I would like to place a crossing track in a 32" radius curve. My first question is, is this possible? Question #2 is, how hard is it to hand lay a crossing track so I can get the crossing angle I would like to have? Question #3. Can you continue the curve on the crossing track (can you have curved rails on the crossing) or must both tracks be straight for a couple of inches thus interrupting the natural sweep of the curve? Once again thanks for your help
Brent
I’m not sure if the real railroads did that or not, but I think it would work on a layout.
If you are going to build your own crossing, I would suggest that you should have had some experience building a turnout or two, and hand laying some track before trying it.
I have built a narrow gauge track crossing two dual gauge tracks. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but can be done. You should know how to solder really well. You should own a Dremel or other brand of motor tool that has a speed control. Also, because the crossing will be all metal, you will have to cut gaps in the appropriate places, and it will have to be wired to a toggle switch to change the power routing for the desired direction of traffic.
I remember a shot of a Santa Fe crossing in Chicago with double track crossing SEVEN curved tracks. I don’t know about the details of straight rails through the frogs but I remember them as looking like continuous curves.
I was just thinking that if the rails in one direction were curved you would have to leave a slightly larger gap on the crossing track for clearance. Would it cause problems for the wheels?
It is easy. Just hire some custom-track firm like B&K Enterprises to build the crossing. You will need to provide an accurate, full-scale drawing showing the track centerlines. It will be easy to hand-lay once it is built up. It should cost somewhere in the two-digit range, perhaps $50 to $70.
Mark
Are you talking about having the point rails of a turnout incased in the plaster (or wood) of a road crossing??
No, you need only narrow gaps in the four joining rails.
Mark
Forgot to mention you should cut the gaps only after the crossing is securely spiked down.
Mark
Curved crossing are both doable and prototypical. I built a double curved crossing on my previous layout. Because it was hidden I laid the tracks on a piece of PC board soldering them in place (since the access really sucked I didn’t want any chance of things coming undone - they didn’t and it worked fine for the life of the layout).
Building a crossing isn’t as difficult as it might seem. If you take your time and constantly check your gauge with the NMRA gauge it should be fine (and less expensive than buying one custom made)
Here are a few suggestions:
Lay some flex track across the crossing routes (first one route then another). Tape a piece of paper to the roadbed and track the rails (all 4 of them). Then take that paper and tape it to a piece of flat, clear pine big enough for your crossing.
Spike a piece of strip wood along one side of a straight track. Use this to lay the first rail next to - that will keep that rail nice and straight.
Now cut a piece of rail to be one of the curved rails (one piece on either side of the straight rail). Spike them in place. (the spikes are just to hold the rail until you’ve soldered the frogs - not to permanently hold the rail in place. Eyeball the curve where it goes throught the strait rail VERY carefully. Make sure that where the ends of the curved rails meet up with the strait rail the ends
Not HARD to do, getting it to work right is more difficult. A CROSSING puts 4 gaps in the rail for wheel flanges to find, therefor is frought with difficulty.
There is no commercial curved crossings, and may require much trial & error to make. 1. Our empty model cars don’t have the weight. 2. NMRA wheel flanges are an oversized compromise. So are NMRA flangeways.
http://www.railwayeng.com/turnouts.htm You draw - he’ll make.
http://www.proto87.com/ Those flanges might work.
As Chuck said, “Good Luck”. It would be cheaper to lay your 32"r or whatever curve, and lay a staight crossing into it.
I’m going to take the exact opposite tack from Brother Gibson.
As an experienced builder of hand-laid specialwork, I would not hesitate for a heartbeat to build a crossing with one or both routes on curves. All it takes is patience, a willingness to take the time to get everything into proper alignment, testing, ‘tweaking’ and (if absolutely necessary) rebuilding until your most derailment-prone rolling stock can run through both routes in both directions at track speed.
That said, the prototype would usually do its best to have the track through any crossing on a tangent, at least for a few feet in each direction from the more acute angled frogs. Of course, the prototype didn’t operate on curves anywhere near as severe as those which we modelers consider normal.
OTOH, find a diagram of a ‘grand junction’ from the classic days of big city streetcars. Not only did the tracks cross on really sharp curves, they sometimes crossed right through the frogs of turnouts! I wouldn’t want to build one unless the line used live overhead and there would be no 2-rail power gaps to consider.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
The electrical gaps on a curved track shouldn’t cause any operational problem. Just make them narrow enough that electricity doesn’t pass (like, don’t make 1/16" gaps, do 1/64" or so). The frogs are no different than those on turnouts. Thus, a curved crossing doesn’t cause operational difficulty if built properly. But if you are only going to have one or two custom pieces of trackwork, I don’t see building them yourself unless you want the challenge and are willing to spend the time building and rebuilding and…as you move along the learning curve.
Mark
I dunno, what do you think?
(BTW my handiwork)
You will likely do a wider handlay of track for the curve itself for the main and crossing to maintain the curves.
No, your tracks do not need to be straight. I have the problem to make the trackage for the North Shore Milwaukee terminal and that has a curved double crossover in the middle of a street. Holy NMRA Gauge, Batman!
Thanks for all your answers. I don’t think I would have any problems building the crossing (with trial and error of course) but I don’t understand the wiring part of it. On my last small DC 4x8 layout I just threw in a crossing track and away you go. I don’t understand the need for autoreverse or toggle switches. Wouldn’t you just wire in jumper wires to carry the power across? This is my first DCC layout. I am just starting to lay track and am close to purchasing my first DCC system. I thought I understood how it all worked but I must be missing something. The layout is 63’ x 6’ a dogbone bent in a big U shape. Can you please enlighten me?
Wiring is not a problem. It is a matter of a double-throw, double-pole switch. Forget that issue for now. Install the crossing first. The wiring is a minor consideration.
Mark
PS – Oops, I overlooked you were going DCC. Regardless, there is a ready solution. Visit the DCC/electronics thread for a good answer.
The gaps are a non-issue if they have bits of styrene acc’d into them and files smooth. And even on my Mill Bend crossing which doesn’t have the gaps filled it’s not a problem.
FWIW
Charlie Comstock
Wolfgang, that how to is very well done!
Wolfgang, anybody, have you built one of these?
Mark
Nope. But I built a double-slip switch with movable frog points.
Sorry for the picture quality. It’s hard to see those extra 4 points. The double slip worked well but the actuator was tricky. I used Wayne Roderick’s idea (from his Teton Shortline website).
Cheers,
Charlie
