How about some OO, and no, not the UK stuff


malletman

Alcohaulic
This is American OO, which competed with HO for control of the smaller than O gauge market before WWII. Obviously HO won out, but OO hung on quietly, in the background and is still around with a few guys still active modeling in this scale using vintage equipment and converting overscale HO stuff into OO along with some 3d printed stuff in the scale. Track gauge is 3/4" and the scale is 1:76th. This is my Lionel OO set from around 1940, 2 rail AC powered, has the whistle in the tender just like the O scale stuff, the whole train is diecast metal. The original track is on a bakelite base which is normally very warped. But, Gargraves makes both 2 and 3 rail track, no switches, but alteast a loop can be done. One can also use On3 track and turnouts and once set in ballest, looks ok as well. No worse than using HO for On30. This set is the Semi-scale version, less detail on the Hudson, no brake cylinders or smoke jack on the caboose. Think 773 Hudson vs the scale 700e. I am working on purchasing a full scale 2 rail set to go with this one. I also picked up a Hallmark(the greeting card company) F3 replicas they made. While unpowered, they are OO gauge and can be powered with underfloor power units to get a nice looking set of F3's. Mike the Aspie
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Yes, its a very niche scale, most things were made new in the 1930s up thru the 50's and if you want to model modern, your into scratch building, converting HO stuff that is overscale. HO stuff like the Tyco/Mantua old time 4-6-0/4-8-0 are OO scale with HO drives. The old AHM S2 and SW1 are OO scale, just widen the gauge on the wheels and your all set. Back in the day, besides the Lionel stuff in 2 and 3 rail. You had stuff from Scale-Craft, Nason, Kemtron and others. There is usually a smattering of Lionel OO on ebay, from cheap to out in left field. Expect to pay 400-650ish for a ready to go Hudson and consist. With sets needing serviced or needing a few minor parts going for less. Major parts can be found with some digging. The motor used in the Hudson was also used in the magnetic crane and a couple other more common Lionel accessories. So motor parts are fairly easy to come up with. These little Hudsons are a jewel and run really well once serviced. The driver centers are bakelite on the 2 rail version, so you have to be somewhat careful when handling them. Some have whistles, some don't. You can get brand new track from Gargraves in both 2 and 3 rail(no switches) or you can use On3 flex track and turnouts for the 2 rail models, or hand lay your own 3rd rail. The size of the models is about halfway between HO and S gauge. So a nice size that has more "presence" on a 4x8 layout but not overpowering like running an O gauge scale Hudson. Rolling stock from Lionel is all diecast, bodies and all. Some of passenger cars from Scale-Craft are diecast or metal with shaped wood roofs. Remember, when these were being made, plastic injection molding was in its infancy, so metal and high pressure diecasting was the norm. Here is a link to an Excellent blog that covers American OO gauge modeling and what was made thru the years. http://americanoo.blogspot.com/2009/11/hallmark-lionel-oo-gauge-f-3.html
 
Oh, and NWSL offers their Stanton underfloor drives in On3, so already gauged for OO track. Making repowering of the Hallmark NYC 2333 F3's a piece of cake so to speak. I just have to put a bridge rectifier in to make AC power DC to run them. Lionel's engines, as built, run on AC power. And all vintage OO engines like their Amps!! Even the DC powered models can be 2-4 amps when pulling a load. This was normal back then. So it takes a healthy transformer to run classic OO. Since I run AC, I am using a Lionel prewar RW transformer that has the built in whistle trigger circuit. My Hudson loves to fill the room with that wonderful ozone and hot oil smell when I run it. Mike the Aspie
 
Nice pics, I used the first Hudson I got and posted above as a parts donor(for now, she will rise again) to bring this full scale version back to life. Basicly a mini 700e(Lionels crown jewel). A NYC J1e Hudson in full scale, first in O gauge in 1937, then in OO in 1938 thru 1942. Hard to believe this model is closing in on being 100 years old. Still run well. The good usable cars from both sets are coupled to the Hudson in the 2nd picture. Still waiting on Gargraves to resume production to get me the track I need to run them. The old Lionel track is warped and I lack enough straight sections to fit my table space. If I could come up with 4 more straight sections, I would redo my layout top to be 4.5 feet deep. Once screwed down, the old Bakelite roadbed track flattens out enough to be usable. Mikie
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Fun fact: The old Aurora Thunderjet slot cars that became so popular in the 60's, were originally OO scale (before they switched to larger 1/64 scale bodies in the 70's). The track and cars were originally developed in England as accessories for OO scale train layouts so the roads on a layout could have two way moving traffic. Aurora brought the product to the US for slot car racing and for train layout applications.
In 1960, the first sets were sold in the U.S. The first vehicles available were a 58 Chevy sedan, 59 Ford flat bed truck, Jaguar XK120, and Mercedes 300 convertible. The following year a 1960 Corvette and 1960 Thunderbird (convertible and hardtop) were added. In 62 there was a full range of new 1962 Ford Galaxies (hardtops, convertibles, and wagons) and a 62 Ford pickup, International Harvester trucks, and Ford cab over trucks. For 63 there were more new Fords (Galaxies, Fairlanes, Falcons and Thunderbirds) as well as Corvette, Riviera, and several European coupes and race cars. The last of the OO scale Aurora Thunderjets included 1969 versions of the Torino, Charger, El Camino, GTO, Mustang Mach I, AMX, and a Ford Good Humor ice cream truck. Other Aurora thunderjet cars made during the 60's in OO scale included Mustangs, Cougars, Camaros, Firebirds, Toronados, more Thunderbirds and more Galaxies. So they truely would have been perfect for simulating moving traffic on the roadways of an American OO scale train layout. If they had only been the slightly smaller 1/87 scale instead of 1/76 scale, they might just have been more commonly seen on HO scale train layouts in America back in the 60's.
http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/History.html
 
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The fun began after a road trip up north to buy some 3 rail Lionel track for this train. Now we are going in circles and filling the room with ozone!! Had a few teething issues, you can see the sparks from the pilot truck/crosshead area. This normally does not touch, but I found a wheel loose on the axle. So I swapped in the whole truck from my parts engine. That fixed that issue. The right rear corner of this old table is raised up, so if I add the 2 bay hopper to the train, she wants to slip out or climb the rail at that rear corner. The new table will correct this issue(The Hudson does fine on the rest of the loop with the 4 car train). These cars are very heavy, the body/frame/trucks are all diecast metal! I am running on just the outer two rails as my current engines are 2 rail models. Lionel offered the Hudson and freight cars for 2 or 3 rail. I am not using the power feeder track as that would need a modification for 2 rail power(seperating the outer rail buss bar). Enjoy the video!
 



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