Tenmille Track.....is it any good!!!

ge_rik said:
I have a mix of Tenmille, Aristo, LGB, Piko and Trainline track and the only I've had problems with Aristo (screws rusting on pointwork), Piko (screws failing on pointwork) and LGB (loss of electrical continuity on pointwork). My Tenmille track has been down 18 years and not deteriorated but it is the older Code 332 stuff so, if you can get hold of their old or secondhand stock then it shouldn't be a problem. No experience with the lower profile rail so can't comment.

Rik
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There's a good endorsement, :) The hard part now is finding seller that advertise the full info on the track they are selling. Out of curiosity Is the 332 marked on the track, or any code to look out for?? or possibly ones to avoid. Thanks
 
As demonstrated by ge-rik the foot of the Tenmille code 332 rail is narrower than LGB's and it's clones. It cannot be joined to itself or or others using clamps and joiners made for LGB types, like the direct to rail Massoth type (and many copies of). Also, although similar in appearance the new Tenmille code 300 - 332 adaptors they in all probibility may not work with the old due to mismatch in rail profile and height. Contact Tenmille to check if they have any new old stock for code 332. Or you could try one of the specialist retailers or put a want ad on here or the 16 mm NGM Bulletin. Max

Image of Hillman direct to rail clamps for Tenmille code 332 rail.
IMG_20220716_120257_412~2.jpg
 
Looking at the picture of the LGB type ‘profile’ track I reckon a couple of small shims of thin brass or N/s would make the clamps work.
Bodgit&Co@UK/smashittogethernomatterwhat
 
collectors said:
Yes, it will be dead rail. Unfortunately i have not got a 3 d printer. But i might be able to adapt a insulated joiner ok. ;)
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The other option if you can is to Silver Solder short lengths of each type to make a bridging section. My friend has some that I did for him 20+ years ago and they never fail.
 
Paul M said:
If you're going dead rail, perhaps a special 3D printed track joiner may work
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When I used track power, I used Tenmille track joiners (ie fishplates) when linking Tenmille to Tenmille and standard LGB joiners for Tenmille to other track types and used soldered jumpers for electrical continuity. If you are dead rail then you can use the same approach without the added need for electrical bonding.

Rik
 
My line is mainly Tenmille track and has been down for 20 plus years, so no concerns about longevity.

maxi-model said:
It cannot be joined to itself or or others using clamps and joiners made for LGB types
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When a few Tenmille brass joiners failed (cracking along the fold), maybe after 15 years, I was able to buy a few of the Hillman-for-Tenmille joiners (332-01TM). I would have bought more then had I known that Hillman would go out of business soon after. Once those clamps were all used, and other joiners failed, I experimented with Hillman-for-LGB clamps (acquired with a job lot of LGB track) and found that if you slipped short lengths of copper wire, stripped out of mains cable, and dropped into the almost-tightened clamp to sit against the rail foot on each side, it both held the rail firmly, and has provided good electrical continuity too. For joining Tenmille to LGB, the same process worked but with an even shorter length of wire, against only the Tenmille rail (though you need to be careful that the inner edge of the rail heads align. Maybe I used a thicker wire on one side only).

A couple of years ago I was fortunate to spot a batch of Split-Jaw-for-Tenmille clamps on eBay. I made an offer, and agreed a counter offer, so as other joiners fail I now have a solution to hand (but haven't found it necessary to carry out the wholesale replacements of the remaining original joiners, or the "bodged" clamps for LGB rail). The only downside of mixing Hillman and Split-Jaw clamps on the line is that they need different sizes of allen-key so I have to have two in my "trackwork kit", and try to remember which is for which.

Cheers

David
 
I have a fair bit of 32 mm tenmille, that’s been outside for at least 22 years, had to replace some sleepers but not that many.
 
PhilP said:
LGB track is code 332. I believe Tenmille is code 250? - Might even be less.
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No, For the record, it's Peco G Scale track that uses Code 250 rail. Tenmille used Code 332 rail but, as already said, with a different profile.

maxi-model said:
Looks like Tenmille have stopped producing their code 332 rail, that was around 10 years ago, that still required an adaptor to mate to LGB types, very different rail section. Now they market a code 300 type for "G" scale
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I can see why you say this . . .

