I have been wondering how to solve a track-related problem on Sweethome over the last few months.
There is a crossover at the right end of the layout which uses Peco medium turnouts/points - the nearest equivalent is a #5 turnout. the crossing is a bit tight for some of the trains and I am looking to improve it.
The simplest method would be to replace the turnouts with longer examples - the Peco code 75 long turnout (somewhere near a #6 turnout).
However I got to thinking about the left-hand turnout behind the crossover - as you do - and how much more room there would be for the MOW yard (where the black gon is sitting) if I moved the turnout forward.
Here is my solution
Now to do some ripping up over the next few days.
Jon
I feel your pain! believe me as I am doing all my mainline curves and assosciated turnouts. This is a full winters work. Though I am very fortunate that I never got the scenery finished before I realized the curves needed broadening.
Please keep us posted.
Fergie
One option you may want to try is to move the crossover further down in that view so that the 3-way turnout is closer to the location of the turnout on the other side of the crossovers. That would preserve more of the length of that siding on the right.
Kevin
I finally got round to doing something about the crossover.
First job was to set the baseboard on it’s end and unscrew the turnout motors. the decoders could stay, as long as I was careful with any hole-drilling - been there, done it, got the t shirt.
Next up was to remove any Silflor and other scenery that could be used again before ripping up the track
Jon
Once the track was lifted, I scraped off the old ballast with a screwdriver and sanded the cork sheet, ready for laying the new turnouts
One area had a troublesome sag, where some non-sprung steam locos had had pickup problems. This was easily rectified with an offcut of plastic sheet glued to the cork
Oval holes were cut for the turnout motor actuators, once their location had been marked.
Finally, I could get some track laid
Jon
The new track alignment extended onto the next board along and the bare board shows where the additional space for the MOW yard will be
Once the turnout motors had been reattached and the wires soldered, the track was electrically tested before I added dry ballast with a spoon and old shaving brush - not exactly high tec stuff.
Now to add some glue with an eye-dropper.
Jon
Your layout never fails to impress me, Jon. Excellent work! [:)]
Just out of curiosity…those don’t look like Peco switch motors…what are they?
Simplest and best solution is to replace crossover with ‘higher’ numbered switch- say a # 6 from a # 5.Yes, it shortens holding tracks,. but that’s the law of physics,and preferred to a more complicated 3 way… Choices, choices.
Simpler is better…
They are produced by Gaugemaster in the UK and are similar to Peco in that they are dual-solenoid action, except that they also have an integral switching mechanism to change the polarity of the ‘frog’.
Jon
Now that the glue holding the ballast has had a couple of days to dry, I have spray-painted both the ballast and track with my own mix of brown-umber-black-grey-tan mix of acrylic paint.
I prefer to weather the ballast and track so it looks like it has been there years and the best way I have found to achieve this is to paint the lot from the outset and weather it like any other building or boxcar on the layout.
Once all the scenery is down, I’ll drybrush the ballast and ties with ‘tie brown’ paint and paint the rail sides with a rusty mix of acrylic.
Jon
After spraying the ballast I set upon the scenery and detailling. Some of the details in the MOW yard were rearranged to fit the new space, and several shades of WS fine turf were sprinkled onto green paint applied with a brush between the tracks.
Once the turf had set I glued on some WS foliage and the Silflor I had salvaged from the track-removal stage.
I still need to add some bushes, drybrush the track and ballast and populate the scene.
Now fetch me a shrubbery…Ni!
Jon
The track has now been drybrushed with some ‘tie brown’ and some more scenics added to the MOW yard. I still want to blend in the track weathering a little more to match it to the track/ballast either side of the new bit.
Jon
Some close up shots of the newly expanded MOW yard
Jon
Finally a before-and-after comparison to show the differences made.
