# HO track identification



## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

I'm sure this is elementary to some in here but can you help me identify what type of track these are or which era they are from?


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Well the bottom one looks a lot like Tyco brass track to me.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

Are there any markings on the back side of the ties?
Most companies put their name on them

Tyco and atlas I've found does this always from what I can tell. Same for Bachmann 
I know I have some that just say Yugoslavia that I'm not sure of the maker but I guess that would be where they were made....


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

The 2nd the motion the brass appears to be 1960s/70s era, could be Tyco or other. Probably has a company name stamped on the bottom of the ties.

The too one looks like 1980s Bachmann from their train sets.

The middle one looks to me more like American Flyer or something based on the ties. I’m probably wrong though.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

The top one looks like Atlas snap track, nickle silver….

I think the bottom one is also Atlas, but older brass track….

You can tell it’s Atlas by the ties at the ends that make a box….


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## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

The top one looks to me to be steel track. Note the rust at each end and also near the middle. TYCO maybe? 
Late 1970’s me thinks.
I recognize the 2nd one but, damned if I can recall right now who made it. Very, very old. Maybe even pre 50’s.
3rd one I’d wager to be from AHM train sets, or maybe Model Power. I recognize the odd shaped rail joiners that were stamped in place. Grrr. Also, the extra plastic along the rail web. Early 1970’s.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I agree with Oilvalley...the middle track section looks
like S scale. The widely spaced ties is the clue I
see. 

Don


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

DonR said:


> I agree with Oilvalley...the middle track section looks
> like S scale. The widely spaced ties is the clue I
> see.
> 
> Don


I'm not familiar with S scale. How popular is it?


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

Tombo said:


> I'm not familiar with S scale. How popular is it?


Not nearly as popular as HO. You could try posting a pic of just that one here in the S forum section.


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

I’m thinking it’s some type of Narrow Gauge S. If so it’s not common at all. The S guys will know.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That top piece looks sort of narrow too unless it's the angle of the photo.

What is the rail spacing in mm of that top piece?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

DonR said:


> I agree with Oilvalley...the middle track section looks
> like S scale. The widely spaced ties is the clue I
> see.
> 
> Don


It’s not the tie spacing that’s important, but the gauge of the rails……doesn’t look like S (1/64 th scale), which would be noticeably bigger than H.O…..


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Old_Hobo said:


> It’s not the tie spacing that’s important, but the gauge of the rails……doesn’t look like S (1/64 th scale), which would be noticeably bigger than H.O…..


Perhaps that's why he said "Narrow Gauge S"....


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I was commenting on DonR’s post (#7)…..I added his quote…..


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## timlange3 (Jan 16, 2013)

The top two look like steel, test with a magnet, the bottom is brass.


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## TulsaFlyer (Sep 21, 2009)

Middle track looks like Peco ON30 track.
Hard to really tell in the pic though.


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## DavefromMD (Jul 25, 2013)

The middle one is definitely not normal S scale. I had a lot of American Flyer growing up. The ties did not look like that and the gauge is wider than that. I am not familiar with it anything like narrow gauge S so I have no idea about that.

Here is American Flyer (S gauge) track:









3 types of S gauge track


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

DavefromMD said:


> The middle one is definitely not normal S scale. I had a lot of American Flyer growing up. The ties did not look like that and the gauge is wider than that. I am not familiar with it anything like narrow gauge S so I have no idea about that.
> 
> Here is American Flyer (S gauge) track:
> View attachment 580499
> ...


I think Tulsa Flyer nailed it when he called it On30. Don’t think narrow gauge S is commercially available but On30 certainly is. It would be the same gauge as HO.


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## NORTH (Sep 20, 2015)

I think the middle track is 1960's Tri-ang HO/OO.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I guess we're never going to get a measurement on that top piece of track.

Drive-by poster. Gotta love it.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

MichaelE said:


> I guess we're never going to get a measurement on that top piece of track.
> 
> Drive-by poster. Gotta love it.



Or if there are any markings under the ties.....


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

MichaelE said:


> I guess we're never going to get a measurement on that top piece of track.
> 
> Drive-by poster. Gotta love it.


Very friendly to new posters. Very welcoming. I took this photo several weeks ago and put my trains in storage because we are supposed to be moving soon - no opportunity to measure or check the bottom of the ties.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Photos with identifying marks and a gauge measurement would have been more helpful than a picture alone to answer your question. And ours...


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

The top is likely steel rail Atlas SnapTrack..The bottom is brass rail Atlas Snap..Might the middle be Marx ? Or, was Marx 3 rail only ?.. It's definitely not AF because of the ties (he shows in post #17)..
Plus it's not S gauged..
What about Revell ? Didn't they include track in their trainsets ? 
One oddity is that the top appears to be narrower gauged than the bottom. But maybe that's just the camera angle..


