# Lionel Super "O" Track



## lionelsuperotrack (Nov 12, 2010)

Anyone interested in Super "O" track? Anyone have a layout?

Have you seen this link:

The History of Lionel Super "O" Track 
http://www.tcaetrain.org/articles/operating/supero/index.html 

Mike Spanier


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

My brother has his original set of super O track. It is neat and often I have been tempted to get more track. I am not superman and can't do everthing. Sadly it is not on display.


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## Felginator (Oct 20, 2010)

Wow, that track is so neat. I have heard of it but never seen good pictures of it before.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks something like fasttrack, but the detailing is better. I would imagine it would be super expensive too!


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## lionelsuperotrack (Nov 12, 2010)

It is really NOT expensive. Less then the new stuff, but, some say it is the best looking toy track ever!

Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I looked at some of the pictures, it is pretty realistic looking. I did a scan of eBay, not exactly as cheap as regular track, but not as bad as I would have thought.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Where do you get your center clips?


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## lionelsuperotrack (Nov 12, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I looked at some of the pictures, it is pretty realistic looking. I did a scan of eBay, not exactly as cheap as regular track, but not as bad as I would have thought.


Cheaper then Atlas, FasTrack, Ross, Gargraves Sectional, MTH (Realtrack + Scaletrax) and all other new types OTHER then tubular. Was made over 50 years ago.

Mike


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Mike,

Thanks for the intro and link to Super O. Nice looking stuff. I've seen the new versions (several mfrs), but am intrigued to learn that Lionel's older stuff can be had for something less than a small fortune.

Here's an interesting tidbit (to me, at least) ...

I just ebay picked up a 1935 Lionel catalog. Flipping through, and very surprised to learn that Lionel offered solid rail track way back then ... very realistic rail cross-sections. Closely spaced ties (compared to the regular tubular stuff), spikes, etc. It appears as if the middle rail was a clone of the outer rails, rather than being a "hidden" rail, per your Super O. Neat, though, for Lionel to be dabbling that way back in the '30's.

Cheers,

TJ


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## lionelsuperotrack (Nov 12, 2010)

tjcruiser said:


> Mike,
> 
> Thanks for the intro and link to Super O. Nice looking stuff. I've seen the new versions (several mfrs), but am intrigued to learn that Lionel's older stuff can be had for something less than a small fortune.
> 
> ...


TJ - You are referring to Lionel's "T" rail track. It is expensive and hard to find. I would say straight would be $20.00/$30.00 and though curves are less not that much. There is one person who sells "T" rail. To investigate further you would need to Google.

Mike

PS Here is the link: http://www.t-railtrack.com/


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Mike,

Yup, that's it! Very nice stuff, especially for way back then. Thanks for the T-rail guy link ... glad to see there's (some) market/source for it.

Regards,

TJ


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

*LIONEL SUPER "O" track*

I was just wondering if anyone is using,or remembers super o, I wonder why lionel stoped making it, I saw some at a local train show,I though it looked nice ,pretty much like gargraves,can anyone shed some light on this subject?...........mike


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, it's no longer in production, but it's still available on the used market. Not sure why Lionel abandoned it.


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Here's what I found on Super O:

Super O-Gauge
Super O-gauge track was the precursor to Fastrack. It is incompatible with the other Lionel track types. It was introduced in 1957 as a realistic alternative to the tinplate track types (O- and O27- gauges). Super-O track had a brass center rail, brown plastic ties and metal reinforcing ties. Lionel stopped production of Super-O track in 1966 because it never really took off with train hobbyists.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I think Super-O was simply before it's time, it would probably be very popular today.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Big Mike said:


> I was just wondering if anyone is using,or remembers super o, I wonder why lionel stoped making it, I saw some at a local train show,I though it looked nice ,pretty much like gargraves,can anyone shed some light on this subject?...........mike





gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, it's no longer in production, but it's still available on the used market. Not sure why Lionel abandoned it.




I think this was also one big reason Lionel stopped making it.

