Tips & Tricks: Removing Track Pins From 027 Track
Lionel’s FasTrack and MTH’s RealTrax are becoming more and more popular with O Gauge enthusiasts but nothing beats good ol’ 027 tubular track if you’re building a small layout. 027 track is very inexpensive and is perfect for small spaces. Besides price, the one big advantage 027 has over FasTrack and RealTrax is that it can be cut relatively easily. When I built my first 027 layout I found myself making many custom cuts and removing lots of the track pins used to join pieces of track together. Removing the pins is a real pain but I discovered two techniques that made the job a bit easier and will share them with you now. Click on the link below to read on
The two techniques, one for straight sections and the other for curved sections of track require a good fitting leather work glove (left or right handed depending upon your preference), regular pliers, a flat head precision screw driver and a little bit of strength.
Photo 1 - Required tools
Note that clicking on the photos in this article will enlarge them for easier viewing.
Tubular track and the ties that hold the track together can have sharp edges (I learned this the hard way) so I found that when using my techniques, grasping the track with a hand protected by a leather glove eliminates trips to the medicine cabinet. The gloves are optional but highly recommended.
Removing Pins From Straight Track Sections
Track pins are slotted at each end. During the manufacturing process the pins are inserted in the end of the tubular rails. The pins are held in place by dimples punched into the side of the rails that align with the slot on the end of the pins inserted into the rails. You’ll be fighting these little dimples when removing the pins.
Photo 2 - Track pin & dimple (click on photo to enlarge)
It’s tempting to just grab the track in one hand and the pin with the pliers in the other hand and give a good tug. If you’re lucky, a good swift pull of the pliers will remove the pin. In almost every case this brute force method won’t budge the pin. I found that doing just the opposite and driving the pin further into the tubular track using the side of the pliers (Photos 3 & 4) breaks the hold the dimple has on the pin and makes it easier to remove.
Photos 3 & 4: Tapping the pin with the side of the pliers will push it into the tubular track.
After driving the pin into the track (Photo 5), grasp it with the pliers and give a swift tug and it will come out fairly easily (Photos 6 & 7). Be sure to get a good grip on the rail from which
you are pulling the pin. If you don’t you may end up pulling the rail
through the railroad ties and it can be hard to slip the rail back on
the ties.
Photo 5 - Track pin after it has been driven into the track
Photo 6 - Grabbing the pin with pliers
Photo 7 - A swift tug removes the pin
Removing Pins From Curved Track Sections
Removing pins from curved sections requires a technique that is a bit more involved but still easy. If you try to remove a pin using the brute force method of grabbing the pin with the pliers an giving a swift tug you will most likely end up pulling the rail through the ties as illustrated in Photo 8.
Photo 8 - Pulling the rail through the ties (not good)
Because the rails of a curved section are as you would expect - curved, driving the pin into the rail is impossible. I found the best way to break the dimple’s hold on the pins in curved sections is to pry open the bottom of the tubular rails. To do this you need to slip the railroad tie at the end of the track away from the pins. This can be done easily by prying up on the small tabs that hold the ties to the rails with a flat head precision screw driver (see Photo 9). Only pry the tabs open to the point where the tie will start to slip back down the track. Since the middle rail is insulated with a piece of thin cardboard you should only have to pry back the tabs on the inside and outside rails.
Photo 9 - Prying back the tabs on the inside and outside rails will allow the tie to be slipped down the rails.
After you have the tabs opened to the point where the tie will slide down the rails, slide the tie back away from the dimples as illustrated in Photo 10.
Photo 10 - The loosened tie is slipped away from the end of the track
Now you can use the flat head precision screw driver to pry open the rails as shown in Photo 11. You need to pry the rails open just beneath the dimples.
Photo 11 - Prying open the rails
Once the rails have been pried open, use the pliers to pull out the pins (Photos 12 & 13)
Photo 12 - Grab the pin with the pliers
Photo 13 - A swift tug removes the pin from the curved section
After the pins are removed you will need to close up the rails you just pried opened by pinching the rails back together using the pliers as shown in Photo 14.
Photo 14 - Pinch the opened rails back together using pliers
Finally, slip the tie back to the original position and bend back the tabs by applying pressure on each one using the precision screw driver as illustrated in Photo 15.
Photo 15 - Bending back the tabs using a precision screw driver.
Removing pins using both techniques will work every time. However, you are bound to bend or even break a pin from time to time so it’s a good idea to purchase extra pins from you local train shop.
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5 Responses to “Tips & Tricks: Removing Track Pins From 027 Track”
Rather than risk yanking rails out of insulators, and cutting up my hands grasping track while I yank out pins, I prefer to come in from the opposite end on all tubular track with a length of piano wire and tap the offending pins out with a hammer. Try it!
Posted by: Jim | Aug 20, 2006 at 10:09 PM
Jim, thanks for sharing your tip!
Posted by: Dave | Aug 21, 2006 at 5:37 AM
Or, try using dykes (wirecutters). Grab the pin near the track with the cutting edge, then lever the pliers agaisnt the nd of the track, the flat bottom end, then you can pull the pin out with control.
Posted by: john | Nov 29, 2006 at 2:29 PM
Is there a conversion track pin to combine 027 Lionel track with the solid steel MTH track? I have an MTH bridge I would like to use with 027 track layout. Don’t know how to combine the two tracks.
Posted by: Don | Jun 23, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Hi Don, have you tried the MTH adapter track? The model number is MTH401011. Here is a link to one: http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product_p/mth-401011.htm.
Posted by: Dave | Jun 24, 2009 at 6:30 AM