Has anybody ever designed a flex track turnout? Just a thought rolling inside of my head lately.
Sounds like a good place for a derailment, Turnouts arent made to curve.
I’ve seen an advertisement for a flexible turnout kit designed to fit into areas where a normal turnout can’t be used, but I don’t remember the name of the company that makes it. Peco makes curved turnouts in two different sizes, and Shinohara also makes curved turnouts.
CVT makes flexible turnout kits, but they’re far from trivial to install. I don’t know anyone else who makes flex turnouts.
IIRC, the CVT turnouts are only slightly flexible. Meant to fit in places where things are just a little bit off. They don’t flex in the way we understand flextrack to bend.
There are also pretty specific directions on how much they can curve, and what parts of them should NOT be curved for reliable operation.
Rob
Stick with Peco and then flex your track. You will save yourself alot of misery.
What are the sizes for the Peco turnouts? Do they go by a radius value, and does the turn out go to the inside of the curve or do they go to the outside as well? I’m designing a yard on a curve (unfortunate but necessary) and need a few.
Check Peco’s Web site. They make curved turnouts in two different sizes. One equates to someting like 18 and 22 inch radiuses, and the other is in the neighborhood of 24 and 28 inch. Shinohara double curved turnouts are something like 18 and 22 inch radius, but are longer than the Peco’s.
Shinohara makes a variety of curved turnouts:18 & 24", 24 & 28", 28 & 32", and 32 & 36", just to name a few. (I wi***hey’d made a 22". I’d use it!)
I would have to agree somewhat with Stuckarmchairing. All turnouts - whether straight or curved - need to be rigid for a proper working of the turnout mechanics. (Hence, why the CVT turnout is only “slightly” flexible) Otherwise, you’d have a problem with the points not pressing up firmly enough to the side of the railing and causing a derailment.
Tom
We’ve had a couple of turnouts that could be called “Flex” turnouts on a railroad I’m helping to build. They are essentially turnout kits with a flexible tie strip and can be assembled as left or right handed turnouts. They could possibly be assembled as curved turnouts (within reason) and probably wyes.
Our success with them has been less than stellar – particularly since the instructions are in German and none of us reads German.
Shinora made (makes?) turnouts that are rigid through the frog but flexible elsewhere. Every other time I needed a curved turnout I scratchbuilt it, but got a price I couldn’t pass up on one of Shinohara’s and it worked great.
peco makes 4 radius’s of turnout not 2 but i cant remember the radius’s.
Peter
In the past, Shinohara made a code 100 “flex” turnout that was adjustable. I don’t think they were too popular. I haven’t seen one for a while. - Nevin