I have a place in my railyard that needs a curved turnout. The track is code 70. None of the manufacturer’s turnout are the correct radii for my situation (even code 83’s won’t work). I am faced with either redesigning part of the yard or hand laying a turnout. I have some experience at hand laying track (not a lot but I am comfortable doing it). What I need is help on how to proceed. I have viewed videos like Dream Plan Build where Tony Koester hand lays a #8 turnout. But, I would like to know it there are kits for hand laying turnouts or just what are my options?[:$]
Craig,
You have several options here:
- BK Enterpries - They will build a curved turnout in code 70
- Central Valley - They have ‘curvable’ code 70 kits…
- Shinohara - They have curved turnouts, and ‘curvable’ turnouts…
Check Walthers for info…
Jim
Aikidomaster.
If you go to www.handlaidtrack.com, they have free templates that you can print off of all types of track configurations including curved turnouts in all scales and track codes. Tim Warris also has a great number of video’s showing how to do handlaying.
I hope that this helps.
Good luck.
Blue Flamer.
Another possiblity is to take a Fast Tracks curved turnout that someone has built for you and usolder the PC ties, move things around add some new wood ties and align it the way you want it. Of course you want one that is as close as possible to start with and make sure everything is in gauge. I don’t think buying the Fast Tracks jigs and tools will be worth it if this is your only special need.
I have a guy that builds the Fast Tracks turnouts in many frog no’s, radii, and rail sizes for not much more than the retail price on commercial ones. He offers quite a bit of different radius and frog numbers. John also sells them on ebay. If he doesn’t have anything that will fit. (he’ll email you the templates for free), he could custom build one at an additional charge. If you are interested, contact me off the list here and I’ll send you John’s email. The Fast Track turnouts are superb and John does good work.’
I would do the following, since I know how to hand-lay a turnout.
Lay some flex of the same kind of track as what’s there over the curve and draw its outline on a piece of paper that is lying below the flex you are manipulating. Just draw the outline of the edges of most of the ties. Do the same for the ideal diverging route that you want. While you are at it, make a bunch of dots near the X point where the frog should be.
What you end up with is a rough template, but it will do a very good job of providing you with a base on which to lay all the ties you will need. Tack them into place with rubber cement or something. Now you have your ‘basement’, and all you need to do is note where the frog should be. From there, start cutting, aligning, and soldering rails as seems right. Keep your gauges handy to check often for clearances.
I would start with the frog and work outward. If you do it all right, you’ll have to do some minor adjustments to the rails meeting the turnout, and that’s about it.
Crandell
I would go with Selector’s suggestions. Lay a piece of flextrack (Atlas is good) on one route. Tack a piece of paper down on one side, putting it over the flex track, trace the rails and ties on the paper.
Fold the paper back.
Unfix the flextrack from the area at the leadblocks (tips of the points) to the end of the flextrack on the frog end. Leave the point end of the flex track spiked down. Bend the flex track on the other route and spike it down. Trace the diverging route rails and ties.
Remove the flex track, either glue the paper template down to the roadbed and lay the switch or put the template on a piece of Homasote and lay the switch on the Homasote, then move it to the layout.
That’s the way I’ve always done it.
If you click on the screen name under my “witness protection program” avatar, and then enter “You called?” in the search block, you will bring up the most detailed description I’ve ever provided for my method of laying specialwork.
Hand laying specialwork, whether a ‘special geometry’ turnout or a yard throat including three way switches with all three routes curving left, is just a matter of shaping, bending and positioning rails. Even this arthritic old coot can do it.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thank you for the information.[tup] I really admire the train work in the photo provided.[:D]