I have a few problems creating my yard. First of all, I don’t want to buy a bunch of turnouts and hope to have enough and not too many. I dont know how to use track planning software, so I am stuck eyeballing things.
My question is, I have a right hand turnout coming off the inside line of a double mainline. If I connect a series of right hand turnout number 6 how far apart will the tracks be center to center?
I’m having a heck of a time figuring this out. But some other information is the yard will have an end on each line, it won’t feed back into the main track. I looked at several options to maximize the amount of lines I can have in the yard. but I don’t know exactly how to go about it.
The reason why it is hard is different turnouts due to differing contruction and length of diverging route would give you differnt track centers. The way you control this is you yourself determine the track centers you want and then trim your turnouts (trim the rails) so they fit your ladder.
John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operations recommends minimum track centers to be 2-inches. I would go with that minimum and then fit your turnouts so that the ladder gives you 2-inch track centers. Each time you test fit a turnout by overlaying it in place, you can mark the rail where it needs to be cut, then cut it with a Xuron rail cutter or Dremel with cutoff disc (and eye protection) and then lay it in. You should get the maximum amount of yard trackage this way too.
I have used a series of Atlas Custom Line #6 turnouts to construct my yard. The yard tracks wind up being 2 inches on center with the turnouts connected to each other to form the ladder. As each turnout is added to the ladder, you lose 12 inches of yard space from the previous turnout.
Another “manual” way of figuring out how the yard will lay out is to buy just one switch {turnout} and copy it on a scanner or copy machine and print out the “footprint” of your switch.
Then you use those footprints to layout your yard.
You will then know how many switches you need and will fit into the space for your yard.
That is what I did when laying out my layout and yard. And that is what others have done in similar circumstances.
Yep !! That is what I have done in some cases. Also, if you go look on the Peco web site, they have full size drawings of their turnouts and double-slip switches. You can down load these and print them out. Other manufactures may also have them. You will just have to look for them.
Normally the turnouts in the ladder is the opposite type of the one going off from the main (since you usually want the yard tracks go back to parallelling the main):
But you can play a lot of tricks with a ladder to increase yard capacity (at the cost of making it look less prototypical). E.g. using a compound ladder:
You can also do things like a pinwheel ladder - with the ladder coming off the main around a curve, allowing longer body tracks:
Hi John, Take a look at the Thread “Show off your yard” for my suggestions, and those of Motley and Mister Beasley. Compound ladders allow for equal length tracks in a yard. Double-slip switches and triple switches cost a little more, but you don’t need as many. Bob Hahn
I like the idea of copying turnouts, just haven’t gotten to it yet.
The Atlas track plan book has a section in the back that shows how to make yards, as well as many other track configurations. The one I have shows a simple #4 and #6 as well as a #6 compound. It gives you measurements needed to vary your track centers and the length of surface needed to lay them on, including measure to add more than they show. Gives you a good visual to build from.
John, If you use only right -hand switches in your yard, coming off a right-hand T/O off the main, you will not get parallel yard tracks, but a fan of tracks diverging at the frog angle. I use Atlas #6 Custom Line Right T/O, with a 6" straight section on the turn out’s diverging track, and then start using Atlas #6 Custom Line LEFT turnouts for each yard track. The 6" straight section avoids the “s-turn” so feared by long wheel base operators, and adds only about 1 additional inch to the first yard track spacing. To create the last parallel yard track, I use another Right T/O (diverging route to diverging route) to allow a pocket on the approach end of the last yard track. This metrhod will work with other brands of T/O’s, of course, and give “five-finger” clearance to work cars, if necessary. Best wishes…JWH
