tsph6500 wrote:cp4449 wrote:"Would not have that problem if they ran straddle cars like they do in Europe.....
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There are no 5-in gauge locos in the Montreal club, I don't recall there ever being any. The extra rail was added for visiting engineers from the Ottawa club but it was under used.
These are both reasons we ended up with our 6-rail superhighway in the sky. We had 2.5, 3.5 and 4.75, with no real 2.5 operators and a great 4.75 ground-level where all the 1" guys run. So, trying to improve the 3.5", Greg and I started rebuilding. The peanut gallery suggested we add 5" so our Winnipeg friends could run. Great idea, especially since they loaned us some things we needed to do the rebuild. Then a British expat suggested we haul the public on straddle cars, and to make things as stable as possible, add a 7.5" rail. So here we are, 6 rails, 5 gauges, and 1 member that runs on it using the 3.5". If we'd stripped things down to what was essential, Bill is correct, we could have done 3.5" and forgot the rest. Design by committee, but it should still be fun and hopefully we'll get more activity.