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

telltale said:


> The top is likely steel rail Atlas SnapTrack..The bottom is brass rail Atlas Snap..Might the middle be Marx ? Or, was Marx 3 rail only ?.. It's definitely not AF because of the ties (he shows in post #17)..
> Plus it's not S gauged..
> What about Revell ? Didn't they include track in their trainsets ?
> One oddity is that the top appears to be narrower gauged than the bottom. But maybe that's just the camera angle..


All covered in previous posts. 😉


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

prrfan said:


> All covered in previous posts. 😉


Except for the Marx in the middle. My money is still on On30.


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## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

“Very friendly to new posters. Very welcoming.” ❄❄ 
We actually are here. We do though, throw out friendly snarky-ness now and then. 

prrfan,
“All covered in previous posts.” 

My money is still on center track being an odd pre 1950’s H0. The rails look bigger because they are taller and wider than code 100 due to the rails being hollow, formed steel, or maybe even aluminum.
I did see a mess of it on one table at the last train show I attended in February. Guy had a bunch of very old shtuff. Obviously, I still can’t recall brand but, very well could be Revell.
“The mystery continues.”


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

*prrfan*
Referring to your post # 25, please tell me which posts mentioned Marx or Revell before I did ...
It was not 'all covered in previous posts' (irrelevant of whether or not my suggestions are correct).


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

telltale said:


> *prrfan*
> Referring to your post # 25, please tell me which posts mentioned Marx or Revell before I did ...
> It was not 'all covered in previous posts' (irrelevant of whether or not my suggestions are correct).


It must have mis-read it. It was probably due to the wrong mushrooms on the pizza tonight. Sorry. 
I did acknowledge Marx though in the next post. 
And I got interested in the Revell idea and found info on sets going back to ‘57. One photo of a piece of track and drum roll….looks just like all the other train set track.


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

kilowatt62 said:


> “Very friendly to new posters. Very welcoming.” ❄❄
> We actually are here. We do though, throw out friendly snarky-ness now and then.
> 
> prrfan,
> ...


Ok….well… like I said above, the ‘57 Revell track looked normal. A lot of those companies used Atlas.
I thought the same thing about the huge rails, that’s why I thought larger scale narrow gauge.
On30 sounds right but that seems to use same codes as we do in HO. That track looks way bigger than Code 100. I dunno.
Tombo put up an interesting thread.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

I had a Revell HO train set my first HO. The set track was the same as Atlas, joined right up when I expanded my trackage. Could the center be some European OO gauge track? Almost the same as HO track gauge? Or else (Japanese?) stamped toy train set track?


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

prrfan said:


> Ok….well… like I said above, the ‘57 Revell track looked normal. A lot of those companies used Atlas.
> I thought the same thing about the huge rails, that’s why I thought larger scale narrow gauge.
> On30 sounds right but that seems to use same codes as we do in HO. That track looks way bigger than Code 100. I dunno.
> Tombo put up an interesting thread.


Yep he put up an interesting thread and hasn’t been back in 10 days. So MichaelE was right. 
There is a sticky thread in the General Model Train Discusson section called Let Users Know. Perhaps it should be in every forum section. 

Give us details, or if you can’t, say why. Going offline, packing your trains up, whatever? Tell us please. People put time and effort into answering. A word of thanks is appreciated too. 

I did find it interesting though and learned a lot by researching. There is a Narrow Gauge S scale. Sn31/2. It’s run mainly in Australia and New Zealand. And it uses regular HO track just like the narrow gauge O. It makes sense if you think about it: there’s just minuscule size difference in gauge.
HO Tinplate was another thought I had, but I dropped the fire on this one last week.


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

I do not always have time to get on unless it is a random day when I actually get a lunch break (like today). 
If you check post 22, you will see I said I put them in storage until we move.
If “pop up poster” is the moniker for someone who only gets on when time and life permits, I will own that title.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

Tombo said:


> I do not always have time to get on unless it is a random day when I actually get a lunch break (like today).
> If you check post 22, you will see I said I put them in storage until we move.
> If “pop up poster” is the moniker for someone who only gets on when time and life permits, I will own that title.






Doubt they were trying to be mean but you do have posters who create a account asks a question then never follows thru..... hence the nickname drive by poster. 


BTW do you remember if there were any markings on the under side of the ties because kost manufacturers put their name there.


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

Tombo said:


> I do not always have time to get on unless it is a random day when I actually get a lunch break (like today).
> If you check post 22, you will see I said I put them in storage until we move.
> If “pop up poster” is the moniker for someone who only gets on when time and life permits, I will own that title.


