Does anyone have experience working with the Shinohara dual gauge flex track and turnouts? I am contemplating an HO/HOn3 section on my layout, but have absolutely no experience in the HOn3 arena. I have already drawn the conclusion that I will not be hand-laying track. I know Micro Engineering makes some too, but no switches.
I currently have an HO, DCC layout. I intend to use tortoise motors and power the frogs off of them.
I am doing some limited fooling around with the Shinohara dual gage stuff at the club layout.
I don’t believe the turnouts are “DCC friendly” if that is a concern for you. They have to be gapped just like a normal gage power routing turnout.
There are transition sections available that will allow you to swing the narrow gage track from right to left to suit your trackplan.
The “flex” track is not flexible in the sense that Atlas flex track is…you have to form your curves as you go along. At least that’s what the stuff purchased for the project before I got stuck with it does. I don’t particularily like this feature. On the other hand, some folks don’t like the Atlas-type flex because it wants to return to the straight condition. To each their own.
If you have some particular question, let me know and I’ll try to answer.
Neither Shinohara nor ME flex track has the spring that Atlas flex track has. You bend or curve it - it stays bent or curved. It takes a little time to work into a smooth curve. This is especially true of dual guage track, where there are 3 rails to bend.
I have no experience with the dual gauge turnouts - yet. In a full dual gauge turnout, there are 2 normal turnout frogs that need to switch polarity, and one K frog (used in crossings) that does not. The 2 turnout frogs are both in the common rail, and can be polarity switched together. Because the 2 frogs are in the common rail, and HOn3 power tends to be small, powering these frogs is normal procedure.
To date, my HOn3 line is separate from the HO line, which is quite prototypical. Many transfer facilities were simply parallel tracks of standard and dual gauge where freight would be transferred by hand. For box cars and reefers, a platform at door height between the tracks made things easier. Livestock would normally be watered and fed in a stockyard before being loaded again. A crane might be available for the heavier flat car loads. Gondola loads were often shoveled by hand. If there was enough of a commodity being transferred in one direction, a more elaborate transfer scheme with the unloading car on a raised trestle or track would allow gravity unloading and loading .
In my case, the dual gauge track is simply a test loop at present. That may change when I have the $$ for a dual gauge turnout or time and inclination to build one.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Those Shinohara dual-gague turnouts greatly limit flexibility of the design. Learn to build your own or have someone custom make them for you. They’re not all that expensive.
I have considerable dual gauge track. The turnouts are all Shinohara and the track is all Micro Engineering code 70.
No big deal as far as the Shinohara turnouts not being “DCC ready.” Simply use insulating rail joiners on the frog end and wire accordingly to switch frog polarity.
I’ve also got a few of the Shinohara dual gauge turnouts that I hacked to provide diverging HOn3 on one side. I’ve also hacked Shinohara HOn3 turnouts, inserting them in a section of dual gauge track to provide a HOn3-only route to a siding.
There is one drawback to the Shinohara dual gauge turnouts. Because of the multiple frogs, you get a little bit of a clunk going through them with HOn3 rolling stock. Not a big deal in practice.
There are custom track builders who can provide closely spec-ed dual gauge turnouts. Railway Engineering and BK Enterprises are two. This involves some handlaying, but the hard part is already done with these products.
Strezzy,
What kind of C&NW switcher is that in your avatar?
Rich
All great suggestions – I think I will look into custom-built, but can default to gapped Shinoharas if need be. Now… to get started - the hard part.
Also, the avatar is an SW8 #801, but I never did check the facts. I thought it was a great color photo!