Flanges, To big OR Is Wheel to Small!

[jkerklo]

Verify by observation, how wheels go over the gap.

Do they just bounce over, or does the outside of the flange ride on a built up area.

I think it has to be the latter, but remarks in this discussion say no. Maybe, there is more going on that we know.

I do know some shallow angle diamonds have moving rails, like a turnout, but are not a turnout. While waiting for a train crossing one of these as a child, I asked my father a question about it. After the train went by, we went over the tracks and he parked the car and took me back to the tracks and showed me how it worked. There was even one of those switch towers like a shack on top of tall square post. The switchman watched us, my father waved, and he waved back.


John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

[NH_Chris]

RFD-TV recently showed a video on the closing of the Stockton, CA switchtower, which controlled switches at the junction and crossover of four different tracks, with four separate diamonds.

Much of the video showed modern equipment rolling slowly over the diamonds. From what I could see, the wheels of each car dropped and klunked twice each time they crossed a diamond.

Also, the cars swayed quite a bit as they approached the diamonds, because the trackwork was not nearly level. Of course, prototypical track has vertical rises and falloffs in a single track section, which is much less likely to occur in 1/48 scale.

I wish I had known of this issue before I watched the video, because it may have answered some of the questions above...

NH Chris

[spankybird]

Us City folks can't get, don't have RFD-TV

darn, darn darn no trains on tv.

tom