Drill holes for tortoise BEFORE laying turnouts?

[murrietajazz1]

I have laid 150 feet of N Scale double mainline track over cork and 1/2" plywood and am getting ready to lay some large RADIUS scale Peco turnouts.  Do I need to drill holes for the tortoise switch machine before I lay the turnouts or can it be done after?

Thanks for all the good input, and I did correct my post to read "large radius turnouts".  Thanks guys!

[UpNorth]

I have laid 150 feet of N Scale...  to lay some large scale Peco turnouts. 

And how are you going to mate  N scale track to large scale track !... Unless you make a monorail out of it ...

Sorry, that was too easy.

[CSXDixieLine]

If you do not drill the holes before laying the turnouts, you can always drill up from below the roadbed. However, you need to use some type of depth control like a depth guide or taping the drill bit, and you still risk drilling too far right into your finished turnouts. Also, you must drill from below so there may be access problems. For these types of reasons it is always easier and preferred to drill the holes before laying turnouts. Jamie

[Sperandeo]

I've drilled holes for turnout motors similar to the Tortoise after the turnouts were in place. It can be done, although I wouldn't do it without a helper watching from above, and it also helps to use a Forstner bit – a special cup-shaped drill bit that's available at all hardware stores.

However, I guarantee you it's easier to drill those holes before laying the turnouts, and now I drill a hole under the switch rod of any turnout that I lay, whether I plan to motorize it or not. That way, if I ever change my mind, the hole is already there.

So long,

Andy

[Seamonster]

I have laid 150 feet of N Scale double mainline track over cork and 1/2" plywood and am getting ready to lay some large scale Peco turnouts.  Do I need to drill holes for the tortoise switch machine before I lay the turnouts or can it be done after?

As everyone else has said, before the turnouts are laid!  I would never trust myself to drill a hole up from below and not hit the turnout with the drill bit.  Too risky.

What caught my attention, however, was that you are planning to use Tortoise switch machines with Peco turnouts.  The Tortoise and the Peco don't play niceely together.  The Peco turnouts have over the centre springs in them which are designed to hold the points against the stock rail with no external force acting on them.  They are designed to be used with twin-coil switch machines which don't apply any pressure to the points after activating.  Tortoise machines are designed to move the points smoothly from one side to the other and they continue to apply pressure against the points to hold them tight to the stock rail afterwards.  They would have a bit of a problem overcoming the resistance of the over the centre spring in the turnouts and with the spring trying to push the points the rest of the way.  Besides, with the Peco turnouts you don't need a mechanism like the Tortoise to hold the points against the stock rail, and with the Tortoise, you don't need a spring like the Peco to hold the points.  One or the other.  If you like Peco turnouts (and I prefer them) you could remove the spring.  I haven't done that, but I understand it's easy.

 

[FL9]

I successfully used Tortoise machines with about a dozen turnouts in my staging yard. Just remove the spring per the instructions, and they work fine.

There was one time I had to drill a hole under a turnout from below after the turnout was in place, and I managed to do it without manging the turnout. Drill from below very slowly, and have someone standing above watching the drill bit to tell you when to stop. I'd rather not do that again if I can help it.