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Changing Lanes

A project log for Tyco Trucking US-1 Resurrection

This is documenting my journey getting a getting and old Tyco Trucking Set up and running with my kids.

mike-turveyMike Turvey 02/28/2021 at 19:320 Comments

When I was a kid playing with Tyco US-1, I was always envious of my brother's ability, with his HO train, to have switches, and direct the train onto an alternate track.  US-1 only allows you to drive your truck in a single track that loops, and back into "Action Accessories" to pick up and drop off stuff.  I always wanted the ability to choose to take a different path with US-1.  When I started playing with US-1 with my boys, after only a week my oldest son said he wanted basically the same thing.  Did anyone else feel the same?


With the magic of 3D printing (and the budget of an adult), this previously unattainable goal is now within reach.  I've modeled the single-lane track connector and started making different sizes and shapes of single-lane track.  At it's most basic, the single lane track let's you position the "Action Accessory" buildings more creatively, maybe turning one 90 degrees so it doesn't interfere with something else, or maybe having a winding access road.

But, being able to make single lane track in arbitrary sizes allows a lot more options. In the video below, you can see a setup that allows a truck to transition from one side of the track to the other.  This means that you can access stuff on both sides of the track with a single truck.  (The big thing to watch out for is to not power both sides of the track at the same time, or you can create a short circuit-- before the kids use it, I probably need to wire up a custom controller to prevent this.)

And if we add to this a specially modified turnout track that is single-lane, we can achieve the ultimate goal of allowing an alternate path for US-1 trucks.  You, the driver, can decide what path you want to take.

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