Hudson wrote:Thanks for the extra clarification.........Selector's comment about the frogs is what I'dlike to find more about.
The frog rails on my W/S curved turnouts appear (to the naked eye) to be curved through the frog.
Dante
Hudson wrote:Thanks for the info folks! I'm a long way off from deciding what track to use but the W/S info was eye opening. I'm going to look into other brands to see who implements frogs properly on curved turnouts.
I'm not sure that the W/S turnout frogs can be characterized as improper - inaccurate, perhaps, when compared to their published radii, but well-made.
Hoople wrote:Dante, does this mean that the inside curve of a #7 turnout can replace an actual full 22" curve?
It appears to be so to me.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
There was an earlier thread specifically about Walthers/Shinohara turnouts to which I posted this:
"To recheck my curved turnout sizes (Walthers/Shinohara Code 83), I built a homemade beam compass, laid-out arcs and overlaid the turnouts. The results are:
• #6/#6.5: 24/18 (frog# depends on whether you believe the box label or the imprint on the turnout!)
• #7: 28/22
• #7.5: 32/26
• #8: 36/30
I also checked a #4 Code 70: with a 22" radius for the closure rail, it must actually be a #4.5.
The inside radii are not what Walthers posts nor are they as imprinted on the underside of the turnouts!"
reklein wrote:I have not had good luck with curved turnouts. My only suggestion is ,that if you insist, Make them as broad as possible. Specially if there's long wheelbase locos and /or passenger ccars involved.
Tim Warris, from Fast Tracks, observed that the commercial suppliers of curved turnouts merely curve a straight turnout, and that is not in keeping with the proper frog configuration for a true curved turnout. (At least, I think it was he.) That said, I only get shorting issues near the frog with blind drivers on my longer steamers. I don't get any derailments, no matter which way I enter a curved W/S 7.5 or 8. I don't have any curved Pecos, so I can't comment on them.
jwar wrote:My SD unit's do not like the inside curve of the peco curved turnouts. If possable have a straight section behind each turnout if your wish to use kadee uncoupling magnets. However it does save a lot of room and longer yards.....John
Second that with the Spectrum 2-8-0. It will take the diverging route from the points, but coming at the switch from the frog end, it doesn't like that smaller radius. All wheels in gauge.
Hudson wrote: "Be cautious about the tighter radius Walther curved turnouts. " That's good to know, I based my drawing on the Walther's turnouts!
"Be cautious about the tighter radius Walther curved turnouts. "
That's good to know, I based my drawing on the Walther's turnouts!
I agree with Nevin. I used W/S curved #7.5's that were supposed to have something like 26" radii on their inner route, and I found that it was closer to 22". I had to perform some cutting on the ties and the webbing between them on both routes in order to get them to fit into my trackplan. Once I had pinned the points end of the turnouts to hold them in place, the surgery I had done allowed me to bend both routes outward enough that I got an additional 2-3" of radius out of them. That sufficed.
You might want to make a deal with your supplier to get the # turnout you think you need, plus several of left and right in the next size up, and to then return what you can't use without maiming them.
Hello,
Anyone have experience building and operating a curved turnout yard ladder?
I'm thinking of using a few #*'s, and #7 1/2's and constructing a compound ladder with them. It looks like I'll gain about 2 feet in the body tracks.
Here's a picture:
The Top compound ladder is all #6's. The curved ladder is #8's down to #7's. Radius's go high to low from 36", 32", 28.5", 28, 24".....