Thinking of.routing an.ho track.using copper tape

[KsRacer]

I am currently thinking of routing an HO layout using copper tape. My question is, do the cars make good contact with the copper tape without having to do any major modifications. Do the cars run as good on wood without the magnetic down force. I am hoping to achieve the same experience as the 1/32nd guys get when running on wood as compared to running plastic.

Dave K.

[Paul R]

Cars that use traction magnets will not work well without the downforce. They will be over powered. Cars that do not use traction magnets such as T-Jets, Tyco Pros, or hand built cars of the style from the late 60's, early 70's would do ok, but would need braids to work on the copper rail. T-Jets and Tyco cars were designed with a rail in mind. T-jets would be problematic since you would need to add more pressure on the shoes to get them to contact the copper tape. So, cars setup to run on that track probably won't do well on tracks with rail and visa versa.

[Kemtronracer]

I had some success with an HO routed track with copper tape. We used to solder a small amount of finely stranded copper wire to the top of the pickup shoes and feed the wire through the opening in the shoe and fold it so that it would rub against the copper tape for good contact. The more powerful cars would need to run on a lower voltage. Ed Bianchi makes a "slide guide" for HO cars to run on a routed track with a 1/8" slot. You can check out his website for more information. http://www.horacepro.com/guides.html

[KsRacer]

Thank you for the information, I do like the slide guide, but might be just as well to run plastic track. I just purchased a new AFX 4 lane with the new G+ cars and new tri power (power packs). I was considering the routed and copper tape method because of the need to clean the rails on a regular bases. I have run 1/32 plastic track for close to 10 years and very little issues with dirty rails for them. Is there a good method to keep the rails clean so that power is smooth and consistent? I plan on using in the near future some Parma controllers, and what ohm controllers would be recommended for that when running G+, and t jets.

Thanks, Dave K.

[KsRacer]

Dave, thanks for bringing this video to my attention! I remember watching another video of the same fella routing and taping this same track. Now that I have I have seen this video, I think i'm going to give this a try. I am pretty confident that I can accomplish what I have visioned for HO, and will be able to have a wood track yet. Thanks for digging up this video, that's really all I need to move forward with this project. It will be mid summer before I can start, we have a new central air unit being installed in the next 30 days. Our old furnace was a Coleman furnace located in a closet. Now we are dropping a high efficiency furnace to the basement! Right where the 1/32 oval was going to go. Was going to be a 6x16 wood oval.......I will probably try to do a 4x16 oval like Harry had a few years ago, once I free up another year.

Thanks again, Dave K.