Turnout mounting method

[larak]

Philip,

I hear that great minds think alike!  Maybe they think simultaneously too.

Karl

[Don Gibson]

I  let my turrnouts 'float' - secured by rail joiners at both ends. I don't solder joiners, but if I did, it would be only the 'feed' end. You can do as you wish.

Turnouts  need freedom to move, and electricity from the point(s) end. A powered frog is desirable (primarily for reliability reasons).

[pcarrell]

Karl, you beat me to it!  We were posting at the same time!

[pcarrell]

This is a short term solution, but you know those dress makers pins that look like a "T"?  Those can be placed on the outsides of the rails to span two ties and hold the turnout in place.

[larak]

Bruce,

I glue most parts of mine with adhesive caulk, keeping the area near the points clear. They stay very well until ballasting six months down the road after the track has been throughly tested and settled.

I suppose that you can just use ordinary straight pins as a temporary measure. Small T-pins work will if the heads are small enough to hug the ties. Dressmakers pins tend to have large heads that can catch on coupler hoses, etc.

You can pin both between the rails and outside the rails between ties. If you are on plywood instead of foam then it will of course be hard to use pins.

Good luck,

Karl

[Blind Bruce]

I have several long curved turnouts. They are supported on each end bu glued down flextrack. The turnouts are not  fastened to the cork roadbed just yet. Ballasting will come later.

What's a good method to keep them down until then?

BB