Thoughts on a new track product line

[Lemosteam]

David, I think this a great product idea regardless of intended track centers.  if you have drawings it should not be hard to make all three guages and offer them (of course you have to make molds etc... and all the time involved with that).

On the rail note, why offer the tie pieces with rail at all?  That way the customer can purchase whatever rail he/she wants and the inventory or cost is not yours to bear.  Simply offer the tie sections alone with instruction on how to make the rail fit, piont creation, etc. and the proper adhesive.  Based on what I have seen you do I would buy your product in a heartbeat if you offered n scale versions.

[DKS]

David, I think this a great product idea regardless of intended track centers.  if you have drawings it should not be hard to make all three guages and offer them (of course you have to make molds etc... and all the time involved with that).

On the rail note, why offer the tie pieces with rail at all?  That way the customer can purchase whatever rail he/she wants and the inventory or cost is not yours to bear.  Simply offer the tie sections alone with instruction on how to make the rail fit, piont creation, etc. and the proper adhesive.  Based on what I have seen you do I would buy your product in a heartbeat if you offered n scale versions.

I can see I should have been much more clear at the outset about what I was intending to offer. I apologize for not having correctly described this! The product would be a set of cast ties only. No rail. (Yikes, if I offered these pre-built, I'd never have time for the ProtoMate!) It's designed for Code 40, but it may be possible to use other rail, or maybe not, I have not checked.

Since starting this thread, I've been making revisions. The ties will still be lasered, but the slots for the rails will be machined into the lasered master for greater accuracy and a better bonding surface. I'm also looking at improving the fidelity of the detailing, and possibly designing provisions for a throwbar that won't require soldering.

Changing the gauge is not a trivial task, however, owing to the way the artwork is rendered, so I can't just slap out multiple gauges in a heartbeat. Plus, as much as my personal interest for narrow gauge isn't prototype-specific, I would not want to release standard-gauge products with "whimsical" tie spacing, etc. I do already have proper templates for many different standard-gauge switches, but again it's a matter of rendering all of the art from scratch.

Dual-gauge is another beast altogether. It should go without saying that switches are very complicated, not to mention that there are twice as many of everything since the narrow gauge rail can be on either side. Making a bulletproof design will be a tall order, and while I'm somewhat interested in pursuing this, it's a much lower priority.

At any rate, I will make the narrow gauge tie sets available in limited quantities for starters, which will include #4-ish or #6-ish left and right, curved left and right, ~30-degree crossing, and flex. Then we'll go from there.

[LV LOU]

Hmmm...I'm actually contemplating almost the same idea.ME C70 switches are tough to find.I need a pile of them,and jigs aren't available from Fastracks for C70 rail.I'm going to see if I can carefully take apart two switches,cast the ties in color,and then make my own bending jigs for the frogs,guiderails,ETC,or maybe buy the ME parts kits to build my own..

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Dave, I think there are a few things at play here. First, Nn3 modelers are hardhore, used to building not just track but also engines and cars as well. While there may be a market for track products, I can't imagine it would be sizable.

Second, there is a HUGE demand for C55 track products right now. Not only that, but there are several C55 products that have not been produced yet like three way switches, single and double slips and proto-length switches (#11, 12, 15 etc.)

I would jump on large switches, but Nn3? Well until someone has some equipment that would work for Maine and not Colorado... not so much.