A copy and paste,

Not all Super-O items were produced throughout the 1957 to 1966 time span. As you probably know, the system never had the desired effect of stimulating the type of interest Lionel had hoped for. It seems if Lionel would have elected to produce 54" and 72" diameter track and switches it might have helped but that probably was not the answer either. Its last year of production was 1966, as Lionel cut back on all areas of train production. Super-O's time had come and gone as it slowly disappeared from the market.  According to an Inside Track issue from Lionel's Railroader Club, the tooling from Super O had long ago been destroyed.


I also read somewhere else that the thin center rail made the rollers wear out quicker too.

Read the whole article about Super O track?


http://www.toytrainrevue.com/sup-o.htm


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You're probably right about roller wear, I've seen wear on some of the older pieces I've picked up.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> You're probably right about roller wear, I've seen wear on some of the older pieces I've picked up.



Larger curves and switches probably would have sold more too.


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

Lionel was hanging on by a thread by the mid 1960's. The demand for a new track system, and toy trains in general, was declining rapidly. What market remained was fine with conventional tubular track so that's what Lionel sold with it's limited resources.

Super O has been kept alive by hobbyists since. There are many similar track systems available now for the hobbyests who wants a more realistic 3-rail track. Atlas comes to mind. Lionel FasTrack has been a successful, albeit expensive, alternative.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

areizman said:


> Lionel was hanging on by a thread by the mid 1960's. The demand for a new track system, and toy trains in general, was declining rapidly. What market remained was fine with conventional tubular track so that's what Lionel sold with it's limited resources.
> 
> Super O has been kept alive by hobbyists since. There are many similar track systems available now for the hobbyests who wants a more realistic 3-rail track. Atlas comes to mind. Lionel FasTrack has been a successful, albeit expensive, alternative.




Gargraves & Ross too.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Guys,

I merged Big Mike's thread (starting at Post #12) with an earlier, identically named thread (posts 1 through 11). See those early posts (above) for more info on Super O.

TJ


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## ASQTec (Apr 24, 2011)

My father had tons of the stuff, which I have inherited. 

I have never experienced the dreaded roller wear in any of the dozen or so 60+ year old engines that I've been running since I was a kid, but I have replaced rollers on engines that were run many hours on store or train show layouts. With a little time and patience, I was able to make some custom radius turns and easements with Super O track to get away from the "toyish" look of 36" radius curves, and the strain they put on locomotives pulling more than a dozen cars.

During the late 90's - early 00's, Lionel made some diesel locomotives with larger than normal wheel flanges. I have a few of these, as this was around the time I started to get back into the hobby. These flanges would hit the "spikes" which hold the rails to the plasitc ties. In addition to the racket this made, I started seeing wear on the flanges and the "spikes." Also, these large flanged engines and the Super O turnouts made for some very annoying derailments and shorts.

I have replaced the Super O track on both my main lines with Gargraves flex and Ross switches. I only use Super O in my yards. I guess they'll end up on eBay soon. The biggest thing I miss about the Super O track is the clickety-clack of having 10" track segments.


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## Big Mike (Dec 2, 2011)

I wish I could buy some of this track now,I think Lionel should have kept making the super O, instead of fastrack,JMO

question : what switches did it use? ..............mike


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

Mike Spainer of the TCA is a huge supporter of Super O and hosts a discussion group on Yahoo for SO enthusiasts. 

One of the knocks against SO is that the narrow center rail would cut into and wear down the power rollers. However, it takes a lot of operating hours for this to happen and replacement rollers are readily available for most locomotives. The switches were always a problem. They were poorly designed and cause a lot of problems.

Still, there is a loyal following and if one wants to build a layout with SO track there are plenty of stocks out there to draw from.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

My brother's set is Super O. Original owner. Maybe that is why I started collecting later in life. It's packed away maybe one day I get some pictures and add them to the track threads.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

T-Man said:


> My brother's set is Super O. Original owner. Maybe that is why I started collecting later in life. It's packed away maybe one day I get some pictures and add them to the track threads.



You could also hint to your Bro, that it would make a nice present to you.

No good packed away huh T.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

One of these days I will get pictures. It is in good shape.


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