My HO layout is in process of rebuild, old one was all Atlas turnouts but now I have several PECO units to add. Just looked at them and there are no spike holes like the 4 on the Atlas equipment, how do you secure them down or do you rely on the rail joiners at the three merge points. Thanks for any advice. Al.
I lay all my track with latex/water clean-up adhesive caulk (a bead of “comes out white/dries clear” caulk from the caulking gun, spread thin with an old “your name here” phony credit card). Being careful to keep all traces of caulk from the moving points, it is possible to secure the Peco turnout to the roadbed using this method – obviously you want to be very sure everything is all in order before you do this. By the way I also sprinkle some ballast and the caulk that shows between the ties as it is a good base for the later, final ballasting. Only with great care do I ballast at the points themselves. I’d use this method even for turnouts that have holes in the ties by the way
You could of course drill small holes in the far ties of the Peco turnout and attach it using spikes or nails as with Atlas. Consider also drilling those holes at the base of the web of the track and spiking the turnout down in a less obtrusive way than a nail head in the middle of a tie.
One reason to keep a Peco turnout removable (i.e., use nails or spikes) is that after a time sometimes the little springs give way and need replacing. This is easier to do at the workbench than in situ
Dave Nelson
My Santa Fe has just over 200 peco turnouts. I also use milled homabed for the road bed. When I lay a peco, I secure it with small, code 100 spikes until I am ready to ballast, then I remove the spikes and let the ballast hold the switch in place. Has worked for me for over 20 years, haven’t lost a switch yet. I also have some Shinohara switches, do the same with them.
The spikes are inserted on either side of the rail at the location next to the ties so I don’t drill holes, knowing the spikes will soon be pulled anyway. Pecos work at their best without being held down much. And yes, I use Tortoise on many of them.
Bob
Since the regular Peco switch machine attaches to the underside of the point area (and requires a comparatively humongous hole in the roadbed) many folks just let the turnout ‘float,’ secured only by the rail joiners (until ballasted.) This will work as long as the adjacent trackage is solidly anchored.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I have pretty much done the same thing as Pastor Bob but I have gotten away from gluing down the ballast inside the turnouts themselves.I guess I am some what paranoid about gumming up a turnout that all I do is spread the ballast as you normally would and jsut glue down the ballast shoulders with straight white glue on the top outsides of the turnout I ballast and glue the conventional way. This way if I ever have to remove a turnout I just brush away the ballast and pull a few spikes. I have found that if you paint/weather the tracks and turnouts you can’t even see the spike heads.