just a simple question for all you veterans of T.B. if you were going to buy some hand laid turnouts, what size would you most likely want? a #6,#8, or what. the same question goes for crossovers and three ways. is there any specific size that is more adaptable for most applications? thanks ahead of time. i value the opinions expressed here.
I would buy what I needed to make the trackplan I had .. its never a good ideal to design around a piece of track
for me, if space is not a problem, the longer the turnout the better. if you are trying to duplicate some real places, #8 turnouts may not be realistic. david
Are you wanting to LAY your own turnouts? Or do you want them already built? I would go with the #8 turnouts ANYPLACE I could! #6's are barely OKAY, but the bigger the frog number the better/smoother your railroad will operate. I'm planning on using #7's in the yard, #10's on the mainline. Am also looking into building my own turnouts so that I can build a turnout where needed, and use any frog number I want. This way I build each turnout to fit the track work, not build the trackwork to fit the turnout. NEVER BUILD CHEAP/POOR TRACKWORK. Do the trackwork right from the start and not worry about it later. Your trains will operate good from the git-go!
When I used to hand lay I would have the track fit the area, not pre-set numbers which make the area conform to the track. This makes for much smoother transitions.
hey guys, i'm doing some research to see if i could sell the turnouts if i made them myself. and what size would be the best to begin with. being disabled it was an idea to combine my hobby and my limitations.
That is the way it was done with the club I was in that hand laid turnouts. Several of us would gather on a Saturday and make the "standard" turnout which was approximately a no. 8. (A person could create a turnout every 1-2 hours.) This turnout was made on PC board ties. The turnout was not complete until it was put in place on the layout where it was properly sized and gauged for the location. After that, it would not fit anywhere else on the layout; it was made for that particular location and track geometry.
If I were going to buy hand made turnouts, it would be because they weren't offered commercially. So look up what's offered commercially and consider doing what's not. I believe 5s, 6s and 7s are all commerically available in code 55. So are 10s. I definitely think there's a market for #8s. Also for curved turnouts and wyes. And for odd, custom shapes, and crossings. My advice would be to advertise yourself as a custom turnout maker.
ON THE MAINLINE, NUMBER 11's I found number 11 trackswitches appealed the most to me. The "lead" on the 11 switch is much longer (read smoother) than a 10 and even quite a bit longer than a 12. For yards I use mainly number 8's.
There's a seller on eBay, selling handmade turnouts with code 55 rail. He must be selling a few of them, 'cause he's always got new frog numbers and different types.
