CATCH turnout

[Anonymous]

has anyone ever heard the term "catch turnout"? is this a european description of a tight radius turnout? an industrial spur? an operating mode? any help appreciated...

[Anonymous]

yes, the context is a picture and description of a Peko turnout in an online hobby shop page. it looked very short and the radius looked very tight, like the old Arnold's. i should have saved the company address, and will post it, when i find out.

[Anonymous]

There's a picture on this page:
http://www.muchadoabouttoys.com/default.asp?page=peco-00gauge.asp

I think it's a derailer.

[Anonymous]

This is a derailing device fitted on sidings and yards to stop runaway cars/locos from getting onto the main line. Basically it's a switch but with only one switch rail, and no diverging track. Peco offer them in both HO and N.

[BR60103]

The British call them catch points. The americans call them split switch derails.
I read someone who distinguished between a catch point that was used to protect the mainline and one that caught runaways on a grade.
The British are very conscious of safety where switches are concerned, and almost every switch coming onto the running lines has a catch point or a full switch (to a sand pile) protecting it. I saw an example where the catch points were built into the switch before the main line and there was one in each leg.
I have a operating model (MEW?) of an American cast derail. Dates back over 30 years.

[dehusman]

Split point derail.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

thanx all, for the facts...i finally found the page i saw them on; go to WWW.MODELTRAINSTUFF.COM to the PEKO page...Yes, they are being mfr'd and for sale! if i hadn't read all your rx"s, i would have bought one, thinking that it was just a small radius turnout. glad i caught the forum, just in time! Speaking of PEKO, why can't they get a consistent simple promotional explanation of where to use their products on a layout that already has different radius frogs and angles, from what they sell? I keep hearing about how great their products are, but if they can't make things simpler to understand, and if they keep leaving explanations up to the retailers( who seem just as confused) then they've got a marketing problem. More yanks would buy the product if they had something out there like the ATLAS glossy brochures, which are consistent and make a confusing subject less intimidating, and infinitely more purchasable. An attempt is made to explain PEKO at WWW.LOYSTOYS.COM, but as good as his explanation is, it's STILL confusing, so to our friends 'cross the pond, please treat the PEKO CEO to a spot of tay, send our regards, and tweak him/her to hire a good PR poisen. PS,PS: i"m trying to reach a certain bob beaudreu of the St.John Model Railway Network (NB) about the northeast sugar industry, but my emails and postcards keep getting bounced back. Ive seen his work on the net (awesome! especially his exploded sawmill!!!) anyone know a current contact address?

[cefinkjr]

Catch turnout = split switch derail -- reminds me of John Armstrong's description of British railroads as "just the same but different". [C):-)]

[Anonymous]

I had to look at the local laws for something else but noticed there was something germane to this thread. Below is a Washington State, Department of Labor and Industry, Washington Administrative Code (WAC) requirement for derail. Thought it would be interesting to those that want to model a correct application of a derail.

WAC 296-24-21511 Rolling railroad cars.
(1) Derail and/or bumper blocks shall be provided on spur railroad tracks where a rolling car could contact other cars being worked, enter a building, work or traffic area. This does not apply to cars being moved by a locomotive, switch engine, donkey engine, or a car puller, but only to cars which are "cut loose." The standard does not apply to "cut loose" cars in railroad yards where trains are made up using gravity feed arrangements.
(2) A clearly audible warning system shall be employed when cars are being moved by car pullers or locomotives, and when the person responsible for the moving does not have assurance that the area is clear, and it is safe to move the car or cars.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 49.17 RCW. 89-11-035 (Order 89-03), § 296-24-21511, filed 5/15/89, effective 6/30/89; Order 74-27, § 296-24-21511, filed 5/7/74; Order 73-5, § 296-24-21511, filed 5/9/73 and Order 73-4, § 296-24-21511, filed 5/7/73.]

Mike