Note the two switches without guard rails! Those flanged frogs look pretty rusty and maybe worn to me! That curve looks more like my layout than for real. HA! This is a nice early morning shot of the engines I thought you might enjoy. [ 20 November 2001: Message edited by: watash ] [ 20 November 2001: Message edited by: E-8 ]</p>
If you take a second look, only the switch in the foreground of the shot is without a guiderail. Reason being. Self Guiding Frog. usually applied in yards.
I don't think those are self guiding you can see the indentions for the flanges.The self guiding frogs are solid looking until you run over them with a car then they slide open.We don't have a lot of switch guards in the yards either.I guess they were to lazy to replace them after a derailment.
Track out here in coastal British Columbia can get rusty almost over night because of the quantity of rain we receive. Good shot.
No the photo isn't mine, it was sent by a friend to use to show the flanged frog type switch. The flange is about an inch and a quarter high when new. Yes these are almost always in yards and industrial tracks, too risky for mainline I would think. Spring loaded switches have frogs that actually do close up one way, but the weight of a car will spring it open if coming from the other direction into the frog first, then will spring the points closed to pass by them. I think these were called "Safety Switches".