I know. I was referring to the original postings and no, we weren’t trying to be mean. It’s just easier if you tell us up front what’s going before we start asking “ What happened to this guy?”

Like I said, this thread piqued my curiosity and I think I can safely say likewise for the other folks. Who doesn’t love a good mystery? But we didn’t know when or if the next clues were coming. It’s all good, life goes on.

This might be a good resource for info on that middle piece: 




__





National Toy Train Museum & Train Collectors Assoc. | Strasburg, PA


Home of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) since 1977, the National Toy Train Museum is a world-class toy train destination for kids of all ages. Whethe ...




www.tcatrains.org


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Tombo said:


> I do not always have time to get on unless it is a random day when I actually get a lunch break (like today).
> If you check post 22, you will see I said I put them in storage until we move.
> If “pop up poster” is the moniker for someone who only gets on when time and life permits, I will own that title.


Nope, a pop up poster is someone who asks a question and disappears, without responding to follow up questions, asking any of his own, etc., and for all we can tell, never even comes back to read the responses. Most of us understand that people (especially those in the middle of raising a family and having a career) have many demands on their time. That's not you... although it did look that way at first.


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

Tombo said:


> I'm sure this is elementary to some in here but can you help me identify what type of track these are or which era they are from?
> View attachment 580384


Happy Labor Day all. We finally moved and picked our stuff up from storage. And I finally have pictures of the underside of each of these. They are in order:
Photo 1 (and the top piece from my original post). Thinner silver track - made in Yugoslavia. Looks like 18 with a 30 degree radius. I found some like it on ebay but don't see anything that indicates who made it, why it was made in Yugoslavia, or any other details that along with it. Vintage Made in Yugoslavia HO 10 x R 18 30 Curved Track Lot- Silver #1 | eBay

Photo 2 (middle piece from my original post). Thicker silver track - made in Japan. The only other number on it is the '2' shown. No other information listed.

Photo 3 (lowest piece from my original post): Atlas snap track - notes the radius or length but no manufacturer. I am assuming this particular type of track did not change for a great many years so there is probably no other way to learn more about it.

If anyone has any ideas now that more information is known or a resource to go to, I appreciate the insight.

Thank you.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

The Yugoslavia marking indicates that your track was made by Mehano. They're still in business. It was made in Yugoslavia because that's where they're based (although it is now Slovenia). That does indeed look like a 30 degree arc of 18" radius curve. 

The Japanese track is a mystery... lots of speculation above as to what it is. Probably not jnterchangeable with the others.

The bottom, pieces do look like Atlas Snap track, although it appears that the curved piece has been modified, since it's missing that "loop tie" on one end.

You can mix and match track from different manufacturers, though, as long as it's the same gauge. Code being the same is helpful, but not too hard to overcome, and different metals isn't really a problem, as long as you don't mind the more extensive maintenance on the cheaper track.


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

Thanks for the response. I found Mehano after I posted but didn't come back to edit. Does anyone know why they were made in Yugoslavia and if there were only distributed in Europe? Or was that the American version of outsourcing at that time?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

CTValley told you, that track was made in Yugoslavia because that is where the company was based….



> *Mehano* is a Slovenian toy company from Izola, founded in 1952 as *Mehanotehnika*. It produces a large range of both traditional and electronic toys, as well as model railroad equipment. The company has borne its current name of Mehano since 1990. Mehano applied to restructure in November 2008, following reported economic difficulties during the preceding ten years; production in Slovenia ended. In 2010, Mehano was relaunched with production in China and new branding.


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

Tombo: Did you ask the TCA/Toy Train Museum about that Japanese piece?
(Post # 35) 
It may be your best shot at finding out what it is.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Tombo said:


> Thanks for the response. I found Mehano after I posted but didn't come back to edit. Does anyone know why they were made in Yugoslavia and if there were only distributed in Europe? Or was that the American version of outsourcing at that time?


Why are Ford F-150s assembled in Dearborn, MI, and Kansas City instead of Pittsburgh and Houston? Because that's where the factories are. Why is most model railroad equipment made in China? Same answer. In fact, it's the same answer for any product you can name. Mehano is a Yugoslavian (now Slovenian) company; why wouldn't they make product there? This isn't some deep mystery to be unraveled. Items made by Mehano were sold under a variety of brand names in the US, most notably AHM and IHC. I have two of their steam locomotives sold under IHC'S Command XXV line, and they're great.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Maybe he’s too embarrassed to return to this thread…. 😆


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## Tombo (Jan 2, 2022)

No just had enough of angry people


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I have read no anger in this thread…..frustration maybe, but no anger….


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