Is there a prototypical rule for which side of the turnout these are located ?. The off the shelf code 83 turnouts I am going to use place these on the diverging route side by default. But then the headblock ties are “in the way 50 % of the time” when assembling a yard ladder. The only options seem to be undesired extra spacing or cutting off the headblock ties and regluing on the other side of the turnout ? In the steam era I’m now modelling I’d like to see the manual switchstands rather than the magical under the table devices I used previously. What do you do? [?]
On the prototype, the headblock ties are installed in whatever direction the tracklayers were told to do it by the design engineers. There are several photos in Andy Sperandeo’s Kalpubco book The Model Railroader’s Guide to Freight Yards (shameless plug for the Forum sponsors) which show entire lines of manual throws (tall switch stands) on the tangent side of turnouts along yard ladder tracks…
I suspect that the reason commercial turnouts come with the headblock ties on the curved side has more to do with ease of packaging than it does with prototype practice.
There is one photo in the referenced book where all but two of the visible switchstands are on the tangent side of the points - including one where logic would suggest that the curved side would have been a better choice. There is a “ghost track” on the curved side of that turnout, which suggests that the headblock ties, once installed, weren’t changed when the track layout and usage changed.
Chuck (who hand-lays turnouts, with headblock ties arranged to prototype parameters)
I think they are usually installed on the outside of the track where there are multiple tracks.
In yards with ladders they tried to install them on the outside so that switchmen didn’t have to jump over tracks going from switchstand to switchstand.
[:)] Thanks - this must be the only Kalmbach book I haven’t purchased yet. I vow to stop reading this weekend and actually lay some trackwork.
Where ever possible, switch stands are located to the field side of the turnout. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the diverging or normal side.
It’s also possible, to have a turnout controled by a swith stand a couple tracks away.
It is much safer to have all the switch stands on the field side, so the train crews don’t have to keep crossing an active track.
Nick
I take it the “field side” on a yard would the “open” side of the ladder rather than between the yard tracks, or the drainage ditch sides of a crossover or siding in a multiple track section. What about a single tracked section?
KL
Kurt,
You are correct. The field side, is the side away from any other tracks. On a yard ladder, this is normally the tangent side.
On single track it really doesn’t matter. I’ve seen them on both sides. But in the area where I work, switch stands on the diverging side is dominate.
Nick