1658063477961.png

. . . but I've just queried this with Tenmille by email, and got a reply (within 15 minutes on a Sunday!) saying "I can confirm the track/rail has not been changed and is still the same as it’s always been and can still connect to LGB/aristo track", so it must just be a typo on their website.

Cheers

David
 
SevenOfDiamonds said:
No, For the record, it's Peco G Scale track that uses Code 250 rail. Tenmille used Code 332 rail but, as already said, with a different profile.



I can see why you say this . . .

View attachment 301576

. . . but I've just queried this with Tenmille by email, and got a reply (within 15 minutes on a Sunday!) saying "I can confirm the track/rail has not been changed and is still the same as it’s always been and can still connect to LGB/aristo track", so it must just be a typo on their website.

Cheers

David
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Sounds like we have some old Chinees whispers as they used to say when confusion is about . Or should i say Confucius. ?? ;)
 
So, it was always code 300, not 332....

I see similar discussions with the same cast of characters 3 years ago on this forum

I would guess that for the OP, if you are looking at the NON bull head rail by Tenmille, you can fudge commonly available rail clamps to get stuff lined up.

Greg
 
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Greg Elmassian said:
So, it was always code 330, not 332.... (yes I know that is 2 thousandths).

I see similar discussions with the same cast of characters 3 years ago on this forum.

GE-RIK's picture of "bull head" rail in this thread does not help at all, as while it exists, it's not what is being discussed, or should be discussed, as evidenced by David's picture.

I would guess that for the OP, if you are looking at the NON bull head rail by Tenmille, you can fudge commonly available rail clamps to get stuff lined up.

Greg
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I do not know what you are trying to say Greg ;):) ge-rik's image on this page does not show Tenmille's "bullhead" rail, that is another product altogether
for G1. (which does not fit the plastic webbing shown) However, it does give a good impression of the narrower foot to their code "332" rail, that makes it advisable to use their adapters to join with more conventional profile code 332 types. If you put a pair of digital calipers (properly zeroed), set to thou of inch, both LGB & Tenmille products (unused) will register bang on 0.332..

As to the current Tenmille webshop listing, code 300, that is an error that needs to be fixed. It would be (almost, figuratively) as bad as selling code 250 as 200 :D I think we should try to do a little less "point scoring" and perhaps Tenmille can post on here a clarification before we all tie ourselves up in acrimonious knots. I hope the OP has the information they require to make a decision. Max
 

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Ahh... I looked too quick, the cutoff flash made it look different, yes a big mistake, also since I also forgot that the top of the rail is wider than the foot! Thanks for correcting me!

The "error" in the Tenmille site, wonder why they don't give the height, indeed in 2009 the web site did not mention the height/code, but that it was a different profile than LGB and needed adapters... what does it really measure?

Greg
 
maxi-model said:
I do not know what you are trying to say Greg ;):) ge-rik's image on this page does not show Tenmille's "bullhead" rail, that is another product altogether
for G1. (which does not fit the plastic webbing shown) However, it does give a good impression of the narrower foot to their code "332" rail, that makes it advisable to use their adapters to join with more conventional profile code 332 types. If you put a pair of digital calipers (properly zeroed), set to thou of inch, both LGB & Tenmille products (unused) will register bang on 0.332..

As to the current Tenmille webshop listing, code 300, that is an error that needs to be fixed. It would be (almost, figuratively) as bad as selling code 250 as 200 :D I think we should try to do a little less "point scoring" and perhaps Tenmille can post on here a clarification before we all tie ourselves up in acrimonious knots. I hope the OP has the information they require to make a decision. Max
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Thanks for clarifying, Max. You've explained the differences between the two products far more clearly than I would have managed.

Rik
 
collectors said:
Yes, it will be dead rail. Unfortunately i have not got a 3 d printer. But i might be able to adapt a insulated joiner ok. ;)
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Hi Chris
Just to clarify. Tenmille rail joiners are ok for interlinking Tenmille toTenmille track and LGB joiners are ok for linking Tenmille to LGB/Aristo/Piko/Trainline track. When I first laid my track I tried using the Tenmille adapter rail joiners (plastic with a brass insert) which are designed to interlink Tenmille with other brands, but they are very flimsy and I quickly discovered that LGB (and Piko) rail joiners work far better. Although the foot of the Tenmille rail is narrower, the waist on the LGB joiners is tight enough to hold the Tenmille rail in place.

Rik
 
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