asleepatheswitch

I use sheet lead. Go to the hardware store and get real small fishing lead weights or pellets for a pellet gun.

Well, the news is not good! The web site shows no products and the phone is disconnected. Mike does not return calls, so I think they are gone. I have R 88s and they work great but never received the R 104s. Brick Tracks says they will be testing 9v track around Thanksgiving, so probably your best bet.

Lego track was one piece, but the dies to mold track that way were very expensive in addition expensive fixtures were required to attach the metal rails. The volume of sales was not sufficient to justify replacing the fixtures when they wore out. Thus the ABS plastic track. The ME track must be glued together and it will be fine! There is to much weight and force pushing on the outside curve for it to remain intact. there is a tutorial on how to glue the track sections together on Flicker Lego trains, Tom Paul, (aka Asleepatheswitch). I also have found that Oatley all purpose cement that plumbers use works great. Be sure and get the one that lists ABS. You can get at Ace Hardware. Use a small artists brush to apply the glue. Give it time to set up. Patience, it will work great!

The problem is the magnetic couplers, the "slop" between the wheels and the rails, and the 90˚ turns. As the force increases, the trucks "climb" and derail. What you could try is a matched set of motors, one at each end of the train. Difficult to do with anything but a straight run. Tom

Here are a couple of Rock Island Trains running on the new L Gauge 9 volt ME Models Metal R88 curves. Very Smooth, no more 90˚ turns! https://www.flickr.com/photos/122249773@N02/32089074503/in/dateposted/

I talked to Mike last week. They are on schedule to have everything shipped in the next four - five weeks. I don't know how long shipping time is to Europe.

MET Cover - Pg 1 by Tom Paul, on Flickr MET Pg 2-3 by Tom Paul, on Flickr MET Pg 4b by Tom Paul, on Flickr Here is the complete tutorial, hope it is helpful.

Received my ME Models Metal track a couple of weeks ago. Easy to build, got a loop of R88 track up and running. Way easier and better than my SS tape converted ABS track! Looks great and runs smooth as silk! I have put together a tutorial explaining how I assemble the track but need to figure out how to upload it. The ME Models Metal Track R88 curves are well worth the wait!

Try putting the power in the first two engines. Also run the motors "bare" and put the fastest first. Sounds like a lot of weight. Good luck!

When I have a problem with the cars climbing, it usually because a truck does not swivel freely. It only takes a brief moment on an R 40 or any curve for the truck to "jump". There can be quite a bit of back pressure as the cars turn.

If you have more than one engine on the head, the second unit tends to "jump" unless there is a straight between the switch and the curve. Too many derails, I always have a straight on both sides of the switch.

Been following this thread for awhile, and it appears some are becoming impatient! It may be helpful to know that ME Models is two people who decided to make L gauge track with very limited resources. While the ABS track was designed and built with some challenges, the 9-volt track was much more difficult to design and manufacture. I'm guessing the final design is a result of the difficulty presented when attempting to put metal over the ABS track they had already produced. It takes $$$$$! That said, for those who do not like ME Models result, I can offer the results of my efforts in converting ABS L gauge track to 9 - volt track. I pledged through Kickstarter way back when ME Models started and took the ABS track and covered it with SS Tape. Been running heavy 8 wide trains on it for about two years. The results fall short of satisfying! Labor intensive, requires fixtures, and less than ideal shelf life. Track does not relocate easily (shows) and the centripetal forces on the curves causes the tape to loosen. All one would need to do is spend several thousand $$ on highly conductive tape and developing an adhesive that will permanently adhere metal tape to ABS plastic! Photos show three R88 and two R 104 tracks

While overall this is an incredibly complex project, a major problem is with the Kickstart program. Kickstart takes a commission on all pledges if the project is funded. In most cases not all pledges pay, unfortunately there are many who pledge just to "push" the project and never intended to pay the pledge. Kickstart still takes their bite of that pie. It was and is a serious problem for ME Models. While I am still mired in the world of 9 volt metal track, I found the ME ABS track to be compatible with the old track. I pledged thinking it was all metal, whoops! I have talked with Mike several times and know that they are to trying to make this work. I am currently using loops of R 72, R 88 and R 104 in my 9 volt set up. The ABS ME Models track have been modified with .0015 SS Steel tape. The tape does not conduct as well as a nickel/copper alloy but does work. I'm using MRC Distributed DC power with heavy 8 wide trains. So the only option we have is to wait and hope they make it work and we get metal L gauge track. One thing is certain, Lego will not be making R104 track anytime soon!

HI, The part you are referring to is a non Lego brass tube. If you look on RailBrick, instructions for Jeremy Spurgeon's flatcar, you will see it illustrated. All my stuff is boxed up and I can't remember where I got it, but I use a brass tube that is 2mm id and cut it to length. Look at RC hobby stores.

Hello, I have been using KG for about eight years. If you leave the magnets hooked together for awhile you need a knife to separate them! Very happy with them. Highly recommend! :thumbup:

Looks great. Nice detail. Bet it would lokk even better in 8-wide!

Excellent! Looks great I want it!!

Hello, I've experimented with copper tape, aluminum tape and stainless steel tape. The tests were done using an eight wide Alco FA A-B-A configuration with 4 9volt motors. Both curved and straight sections were tested. The copper and aluminum tape had about the same life span (1 1/2 to 2 hours) I put the stainless steel tape on a double crossover and there was no visible wear after five hours. The exact numbers are buried in a box somewhere, I moved and everything is still boxed up. It's been over three years, I gotta start moving faster! Hope this helps.

Very nice, Good enough to steal !

Very nice, now you can make a bigger layout if you get rid of the furniture! What good is it? :laugh

I have had success using label paper from Staples or Office Supply, there is probably a similar office supply store in Europe, I adjust the color based on how what printer I use. With patience, you can get quite close. I then run the stickers through a Zyron cold laminator and cut them out. Then I coat the edge with the closest color magic marker, peel the backer off and stick them on. They wear much better than water slide decals. If you don't have a cold laminator cover them with clear scotch tape. Good Luck!

Hi, I have converted this switch for 9 volt. First, Stainless Steel foil is the longest lived for 9 volt running. What I did, was drill a hole and pin one side of the double throw open, you will need to do this for both sets of points, this allows trains to run parallel and when you want to transfer tracks, you either throw the switch or pull the pin. Tom

The tape will stick, but the sides tend to lift a little over time, with the contact cement, it appears that the tape is permanently attached. I use the contact cement on the sides of the rail not the top. While the metal track on e-bay seems expensive, it is the best long term solution for straight and curved track. IMO. The 79967 switch requires wiring. Polarity is an issue, but it is easy to isolate the crossovers into two zones and use two transformers. Hot soldering will melt the ABS and it takes a lot of heat to solder Stainless Steel so I use wire glue which seems to work well. http://www.thinkgeek.com

Hi; I am currently experimenting with metal tape on the RC plastic track. I run an 8-wide Santa Fe ABB with 4 9v motors making a consist of three(3) engines and six (6) heavy coaches. Using silvered copper foil, the life on either curved or straight track is about 14 to 16 hours. Using 1.5 mil Stainless Steel foil tape, I have run for 32 hours and can discern no wear at all on the contact edge of the tape. I am still experimenting with the best way to adhere the tape to the plastic track. At present, contact cement seems to work well. The double crossover #7996 is working, but I still have some kinks to work out. Perhaps I will have more info at a later date.

Very nice. I like the ladder grills. I do envy you though since you can roam through the prototype while I have to guess at details and dimensions from a photo or two. Again, nic e work!