I’m a newbie, will be starting my benchwork soon, kind of narrowed track down to Walthers or do the Fast Tracks thing. When I read about some of the more well known guys in the hobby, it seems like their track and switches are all hand laid. Are there well known who’s who in the hobby that uses RTU track and switches with success? I realize that the switches seem to be the problem area most of the time in operations. I would prefer RTU, but will try the Fast Tracks route if that means getting bullet proof switches.
A lot of “well known” or otherwise very competent modelers use flextrack and plastic-tie turnouts. You can make Shinohara/Walthers turnouts bulletproof for operation, and handlaid as well. You can also mix the two. Tuning up track for truly reliable operation involves a learning curve regardless of which products you choose, so maybe try some of each and decide which works best for you.
For what it’s worth, I about had my fill of handlaying prior to starting my current layout, so have moved almost entirely to commercial turnouts (a combination of Shinohara/Walthers, Micro Engineering, Atlas and Central Valley kits). I had no real operational or appearance problems with the handlaid ones, but just didn’t want to do that anymore.
Also note that you can handlay perfectly good turnouts without the Fast Tracks products, although they have a good reputation and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending them if you plan a lot of handlaying.
I’m very happy with the Walthers-Shinohara Code 83 turnouts I’ve got.
In general, I’ve found that most “derailment at a turnout” problems are actually caused by faulty trackwork, particularly on the approaches to the turnout. With flex track, it’s easy to “force” a curve that’s a bit too tight, or to end up with a kink where the flex track is trying to go back to being straight track.
I have about 35 Shinohara Turnouts and the only one that gave me grief was the one I didn’t support properly underneath ( my fault ) I really like their curved turnouts and find using them can give you more flexibility in some areas. Roadbed must be perfect under turnouts.
So far I have a 100 metres of flex track down, I really like the flow you get using it. The route your track takes looks so much more natural if all the curves aren’t a predetermined stamped out radius. I just laid my track and checked to make sure I didn’t go under a predetermined minimum radius. If you have space try to vary your radius a bit. You can even have a changing radius through a curve.
Someday I hope to build a layout with hand laid track and turnouts but with two young kids, Hockey, piano and drums and swim meets and Basketball and… come first. Choices were made. I am just glad I am retired or I would never have time for a layout.
For their first layouts? Most of the “well-known” modelers started with off-the-shelf components. And why should it matter, anyway?
For your first layout, give yourself a high chance of success by using quality off-the-shelf components. Walthers (Shinohara) C83, PECO C83 are good choices, among others. Learning to lay flextrack and turnouts for reliable operation will teach you a lot that you can use later if you decide to handlay.
And by the way, most of the “well-known” modelers who handlay build their turnouts in place to fit the need, they aren’t restricted by using fixed turnout jigs like FastTracks.
Thousands and thousands of successful layouts have been built with off-the-shelf components.
As a 10 year old in the mid '60s, I helped my Dad build his 1st HO layout with a mixture of flex track and Atlas turnouts and crossings and sectional track. His next layout was built after I left home.
As a young adult in the mid '70s, I decided to build my own 1st layout. A newly wed living on a very meager budget, buying commercial track and turnouts was out of the question. So I handlaid the track. I started by laying a simple oval on a 4x8 with no turnouts. The rent being beyond my means, we moved to a smaller house in a less expensive neighborhood. The 4x8 had to be cut down to 4x6 to fit in the 2nd bedroom. I drew up a new plan, redid the oval, and started adding a passing track and spurs. I used Jack Work’s Birth of a Turnout in April 1963 Model Railroader as my only guide to handlaid track.
I found that handlaid track was not particularly difficult, even for somebody with limited skills like me. Ability to file to size and solder was all the skill I needed. What I did need was patience. The patience to do and redo until everything was spot on. After the 1st two turnouts, I could get it right the 1st time almost every time.
I find hand laying track rather relaxing after a not-so-great day at work. And I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the trains run ever so smoothly over my handlaid turnouts and track. After a little practice, I find I can lay 4 to 6ft of track in two 2 hour nights, or 1 turnout. That time includes gluing and staining ties, ballasting, painting the rail, wiring, as well as shaping and spiking the rail.
Yes, handlaid track and turnouts (when laid in place) tend to be more reliable (fewer derailments) than with using commercial track. One reason is because the rail is continuous; there are no joints to be kinked or misaligned near the frog or the points in my track. And I ca
IMHO, the major advantage to hand-laying turnouts is that the one critical turnout you need to get wheels rolling is never, ever out of stock or on backorder! Then comes the opportunity to use rail geometry that simply can’t be built with ANY commercial product.
Since I started hand-laying specialwork long before Fast Tracks jigs came on the market (and before Jack Work wrote the aforementioned article) I don’t use jigs. For a quick and dirty description of my methods click my screen name, then enter, “definitely not patented” (quotation marks and all) in the Search Our Community block in the right column.
Entering, “hand laid turnouts” will return a small library of other methods. All of them work.
My personal preference is to use commercial flex rack, hand-laying specialwork only. Part of that is driven by my prototype’s use of concrete ties. Another part is that I’m trying to build a fairly large layout in a finite length of time, and there’s only one of me.