GWR 14xx Tank Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Hello everyone,I am looking for some advice on 2 questions that I need answering before I purchase a locomotive and extra track for my layout. The questions are as follows:1) Will Hornby Track Pack A fit with a Lima Oval Track? I'd like to make the oval a little more interesting.2) Will other makes like Bachmann & Tri-Ang run on a Lima Oval & Hornby Track Pack A extensions, if they fit together.I was just wondering wether the tracks might be a different height or connection. I couldn't seem to find any advice on the internet, so I thought you experienced people may be able to help.Thanks,14xx Tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Hello GWRHere are your answers :-1) As long as both track (Hornby & Lima) are both 00 Gauge then yes - I think that i've told you that b4 in the thread General Discussion > Lima & Hornby Connections 2) Again - if the Model Locos & Track are all OO Gauge then they should all fit together no matter what brand I'm just going to quote what Going Spare (GS) said about the track in the other Thread (I hope you don't mind GS)!!! :- Lima track was made with steel rails which need much more effort to keep in good condition than Hornby's nickel silver rail which does not rust or tarnish so quickly and therefore gives better running.GS I have a mixture of Rolling Stock (I.e. Locos, Carriages & Wagons) of Hornby, Airfix, Dapol, Mainline, Lima & Bachmann that are all 00 Gauge that I mix together on my mixture of track made by Hornby, Airfix & Lima & they all fit well together!!!JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Only if they are the same Code Jj. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Spare Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 As far as I am aware, both Lima and Hornby track use code 100 rail and will connect to eachother, but......Hornby track pack A is designed to expand a small oval comprised of 3rd radius curves and Hornby-length standard straight track sections R600. I think I am correct in saying that Lima did not produce 3rd radius curves so this might well cause problems if you are intending to also add Hornby track packs B, C, etc. If the Lima straight track sections are not the same length as Hornby's R600, some problems may arise when trying to maintain the oval with track pack A added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 I agree about Hornby and Lima track but Jj quoted "if the Model Locos & Track are all OO Gauge then they should all fit together no matter what brand". That would not be the case with Peco code 75 for instance, not really "no matter what brand". 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Spare Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Do Peco still make dual-height joiners to facilitate transition from code 75 to code 100? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Do Peco still make dual-height joiners to facilitate transition from code 75 to code 100?.AFAIK only in the form of a short transition track.https://peco-uk.com/products/transition-track?_pos=2&_sid=aa0502c6e&_ss=r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 I don't quite understand what do you mean by the code??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 JJ,Read this post (mine, 4th one down on the page) that explains track code in detail.https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/another-b2b-question/?p=1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ73 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Thanks Chris - I think i get it - not too sure - basically the code is about the height of the rail yes - it goes from say 75 (0.75 tenth of an inch) to 100 (one tenth on an inch)??? is that correct??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 One thing you may encounter is that older track from European manufacturers such as Jouef and Lima may use slightly different geometry to the UK systems, for example the length of straights and radius of curves may differ slightly. This should not be a problem provided you are willing to adapt track, for example use short lengths of rail cut from a flexible length, where necessary, to overcome any anomaly. The rail profile should not usually be too much of a problem either as most track sold for OO/HO train set use is Code 100 flat bottom (rail is 100 thousanths of an inch high) . The best bet is to lay it all out on the board as a dry run first, make sure all the seperate pieces fit together with the rails in contact and the rail joiners / fishplates are firmly gripping. Avoid dog-leg joints between rail pieces which can cause derailments. The larger Hornby locomotives and the more detailed rolling stock do not like sharp curves, and may derail, so check the packaging or the specification here on the Hornby web-site to see what the minimum curve is recommended . Some older track systems did use some remarkably tight radii. Part of the fun of model railways is the challenge of building a layout that works, and in problem solving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWR 14xx Tank Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Thanks all for your replies. I am not planning on expanding my layout from the basic oval with siding for quite a while. I think I'm going to make scenery before I do expand.Thanks for the confirmation of how all brands can be mixed and matched (if you like) if they are the same gauge and code.14xx Tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWR 14xx Tank Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Hello GWRHere are your answers :-1) As long as both track (Hornby & Lima) are both 00 Gauge then yes - I think that i've told you that b4 in the thread General Discussion > Lima & Hornby Connections 2) Again - if the Model Locos & Track are all OO Gauge then they should all fit together no matter what brand I'm just going to quote what Going Spare (GS) said about the track in the other Thread (I hope you don't mind GS)!!! :- Lima track was made with steel rails which need much more effort to keep in good condition than Hornby's nickel silver rail which does not rust or tarnish so quickly and therefore gives better running.GS I have a mixture of Rolling Stock (I.e. Locos, Carriages & Wagons) of Hornby, Airfix, Dapol, Mainline, Lima & Bachmann that are all 00 Gauge that I mix together on my mixture of track made by Hornby, Airfix & Lima & they all fit well together!!!JJThank you for reminding me about what you said in the "Lima and Hornby Connections" post. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about it! Your information, as everyone's is, is very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 After Lima had joined the UK 00 market they did release track that was interchangeable with the Hornby/Peco settrack. I think it said Lima Italy on the base but other than that it was exact copies of the track sections and geometry with black sleepers and steel rails. I think it had the large brass fishplates that the previous Lima track had though. I have got some somewhere that I got cheap at the time, I don't think it was available for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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