System 4 track !

[ianmacc]

Just ended up with a small quantity of system 4 track in a job lot. I have never seen it before in the flesh. It has obviously been badly stored as the whole thing is a uniform dark rust brown and the brown sleepers are caked in a Matt film. It looks really realistic! If only they had persevered with the 00 Gauge sleeper sizes and spacing on system 6 onwards and used code 100 it goes a long way to disguising the narrow Gauge and H0 track we have now....

[ikcdab]

Excellent! I think it was called "super 4", that's what I had in my first train set 50 years ago.

Later replaced by "system 6" which we thought was the dogs whatsits when if arrived! 

[ianmacc]

Just mucking around with a piece of it and put some straight out of the bag gaugemaster ballast around it loosely. Rail height aside I think it looks better than the H0 stuff we use today!

[RailWest]

On 02/10/2019 at 21:42, ikcdab said:

Excellent! I think it was called "super 4", that's what I had in my first train set 50 years ago.

Later replaced by "system 6" which we thought was the dogs whatsits when if arrived! 

So, was there not a '5' then ?

 

I started off with Series 3 (black sleepers) - still have some in a box here! Prior to that it had been 'Standard' which IIRC had a light-grey raised base with a moulded effect of ballast and sleepers. So if that was '2' then what was the original '1' like ???

[russ p]

24 minutes ago, RailWest said:

So, was there not a '5' then ?

 

I started off with Series 3 (black sleepers) - still have some in a box here! Prior to that it had been 'Standard' which IIRC had a light-grey raised base with a moulded effect of ballast and sleepers. So if that was '2' then what was the original '1' like ???

 

I've often wondered about the 5 , did the Hornby dublo 2 rail count as it?

[Butler Henderson]

2 hours ago, russ p said:

 

I've often wondered about the 5 , did the Hornby dublo 2 rail count as it?

System 6 was originally known as Series 5 but the name was change before it was launched.

[caradoc]

12 hours ago, Butler Henderson said:

System 6 was originally known as Series 5 but the name was change before it was launched.

 

Presumably because it sounded better ?

 

Compared to Series 3, Super 4 track was a major step forward (I had both in My First Train Set !)

 

[BernardTPM]

The basic Super 4 geometry is till used today.

[F-UnitMad]

The points weren't so brilliant, though, were they? And those massive rail 'fixings' rather stand out too in the OP picture. I don't want to call them 'chairs' as that would be an insult to more modern track.

I suspect the reason for abandoning 4mm dimensions for the sleepers & spacing was that going for the obscure & little-used scale of HO opened up the market for their track to the rest of the world.

[D9020 Nimbus]

The main bit of geometry changed is the Y point—the Super 4 Y point had curved arms of radius 2, not the larger radius used since. I think everything else is the same—apart of course from additions such as the "Express" points etc.

Edited December 2, 2019 by D9020 Nimbus

[DCB]

Super 4 is great for floor layouts,  vastly more durable than system 6 / set track but if the fishplates and rail ends corrode then its hopeless. I always think the Ffestiniog Railway track looks like Super 4, maybe an 8 or 8.5mm to the foot Ffestiniog layout using Triang Chasis and Super 4 would be a possibility?

[kevinlms]

On 02/12/2019 at 06:03, RailWest said:

So, was there not a '5' then ?

 

I started off with Series 3 (black sleepers) - still have some in a box here! Prior to that it had been 'Standard' which IIRC had a light-grey raised base with a moulded effect of ballast and sleepers. So if that was '2' then what was the original '1' like ???

The unnumbered series 1 (called universal), was very similar to series 2 (called Standard). The difference being is that the ends could only be joined one way, in other words it was a tongue and socket arrangement.

 

The earlier types are shown here.

 

http://www.tri-ang.co.uk/OONew/indexTrack.htm

Edited December 9, 2019 by kevinlms
More info

[BernardTPM]

On 02/12/2019 at 15:39, D9020 Nimbus said:

The main bit of geometry changed is the Y point—the Super 4 Y point had curved arms of radius 2, not the larger radius used since. I think everything else is the same—apart of course from additions such as the "Express" points etc.

True, but it was more a case of not including a Y point at all for a good many years. Yes, further extensions to the geometry have been made, but the kernal of it is still there.

The Super 4 Y point allowed me to make a handy junction on the kitchen floor:

 

Note I should have used an isolation straight as noted in the diagram to avoid a potential short (unless you're using clockwork or battery power).