I read Dave’s post re:choosing a wye instead of a turntable for turning his loco’s around, and viewed the picture with interest. Thanks Dave.
My question is, what is the minimum amount of space you require to install a “Wye Turn-About”? This is an attractive option to me.
Thanks,
TrevorG[:)]
You should be able to cram a wye into a pretty small space, especially if you use wye turnouts and curved track. I’m not sure of the exact minimum space required. The real consideration is the leg length. Are you just turning engines? The actual wye might fit into one square foot in HO, but the legs may need to be more than a foot each.
A wye will take up more space than a turntable, but many times can be fitted into an existing area. Atlas Wye turnouts and 22" radius will result in a wye that takes about 3 feet square. This will allow for tail tracks that will allow a 12"-15" engine to be turned. I have a wye where my branchline leaves the main track. It has 22" radius tracks and is built into an existing curve, so only added about 2’ of space to the town area. This type of wye is very usefull as the tail rack is the branch and I can turn entire trains if needed.
Jim Bernier
The thing about a wye is that it can be manipulated easier to fit irregular spaces. For example, a wye doesn’t have to be a perfect triangle, it could curve a little on any side to fit in irregular space. I’ve even seen a wye that was in a very tight situation that had two of the legs cross over each other on a diamond (on grade crossing) and then curve back to meet at a wye switch. The whole thing looked kind of like a pair of scissors. That would make an interesting model, and a very thin wye to boot.
Don’t forget to make the tail long enough for a switcher and an observation car if you ever want to turn a passenger train. All the rest of the train can be switched, but you have to turn the observation. Also if your motive power is ABB you will have to turn it. That’s why most railroads used lashups with a cab at each end to avoid turning it.
Use paper or cardboard templates of different curve radii and lay out a wye in the space you have. You can then see for real what you are up against. Remember that your loco needs to get around the curves, so give yourself some ‘growing’ room for future needs.
Wye?
Does anyone have a picture or a link to photos?
Richie
Never mind.
Trevor,
My wye took up quite a bit of space, but the space was narrow and long instead
of a large chunk of area in one place(if that makes sense). The wye roughly
measures… from turnout to turnout is aprox. four feet. From the end of the wye
turnout to the mainline track is about twenty inches. I then added almost four
feet of track beyond the wye, so I can turn any loco there is. Plus I wanted the
extra tracks for loco parking.
Also note that I went with 18" radius for the wye tracks. I did this ONLY for the
reduced size of the wye. All of my locos will handle the curves, but I have to
take it slow with a couple of them. I really didn’t want the tight radius curves,
especially since my mainline has 30" minimum radius, but I didn’t have much
choice. Besides, I will only be using the wye for turning locos and parking, so
speed is not an issue. Good luck, Dave
As noted above, the wye can be all shapes and forms both in real live and in model form. I recall seeing a wye operation in Georgia when they turned N & W’s 611. It was so sharp that thep put a diesel on the other end of the train and pulled it through the curves so the steam engine wouldn’t have to be pushing. The rails were also heavily greased and the whole move was at less than walking speed. Another is where Amtrak’s Maple Leaf is turned in Toronto, Ontario. It just fits and part of the wye’s tail track goes across a street and into a parking area for a plant.
Most importantly plan the tail track for the length of the longest engine and a passenger car. Nothing more frustrating than having to make a complicated move because you
can’t fit the tail track.