So many of us got our start in model railroading with Lionel 3 Rail track. There are those who with continue with the "Standard" or "Classic" three rail no manner what's offered in choices of 3 rail design.
Toot's comments about O Gauge really sums it all up.
Greg
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Maybe. I definitely don't have much to argue about the tradition of 3 rail and its appreciation.
I think what my real intentions were was that, should a 3 rail track with a really low profile central rail become available, some people might enjoy that. But I can get behind the idea that it would not be convincing to the majority of O gauge people out there, and would at most be a niche, much like 2-rail O.
We already have 2-rail O though. And if you wanted to put out a 3-rail track with a low profile center rail, this actually means your train would need to be designed slightly differently and as such, it would be going out on quite a limb to try and put this out. It is a much bigger deal than just designing a new track.
A better way that I could have phrased this would be "How come they didn't do X at the beginning" and not "Well, it has been done this way for many decades but now is the time to start doing it differently". And seeing the variety of options out there, it is just by chance that institutional inertia resulted in O gauge being dominated by a design that features 3 equal rails. I did not want to imply that anything is seriously wrong with that, and was rather just conveying a thought quickly without going through all the facts in my head.
More than once I have thought of ways trains could be designed differently, including designs which have absolutely no prototypical existence, just because I would like to see it. If I could get my hands on 3-D printer, I might be able to put out some strange trains. But of course, I don't have any prospect of having access to that sort of thing so my ideas will remain just that. I am smart enough to know there is no precedence or demand for ideas I have which would require more than just track being redesigned. As such, if you specifically enjay 3 rail O gauge, I am the last person in the world who would want to stop you, and for good measure I might want to put out a 4 rail train with much larger wheels than a normal steam train. Its why you see emphasis on wheels on today's passenger vehicles. Just for the likes of design. I have a lot of big dreams in my life but due to disabilities I lack the core required to pursue long term goals, even while on all the right meds, because I will unravel 3 months into the process of just working a 25 hour a week job that was intended to garner the funds necessary for this 3-D printer, or any other business item you might think of.
Ideas can change in their potential with time too.
), it is far less noticeable than the outer rails.
