Yesterday I purchased Walthers street track kit for a short stretch of street track I intend to install on the expanion I am working on now. My plan calls for just straight track running down the middle of a street but the kit includes components for curves and turnouts. That got me thinkinng that I could lengthen the small yard beyond the street track section if I could extend the first turnout into that section. I'm wondering how common it would be to have a turnout in a street track section and more importantly how the throw bar would be moved. You couldn't have a traditional switchstand in the middle of the street. Would there be an extension out to the side of the street or would some other method be used to move the throwbar.
Assuming HO Scale track -- See the traction tutorials at Trolleyville Schoolhouse. Room Six, Lesson Three, Paving Streets (Part 1) has a "styrofoam tip" to cut sheet styrene turnouts/curves. Orr Street Railway Track is part of Custom Traxx and their Catalog. Note the traction links at Trolleyville (Home) and Custom Traxx Catalog.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
There are several good articles on street trackage in past MRs, worth a search.
Yes, sometimes there was an extension under the pavement to the roadside. More often, there was a square-lidded place next to the points. Open the lid and the throw was in a pit. If you use a switch machine, easy enough to just model the lid set in the paving and you're done.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Here's a pic. The throw handle is under the lid at the top of the pic.
You might be interested in my tutorial on modeling street trackage using craft foam and craft paint. It's probably a lot cheaper than Walthers' system.
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17438
Steve S
Re: the above photo
I think I've seen a cover that was dogbone shaped--the big blobby weight at the end of the arem would then fit down in the ends.
Can't find a photo, though.
Ed
mlehman There are several good articles on street trackage in past MRs, worth a search. Yes, sometimes there was an extension under the pavement to the roadside. More often, there was a square-lidded place next to the points. Open the lid and the throw was in a pit. If you use a switch machine, easy enough to just model the lid set in the paving and you're done.
I was more interested in how the prototype would do it since I can see several possible ways to do it with the model. I could use an Atlas undermount and since it is very close to the aisle just throw it by hand. I also thought of using an extension to a ground throw to the side of the street. I'm leaning toward modeling the lid and just using the undermount to throw the switch.
jecorbettI'm leaning toward modeling the lid and just using the undermount to throw the switch.
That's how I'd do it. In larger scales, having a lid you flipped open would work better, but in HO it'll be easier to go with the low hanging fruit.
As you can see by the excellent examples posted by others "square-lidded" was at best an approximation.
Steven S Here's a pic. The throw handle is under the lid at the top of the pic. You might be interested in my tutorial on modeling street trackage using craft foam and craft paint. It's probably a lot cheaper than Walthers' system. http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17438 Steve S
I had planned on just using styrene strips for to form the roadway that the track will be imbedded into but I saw the Walthers kit and it contained enough length for what I needed so I just decided to go with it. It cost $22 and change at my LHS and I probably would have spent about a third of that for the styrene but it would have been more labor intensive. It's always a trade off between time and money and sometimes I opt to save time and sometimes opt to save money. In this case since the railroad will be operating over it I thought I would avoid operating problems by going with fitted parts. The kit said it is compatible with Atlas code 83 track which is what I use so that sold it for me.
jecorbett mlehman There are several good articles on street trackage in past MRs, worth a search. Yes, sometimes there was an extension under the pavement to the roadside. More often, there was a square-lidded place next to the points. Open the lid and the throw was in a pit. If you use a switch machine, easy enough to just model the lid set in the paving and you're done. I was more interested in how the prototype would do it since I can see several possible ways to do it with the model. I could use an Atlas undermount and since it is very close to the aisle just throw it by hand. I also thought of using an extension to a ground throw to the side of the street. I'm leaning toward modeling the lid and just using the undermount to throw the switch.
The simplest and most common prototype method I've seen used to control switch points in the street is a steel "plug". The point(s) were held to one side or the other with a plug in the flangeway. The crew carried a "switch iron" (any kind of crowbar would work) and used it to pop the plug out and pry the switch point over. Then the plug was dropped back in the flangeway to hold the point over. There was no throw bar attached to the point. Engines and cabooses used on street trackage usually carried a switch iron or two and a couple of spare plugs.
Edit: Should have mentioned plugs were mostly used with girder rail.
This may help with the street switch. This is where the conductor of brakeman would place said bar to change the points. This was taken last year in Donora PA, of a former trolley switch.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
We model street running on Commercial St in Protland, ME on the Bootbay Railway Village layout using the Walthers street inserts. The inserts are designed to be used with #4 turnouts or Atlas snap switches. We cut a hole for the turnout throwbar, and covered it with a piece of styrene painted to look like steel plate. The operator will flip up the styrene and push the throwbar with a bamboo stick.
I do not have a good picture of a complete turnout, but my street sweeper picture shows part of one of the turnouts. Still a bit of work to complete the scene when I took the picture
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
That's similar to what I had in mind. Originally I was going to use #6 Atlas turnouts for the branchline yard but was forced to change to #4s or else the yard tracks would have been too short. Since the street inserts are made to fit the #4s, that works out. I know the Walthers inserts are designed to fit with their brick or asphalt street systems but I am using Monsterworks basswood brick sheets for my brick roadways and it looks like they will work with no problem. Since I'm now going to have the throat of the yard extending into the street I will have to cut the brick sheets to match the diverging side of the turnout but I don't see that as a major obstacle.
Back in the early 90's, the Walthers street track inserts used to come with inserts for #4,#6 and #8, also snap track. I don't know what is included in the kit now, since they come out again. I also used the track inserts for concrete cossings, shown in the pic', the asphalt road is 1/8'' cork, painted with Woodland Scenic's Asphalt coating. That scene is no longer there....I have been redoing the whole area. Further to the left... the brick street goes another 8ft, with two number 4 Atlas customline turnouts in the street (pic' will be forth coming), but I didn't use the inserts....I used them as templates, to cut out inserts made with the brick street material. They are controlled by Caboose ground throws...but N-scale, not HO scale, I've learned that the N-scale ground throw (206s) will work perfect with a Atlas customline #4, plus they are a lot smaller, than a monster HO scale one. I use them on all My hand thrown switches. The linkage for the ones in the street, are in a 1/8 brass tube buried in the street, inside the tube is a 1/16 brass rod, that connects to the center of the turnout throw bar and then out to the switch, about 15 scale ft. from the road. Have not had any problems with them at all. Spent a lot of time, filing and sanding, to get the brick to match the outside of the rails height, which looks a lot better, than a big gap along the outside rail. I did the same with the inside rail, but a little lower, so the trip pins would not drag on it. I will post pic's soon.....hopefully!!!
Take Care!
Frank