Hi. I’m just wondering what’s the best use for a curved turnout? When should 1 be used?
To squeeze ever last bit of extra length into a siding, by starting it on the curve instead of waiting until after the track becomes tangent (straight).
To reduce the S curve effect of a crossover - by putting the crossover party on a curve. I don’t have a handy picture, but there’s a picture of how to do this in John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation.
To fit a pinwheel type yard ladder around the inside of a curve.
I’m sure there are others.
–Randy
I generally used all of my curved turnouts on curves.
You can see two curved turnouts in this pic.
One here to the right of the roundhouse.
Three in this photo.
I like them, when you are short on space like I am they help you squeeze out the use of every inch.
Some may read that response with a sense of amusement, thinking the obvious, but your answer to the OP’s question is dead on.
Typically, the outside curve is nothing more than a short segment on a longer mainline curve. It is normally the inside curve that is more critical to reach a yard or spur or siding. Over time, on my various layouts, I did not start out to use a curved turnout, but as the planning stage progressed, I sometimes realized that a curved turnout was essential.
Rich
Sometimes I have use Curved and Wye turnouts just because I like the way they look and they add variety to the trackwork.
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-Kevin
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Generally, especially in our confined spaces, curved turnouts work well along curves where you want to start a siding or a spur. On my second layout, I used a handlaid curved #9 turnout to do just that. And one of Walthers/Shinohara #7.5 got me to my yard from the other end of that same curve. IOW, the points faced each other with about 36" of flex between them.
At the end of the long siding started by the handlaid turnout, I used a W/S curved #8, again at a point along a curve.
In additon to what Randy said, on my last layout I used a curved turnout on one end of a runaround siding that needed to be long enough to hold a 62 inch long train. Curving the tail track into a half loop provided an engine escape.
I have two curved (Shinohara #8) turnouts on my layout. In one case it was primarily to increase the length of a spur and the other case was to maximise the potential length of the staging tracks inside the upper return loop.
Like many above I used a pair to gain 24” for a siding. 11’ to 13’ for parking passenger trains on the hidden siding. Double diesels with 11 passenger cars or one Cab Forward with 13 heavyweights fit nicely in 13’.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Same here, increase length of staging tracks or siding tracks.
Two Shinohara #8’s and a Peco curved here in the staging yard ladder:
Here is another, bottom right:
Maybe not easy to see but in the top left, there are two Walthers #8 curved and at the other end of the yard, another.
I like the #8 because I am trying to keep my minimum radius as broad as possible. The Shinohara and Walthers #8 curved are nominally 32" inner and 36" outer, althought the inner is a bit sharper than labled by the manufacturer.
Shinohara closed down and due to this I don’t believe their code 100 track is made anymore and only available as leftover stock or maybe on Ebay or secondary market. Shinohara (correct me if I’m wrong) manufactured Walthers code 83 under contract and Walthers has gone to a new supplier and AFAIK, #8 curve turnouts are not in their list so far.
I wanted the DCC friendly version so I sold my older #8 Curved Walthers and hunted a couple of the newer versions down on Ebay before they became much more scarce.
I don’t think prototype railroads would normally use them, but we have different constraints and sometimes find this kind of unusual trackwork useful.
I have four of them. They all help do something that would not otherwise fit, or save significant space and allow longer sidings.
They all work perfectly, incidentally.
They are not common on the prototype but I can think of two main track curved crossovers that I have seen on the B&O.
One was at Glenwood Junction near Pittsburgh,Pa. and the other at Grafton, WVa.
Mark Vinski
I want to thank you all for your replies to my question. I think I am going to use 1 to come into a small yard I have & probably can find other spots too now that I know what they are used fo thanks to you all. Modeling the Erie Lackawanna in western ny from late 60’s to early 70’s.
They are coming out in April with a #6.5 20 & 24" and a #7 24 & 28" which by the html addy, they are calling a #7
https://www.walthers.com/code-83-nickel-silver-curved-track-7-turnout-left-hand
That link doesn’t work. “Looks like you got off track” is the message I get.
Conspicuously absent are the #7 1/2 and #8 curved from Walthers list. Don’t know if those are in the plans or not.
Anyway, those are not the droids I was looking for - Jedi hand wave
I was talking about the #8 curved, which is the only Walthers curved turnout I have ever used so far. The #8 curved also tend to be the hardest to find so I’m glad I hunted a couple down for reasonable prices before they got much more rare.
I sold my DC Walthers #8 curved and replaced them with the DCC friendly version before the prices went thru the roof. Now even the DC versions on Ebay are priced at “Micky taking” prices.
Now that a couple of years has passed since Shinohara stopped making curved turnouts for Walthers, the code 83 curved prices are shooting up pretty high. Good old supply and demand economics.
Conspicuously absent are the #7 1/2 and #8 curved from Walthers list. Don’t know if those are in the plans or not.
I was able to include 2 reversing loops (via crossovers on this modest 5’ x 9’ dogbone layout by using #7-1/2 curved turnouts for the crossovers. You can see one crossover in the front right here. The 2nd crossover is in the rear right but you can’t see all the track.
20190712_083658 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
The PECO HO Code 83 curved turnouts are signficantly more compact than the Walthers equivalents and offer fairly broad radii on both legs. Well worth considering.
That difference in length is what has prompted me to replace Atlas Custom Line turnouts with Peco turnouts on my new layout. I replaced 12 inch long turnouts with 9 inch long turnouts and that really makes a difference in yards and the large downtown passenger station track ladders.
Rich
The reason the Walthers are so long, especially the broader radius versions, is that the inner and outer radius’s are much more similar to each other than the Peco curved.
So if you want a compact curved turnout, they will sacrifice the inner radius to be much much smaller than the outer.
For example the Peco #7 code 83 curve has an outer radius of 60 inches, and an inner radius of 36 (nominal).
On the other end, Walthers inner and outer radii are much closer together, nominally 4 inches different. #8 is 32 inner / 36 outer by way of example, although the inner is a bit smaller than labeled by the manufacturer.
Anyway, the main take away is, you want to buy curved turnouts to fit your track plan curves, most of the time, rather than how long a turnout you would like to have.