Track & Switches

#668 Left Hand Manual Switch with direction flags made in 1953 thru 1955.

#669 Right Hand Manual Switch with direction flags made in 1953 thru 1955.

#678 Left Hand Remote Control Switch with controller made in 1953 thru 1956.

#679 Right Hand Remote Control Switch with controller made in 1953 thru 1956.

#691 Steel Track Pins made in 1946 thru 1948. A dozen pins per envelope.

#692 Fiber Track Pins made in 1946 thru 1948. 4 pins per envelope.

#702 Curved Track with black rails made in 1946 & 1947.
#702 Curved Track with silver rails made in 1947 thru 1956.

#703 Half Curved Track with black rails made in 1946 & 1947.
#703 Half Curved Track with silver rails made in 1947 thru 1956.

#720 Pair of Remote Control Switches made in 1946 thru 1949.

Here's what the back looks like.

The differences between the 720 switches and the later 720A switches (see below) are the plastic base and the housing for the mechanism. The 720A base is a full rectangle, whereas the 720 is irregular, framing the outline of the switch. The 720 housing is rectangular; the 720A housing is square. The 720 wire posts are beside the housing; the 720A posts are between the housing and the end of the curved track.

#720A Pair of Remote Control Switches made in 1950 thru 1956.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Battaglia.)

#722 Pair of Manual Switches with direction flags made in 1946 thru 1951.
Like the 720 Remote Control Switches, the base of the switch frames outline of the switch.

#722A Pair of Manual Switches with direction flags made in 1952 thru 1956.
The 722A base is a full rectangle

#725 Crossing Track with brass strips in wheel channels made in 1946.

#725 Crossing Track with Bakelite central section made in 1947 thru 1956.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Battaglia.)

From 1950 to 1964 Gilbert made rubber roadbed to reduce the sound of trains rolling down the rails.
Volume II of Greenberg's hardback Guide retells the interesting story
originally published in The Collector magazine of how the product came about.
A Denver restaurant owner installed a track running around the entire restaurant,
but the noise was distracting and objectionable to diners so he contacted Gilbert.
As Maury Romer was working on a solution, one of the owners of Bond Rubber Company paid a visit.
After several design iterations, Bond produced literally millions of rubber roadbed sections
and it became Gilbert's most profitable product.

Initially it was gray rubber like the rock ballast on real railroads.
It had six molded ties the same size and spacing as the ties on the track.
The plan was to stamp the ties black but The Collector article said Gilbert never got around to it.

The initial straight Gray Rubber Roadbed debuted in 1950 as catalog number 726.

After a while, Gilbert changed to black rubber, but none of my books tells when. It remained #726.

They didn't make half pieces to use with #701 Half Straight Track until 1958.
Until then, you had to cut it in half to make your own half pieces.

Some track accessories, like this #712 Automatic Track Rail, fit nicely between the track and roadbed.

Others, like the #706 Remote Control Uncoupler, require the roadbed to be cut to make room for it.

In 1956 they started making somewhat more realistic Rubber Roadbed with 23 narrow ties,but they still sold it as catalog number 726.

#727 Curved Gray Rubber Roadbed with six large molded ties.

#727 Curved Black Rubber Roadbed with six large molded ties.
When it gets dusty and dirty on your layout, it looks much like the gray roadbed.

#727 Curved Black Rubber Roadbed with 23 narrow ties made in 1956.

For a while, Rick Johnson made excellent quality reproduction roadbed.
If you look closely, you can see that the repro roadbed on top has rounded corners on the ties,
whereas the original Gilbert roadbed had square corners.
You can see the difference more clearly in the pictures above of the Uncoupler and Track Rail.

Lettering on the back clearly identifies the reproduction roadbed.

#26101 All Aboard Curved Track green panel made in 1965 & 1966.
(Photos above and below courtesy of 2001 The Collectibles.)

The picture above shows the removeable hill in place on the corner of the panel.
The picture below shows the tunnel piece on top of that hill.
These removeable pieces give a lot of flexibility in the look of the layout.

#26121 All Aboard Straight Track green panel with house made in 1965 & 1966.

#26122 All Aboard Straight Track green panel with whistle made in 1965 & 1966.

#26141 All Aboard Right Switch green panel made in 1965 & 1966.

#26142 All Aboard Left Switch green panel made in 1965 & 1966.

