How the heck can you model a high speed rail line without concrete tunouts, of course where the heck can you find HO concrete turnouts, or build one.
Depends on which high speed line you’re modeling.
My prototype laid welded rail on concrete ties, but settled for wood ties under specialwork. A prototype I DON’T model (same country, same era) used poured-in-place concrete pads with integral ‘ties.’ I haven’t seen any accurate model concrete tie turnouts - but then, I haven’t been looking for them.
One manufacturer, back when concrete ties were coming into widespread use, loaded the plastic molding machine used to make flex-track ties with grey-white pellets instead of (then-standard) black. The result was concrete-colored ties with wood grain molded in (!) Later runs used new molds with more appropriate tie contours.
I suppose you could dip the plastic tie strip under a commercial turnout in thin plaster or thick paint of appropriate color. It probably won’t be any less believeable than whatever the commercial producers finally come up with - assuming that they ever come up with anything.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - concrete-tie flex, wood-tie specialwork)
A discussion about prototype practice on the Trains Magazine forums several months ago seemed to indicate that concrete ties are not used under turnouts because they can’t withstand the pounding of wheels through the frog area, and that turnouts still use wood ties.
That practice seems to have changed within the past month because the Union Pacific is reportedly using concrete ties for newly installed turnouts on their Sunset Route double-tracking project in Arizona and California.
It will probably be a long time before model makers come out with concrete ties for turnouts due to the cost of redesigning the assembly line machines.
Cacole-I wonder if the new UP concrete turnout ties have a dip in them like the mainline ties do?
This is the only “concrete” tie track I’ve ever seen http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/552-1162 . They don’t make switches with concrete ties, and as previously posted, most rr’s don’t use concrete under switches except the UP is aparently now trying them. Panel switches, which are used for switch replacement by most rr’s, would pick up quite a bit of weight using concrete ties!![:O]
Atlas makes code 83 concrete-tie flex. Shinohara makes code 100 concrete-tie (to JR standard tie contour) flex, but it’s not easy to find and quite expensive.
Since a concrete tie usually weighs about twice what a wood tie weighs, panel track and switches would definitely be a lot heavier than the wood-tie equivalent.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
csx has installed some new passing sidings on it’s west shore line along the hudson river in NY and the new switches are made with concrete ties including the frog area. in those areas it seems that the ties under the frogs are closer together than other areas of the switch possibly to better distribute the weight they have to carry. the concrete ties don’t look much different than wood ties from a distance and up close they are already stained from rust from the rails and oil from the rolling stock. painting a commercial turnout with polly s aged concrete and weathering with rust and grimey black they should look pretty good.
Most rail lines still use wood for there turnouts. I’m in close to 2 major rail system in my area both UP and BNSF use wood for there high speed rail lines on turnouts and concrete for the main rails. If you are that inprotude for concrete paint the tie’s to match.