably a tiny bit, but likely noticable from powered end to a 'far' end). If I were going to design/ build my own set today, with todays' tech, I would def go AC at low voltage (10-20VAC) myself.

I was kinda surprised that He didn't have a Christmas Tree with the train sets around it since it's a Christmas tradition

Merry Christmas Hyce from the Drink Piss & Live Railroad!

Me and my grandfather built a 8’-6’ American flyer layout in his we worked on it for years we did foam cut mountains, a full plasticvill set up with stone roads it was all o scale we had a small town, a farm and a lake. We put an airport in between the farm and lake built a trap door into the lake so you could work in the center area. It was a a very simple track layout had multiple engines and rolling stock. Cool thing about American flyer. Is it a two rail system. It was my grandfathers when he was a kid. We are lucky enough to be in PA so we’re by the York TCA show.

As much as I love my HO scale models, I do have to say that I admire the O gauge/Lionel trains especially with their cool designs and neat cars that have functions like the milk box car that you mentioned.

The same system was used by Marklin, but they later changed the rail into the studs they still use today... which has the side effect of not being able to run really old Marklin trains on newer track as the pickups are too short. Another approach with a thrid rail was Trix Express (DC 3 rail), which used the center rail as a common ground that allowed you to control two (or three with catenary) locomotives on the same layout at the same time.

Taking me back. Saw that ZW and was taken back to my Pop's big O layout in the basement in Greenwood Village. He had 3 live postwar Warbonnet's, a pair of which were worm-drive Twins, the other from the aluminum passenger car set, complete with dummy/unpowered twin. Then an electric with moving pantographs (if memory serves, it was a GG1). My favorite was the big steamer, with working headlight and a smoking stack. Whistle in the tender.... was a pre-war he got when he graduated high school- I think he called it a Hudson, which google search shows a 4-6-4 that looks right to memory. He had lots of cars, some functional like the coal-dumper (bottom-dump with special bridge section and conveyor below) and the log hopper. The smell of the oils and greases, the kerosene for the stack, and the warm ZW humming away... The HO and N table was cool too, he had a UP Turbine "Big Blow" complete with repurposed Big Boy tender, amongst a bunch of others, but that big O always pulled me in. I remember when he had a heart attack and I was maybe 10, he asked me to bring the Warbonnets to the hospital with a selection of tools, oils, etc, and with him in the bed, we disassembled, cleaned, lubed, and reassembled the Twins. Nurses and docs came and went, some grumbled and some paused to marvel. A whole lot of memories. Miss my Pop and my Gran. Would've been heading there from Eve celebrations to wake for Christmas morning, those years ago.

Fact is most of us still harbor a kid inside . Becoming a full time adult is a tough job to fill . To balance those two, is a life long work , a job in progress.

It's the right thing . Merry Christmas Hyce 🎄 Peace and Health All 🎉

since it is the 25th here in aus MERRY CHRISTMAS HYCE & CREW, ES&D CREW AND TOO EVERYONE ELSE AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. stay safe and eat big gotta earn those food coma's

For what it’s worth, totally forgot to share my Lionel experience from an annual Christmas party-the host brought out his Pennsey and NYC engines Ans stock feom his childhood in the 50’s. (Set up running through those ceramic “Snowy Village” town buildings. Dozens and dozens of cars, some animated-with vintage liveries-and even some Grande representation. (“Authorized Merch”). There was much joy and beverages. (Till we got told “that’s enough, turn it off” haha)

I remember when I got my first Lionel train set for Christmas many years ago. I had so much fun. I still have many more that I collected. But I chose the RC car route

To Hyce and all the fans- Happy Holidays!!

True, true, and true, Mark! It may not be a ‘correct model’, but what it does is bring out the joy in us that inspired and continues to inspire us.

Having used both 3 and 2 rail models, I really prefer 3 rail for use. It's so much easier to wire reversing loops, and use isolated rails to trigger effects based on proximity.

I love my O gauge trains. I’ve gotten a bit crazy this year and now I have a little over 2 1/2 scale mile of track around my house, Just for Christmas time. It’s carpet central!

I'm working on an old 027 Lionel train set for a friend. Strangely it's one of those cheap sets that runs DC despite its still having a three rails. Still a fun set.

the 20/20 train was a fun touch. :D

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Mark. I am on my way to help Santa at FedEx Lehigh Valley Hub 182 move some presents. Great video I love model trains.

Merry Christmas everyone . My grandfather also got me started in modem railroading , watching his HO ,N and later years even Z run effortless , never knowing all the hours it took to get them to that point t ..I run 0-27 , S (aka ) American flyer and Ho , it's a great hobby .. After watching many hours of Hyce 's video , I tend blurt out BANG , while coupling cars together .. BTW Are those lines in the Hopper Car Hyce ???

The Lionel transformer was good for lots of things besides running the train... Made a good variable AC power supply when I was a kid.

If I had the room, I would have a O scale layout. I have seen some really nice O scale layouts. When I was a kid in South Florida, we used to go up around This time of year and go watch them light a GIANT Christmas tree at a park. They had a MASSIVE O scale Layout, Hundreds of feet long. It was a sight to see and got me into liking railroading myself. I had a Little HO kit on a 4x8 sheet of plywood shortly after that and Loved it but I enjoyed the larger scale.