#26151 All Aboard Crossover green panel made in 1965 & 1966.

#26261 All Aboard Curved Track snow scene panel made in 1966.

#26262 All Aboard Straight Track snow scene panel made in 1966.

#26263 All Aboard Right Switch snow scene panel made in 1966.

#26264 All Aboard Left Switch snow scene panel made in 1966.

#26265 All Aboard Crossover snow scene panel, made in 1966.

#26300 Pike Master Straight Track made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26301 Pike Master Straight Track made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26302 Pike Master Straight Track w/uncoupler, made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26310 Pike Master Curved Track made in 1961 thru 1964.
(Photo courtesy of Victory Station.)

#26320 Pike Master Right Hand Control Remote Switch made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26321 Pike MasterLeft Hand Remote Control Switch made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26322 Pike Master Crossing Track made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26323 Pike Master Right Hand Manual Switch made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26324 Pike Master Left Hand Manual Switch made in 1961 thru 1964.

#26340 Pike Master Track Connectors made in 1961 thru 1964. Three dozen connectors per envelope.

Here's the envelope they came in.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#26341 Pike Master Insulating Track Pins made in 1961 thru 1964. A dozen pins per envelope.

#26342 PM Adapter Pins made in 1961 thru 1964. Four pins per envelope.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#26415 Track Assortment made in 1960 & 1962. Assortment of 72 straight track, 24 curved track, 18 half track, track pins, 3 re-railers, and 3 crossing tracks.

#26425 Straight Track Assortment Pack made in 1960.

#26601 Fiber Roadbed made in 1959 thru 1962. Top above and bottom below.
(Pictures above and below courtesy of Robert LaRiviere.)

#26602 Curved Fiber Roadbed made in 1959, 1961, and 1962.
(Picture courtesy of Robert LaRiviere.)

#26691 Steel Pins made in 1957 thru 1960. and 1964. A dozen pins per envelope.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#26692 Fiber Pins made in 1957 thru 1960 and 1964. Four pins per envelope.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#26700 Straight Track made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #700; they just changed the catalog number.

#26710 Half Straight Track made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #701; they just changed the catalog number.

#26718 Left Hand Remote Control Switch with controller made in 1957.
(Pictures above and below courtesy of Paul McDonald.)

#26719 Right Hand Remote Control Switch with controller made in 1957.

#26720 Curved Track made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #702; they just changed the catalog number.

#26722 Box of 12 Curved Track made in 1957 thru 1964.

#26726 Half Straight Rubber Roadbed made in 1958.

#26727 Half Rubber Roadbed made in 1958.

#26730 Half Curved Track made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #703; they just changed the catalog number.

#26742 Pair of Remote Control Switches with controller made in 1957 & 1958.

#26744 Pair of Manual Switches with direction flags made in 1957 & 1958.
The 26744 switches are the same as the 722A manual switches,
but the 26744 switches do not have the 2-Train control switch
common to the 722A and the various Remote Control Switches.

#26745 Railroad Crossing Track made in 1957 thru 1964.

#26746 Straight Black Rubber Roadbed with 23 small ties made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #726; they just changed the catalog number.

#26747 Curved Black Rubber Roadbed with 23 small ties made in 1957 thru 1964.
Identical to #727; they just changed the catalog number.

#26760 Pair of Remote Control Switches with simple controller without lights made in 1958 thru 1964.

#26761 Left Hand Remote Control Switch with simple controller without lights made in 1958 thru 1964.

#26762 Right Hand Remote Control Switch with simple controller without lights made in 1958 thru 1964.

#26770 Pair of Manual Switches made in 1959 thru 1964.

The 26770 switches are the same as the 26744 switches except that the 26770 right-hand switch has a hand-embossed “R” on the bottom; the left-hand switch has an “L”.

Following its successful legal action against K-Line, Lionel acquired K-Line and began selling the K-Line S-Gauge track under its American Flyer name in 2007.

#49827 54-Inch Radius Curved Track sold beginning in 2007.
(Picture courtesy of Trainz.com.)

This picture shows how well this track fits outside a standard curve.
Rick Johnson sold rubber roadbed for it, too.
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

#49828 10-inch Straight Track sold beginning in 2007.
(Picture courtesy of Trainz.com.)

#49829 36-inch Straight Track sold beginning in 2007.
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Show me the rest of the Track & Switches.

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