Say, can someone tell me what the radius of the usable area from the inside corner to the edge of the inside trackbed on a 14" corner module?
If you know/measure the width of the roadbed for unitrack, then subtract half that from the stated (centerline) radius of the curve, you get the inside roadbed radius.
Okay guys, for future planning needs, how well do the factory Kato crossovers work, comparing the style with 2 switches to the style with 4 switches as single units? Is one type simpler or more reliable than the other?
Well, I have a Unitrack double crossover on one triple module, and the trains negotiate it without any issues. No bobbles or hitches passing through it.
I too have one on a triple and it works great. The wiring for T-trak standards don’t work with it tho, you will need to go BWBW or WBWB instead of the standard of BWWB.
Thanks for that info! To keep things simple then I will just use the "dogleg" style switch. one on each side of the layout and just slice the joining rails.
The double crossover uses longer frogs (#6?) compared to a single crossover (#4). Both are very reliable. Doubles are rarely used on prototypes, generally only when space dictates. Doubles have black ties, singles have brown wood ties under the points/frogs, and concrete ties elsewhere. If you are using concrete tie double track pieces adjacent/elsewhere, the single crossovers will match them cosmetically. The individual switches of the double crossover can be manually thrown individually, but their coils are wired together to one electrical control (all thrown or all open) The individual switches of the single crossovers are mechanically linked to a single slider, with a single electrical control. I have used a double crossover in the past with no problems whatsoever. My new layout (in progress, not running trains yet) uses both types.
As far as wiring the double crossover tracks for a modular setup, BWWB would work if you had balloon modules at the ends, that turned the rear track around, and into the front track. In this case, the double crossover would facilitate a reverse loop, needing a reverse-loop power switch for the balloon module(s). Alternatively, the front (or rear) track in the straight modules could be powered via the auto-reverser.
When wired BWWB the double crossover creates a short, thus the need to go BWBW and use an auto reverser if there is a balloon loop at the end of the run. The T-Trak standards were created before Kato created the double crossovers.
Thanks for pointing this out. Sounds like I would need to have it isolated and have separate feeds to the inner line for home use as a loop and then for show use. I would just have to make sure to mark them clearly or possibly use different types of connectors for the two lines.
Long time N scaler, first time T-Trak. Here is a draft plan of the my T-Trak layout. As you can see I like operations and am planning to model an inter city based on the 1920s, running 40 boxcars with steam switchers do the work. "Staging" cars will most likely be done on the outer loop. Thoughts? Ideas?
