There are several places on my plan that would benefit, I think, from the use of curved turnouts. I’ve never seen an actual HO (or any other scale) turnout. Are they trouble, just the ticket or what?
Jarrell
I have a Walthers/Shinohara Code 83 curved turnout, it looks very nice and smooth. Not tested yet but it looks to me that it will work without any problems.
I have several Shinihara code 100 #8 on my layout. I think they work as good or better then regular Shinohara #8 turnouts. I love the way they look on a long curve.
John Armstrong felt good about them. He said they were great space savers when a yard might otherwise be hard to shoe-horn into where you’d like it.
I have two Peco code 100 curved turnouts on my layout. They work well. However, you do need to restrict you speed somewhat when going through the turnouts as the momentum can derail heavier locomotives and cars with a higher center of gravity. You also need to elevate the outer part of the curve.
I’ve used the Walthers code 83 curved turnout before and did not experience any problems.
I use the broad Peco ones in a couple of places, the work fine. Just make sure the radius of the curve isn’t too sharp. I used some of the Peco Set-Track ones, and they were a nightmare.
Nick
So far 6 answers… 6 thumbs up and none down. I sure could use a few here and there, like on a 22 inch R curve that I could use to start the throat of a yard. Where I have it now, back down the straight section, I’m eating up a lot of valuable space.
JaRRell
I use Walthers Shinohara Code 83 #6 curved turnouts on my layout. They work great, no speed restrictions, no banked curves. Less problems than with straight turnouts.
I have three Walthers-SHinohara code 83 turnouts on my layout and have had no problems. In fact, they have better point to rail electrical contact than do the #5 straight ones. They are indeed great space-savers for small layouts.
John C.
Mebane, NC
I second the others! I have one of the Walthers-Shinohara curved turnouts installed and another for a yet to be done area. So far the one that is installed works flawlessly. They are great!
I have many peco curved switches. I love them. I also like to usw the cuved part of a switch as my main line and the straight to turn off to where ever.I run through them at full throttle and no problems. I have one place entering a yard wher yopu go through staight switch into a curved one into a double slip into anothr staight one. All peco except one atlas never have problem.
I have hand laid curved turnouts, made from code 83 rail with #7, #9, #10 and #12 frogs. 20+ car trains may be shoved in reverse over them without derailment. However, it has to be granted that there are no cars in the train with truck-mounted couplers. For that I have altered all this cars to body mounted couplers.
Rene.
Pecos for me. They allowed me to add a passing siding in my subway tunnels where none would have been possible with standard turnouts. Peco switch machines, too.
Are they a problem? Well, they are inside a subway tunnel, right under where a crossing track on the surface means that I can’t use a liftout for access. I’ve never had a problem with these, and I don’t expect that there will be. They are a great addition to my layout.
I’m using two Shinoharas as part of my staging yard throat, and so far they appear to work fine (layout isn’t fully operational yet). I had to insert gaps into my older one to make it work properly with DCC, the newer one was already DCC-compatible.
yep, no problem, except they are too tight a radius for my ac4400 when taking a wagon through! It’s in a small industrial section where only the switcher goes anyway! Treat them carefully, they tend to cost more. Danny
I just knew I was going to hear all kinds of woe. I’m pleased to hear what I wanted to hear. No one around here sells them but maybe I can pick some up at the Greenberg Show in Atlanta next week.
Thanks!
Jarrell
In HO I’ve used all types from the Atlas 18"-22" to the Peco 48"-54" and many many hand builts. They can make many track configurations work much better in a given amount of space. They haven’t produced any problems not typical of a normal straight turnout.
I used to think they weren’t prototypical until I went on a cross contry train excursion. As I noted the track around the country I saw a whole lot more curved turnouts than I did straight ones.
We have a makeup yard on an HO-scale club layout where we used 12 Peco curved turnouts on the leads into it because there was no room for straights. They work just fine as long as you aren’t running through them at main line speeds.
How does Peco label its curved turnouts? I know that for the straight ones it’s just small, medium and large radius, but if… for instance… you were going to put a Peco curved turnout on a 22 inch r. curve, how do you know which Peco to buy? Also, since they’re a bit more pricey than the Atlas turnouts (does Atlas even make curved turnouts?), who is a good online vendor for the Pecos?
Thanks,
Jarrell