charlie9 and the s curve does not cause you any problems???
and the s curve does not cause you any problems???
I use this engine house as a car barn for trolleys, and sometime for short 4-axle switchers, so the curves are no problem. In general, an S-curve usually causes problems with coupled cars, particularly long ones, and they'd never be going into an engine house.
The approach to this trackwork ended up being a very tight-radius turn, for space reasons, so longer engines can't even get to this wye.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The wye turnout is frequently used at the spur of a wye (track configuration) since speed is low and it saves space. It is also used on switchbacks for the same reason. Note that both are usually laid to avoid S curves.
Back when I lived in Rapid City the local railroad had replaced the roundhouse turntable with a three-way switch - basically a wye with a middle, straight route. They avoided S curves, because the roundhouse still had the usual radial stalls.
EDIT: Still there, 30 years later, according to Mapquest satellite view. It's close to the junction of Main and St Joseph, just north of S. D. Tech.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
charlie
I know the prototype would probably just go with a standard turnout, but the thing that makes this scene is the wye turnout and the symmetry it possesses.
Here's a situation where "it's your railroad" applies, and no one is likely to complain.
Generally, if the line that both will join into is regarded as main or branch line running track, I'd say to use a regular turnout. One route coming in/diverging will typically be a siding, so a slow speed route into it is OK, while the higher speed route straight through will be the running track.
Wyes on the prototype tended to be restricted to special situations. Both routes will have the same speed limitations, essentially two curves (instead of the single curve to return to parallel with a conventional turnout) so this discourages their use where higher speeds are needed or one route has a higher priority.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
N Scale
Two nearly parallel tracks (Kato, code 80) which I'd like to feed in to one track. Is this a project best served by a wye or a turnout?
Thanks.
Sid1425