In researching things for the layout design I was digging around for a yard ladder and finding none. Assuming that other than few articles on building one there are none available commercially. About the only thing I come up with is the idea to use Peco short radius turnouts that have 9 inch radius track which only occupy 3.523 inches of space. Any other ideas?
I used a Shinohara ladder that I bought 20 years ago. Laid it 2 1/2 years ago, then had to pull out the layout section before wiring it for another project, so I don't know how well it works. I guess Shinohara N ladders not around any more? Glad I got the one I needed when I did...if it works okay.
John, I've used PECO C55 Short Electrofrog Turnouts on many ladders over the years. They work well with careful track laying, short wheelbase engines, smooth tracking cars, and slow operation, i.e. the type of work you've done typically.
Evidently from what I found Shinohara is out of the N scale market. I may look at Tomix but Peco does have about the shortest length out there
Just a thought here- Be certain there is room between tracks to get a finger on each side of rolling stock. This way you can easily pick up a problem car.
I have about 1.50 to 1.75 between track centers mostly 1.75 and enough room in staging for a little more distance if needed. Tomix fine point track for trolley may be my answer. I believe they have one just a shade over 2.75 inches if my math is right and it usually isn't on the first go around. If it is and it is also compatible to the various brands of flex track I may have my answer both in staging and up on the branch line tracks where I would be working in a 12 inch width shelf and sometimes less.
You could build your own. I know it sounds insane, but if you need a particular size and orientation, that's really the way to go. I needed a couple of #4 turnouts in Code 55 for a switching area of my layout. I got materials and built them using paper templates and instructions from the web (I'll admit that I also had the advantage of building a few #6's first with a Fast Tracks jig, which gives an excellent introduction to the skills and techniques needed). Or you could hire someone to build a ladder to your specs (there are folks out there who build turnouts to spec for a fee). It would probably be more expensive than using Peco's, but the end result is likely to be more reliable and, more importantly, exactly what you need/want. John C.
Two Shinohara yard ladders sections in the center of the photo showing spacing. The ladder turnouts are thrown by the slide switches actuating music wire through brass tubing. If you go this route, make sure the inside diameter of the tubing is considerably larger than the music wire. I didn't on some and moisture from scenery work caused the wire to rust and freeze up in the tubing. I have had this in operation for about 20 years but would go with Peco , Tomix, etal if I did it again. Shinora N #4 ladders show up on the bay rarely. Al
Might be an option if I ever get enough of my fine motor skills back in the left hand. Have the strength to hold tools now but that is about it. Think about the movie Airplane where Ted keeps aiming for his mouth and then pouring the drink in his ear.
Somehow, the humor in this comic strip is beginning to elude me. (with apologies to Walt Kelly and all the Pogo family.) hboy:
I used Peco C55 medium radius points for one of my yards, and Atlas C55 turnouts for the other (which was built much later). The tracks in the Peco yard are ~29mm apart, and I had to insert short lengths of straight track between the points to get that spacing. These are 'electrofrog' turnouts, so it is necessary to insulate the centre/exit rails and provide power to the heel of each turnout. Out of the box, these rely on contact between the point rails and the stock rails for conductivity, and unless this area is kept clean and clear of dust/debris performance can be adversely affected. Dwyane Ward shows how to make Peco turnouts DCC friendly here, but I did not do that. In the other (Atlas) yard I simply joined the Atlas turnouts heel to toe, to get a track spacing of ~31mm. I soldered power feeders and jumpers to all the turnouts, and powered the frogs, as shown here. I much prefer the look and operation of the Atlas turnouts to the Peco, although both can be made to work very reliably. Regards, Ron
Still digesting the input for which I am grateful for. In several designs to try and attempt a staging on a small layout I haven't used a balloon track due to space constraints. On this edition I have managed to incorporate one. My staging tracks are not through tracks but stub tracks. Thus there are two yard ladders at each end of the balloon. I found in the design that I can get five tracks off one end and six off the other end with some generous space in between the tracks in a 30 inch wide staging area. Today in between some appointments and other things I am going to pull out some of my turnouts and play with them on the workbench. I am going to stay with Peco turnouts in the staging for two reasons. First I have a small stock of them already and they have some of the variety I need. Second I know little about the Tomix track and whether it would work. I also have found a number of cases where folks have used three way turnouts in yard leads and it is reported to save space. So I will play with that. Peco's site has actual sized templates of turnouts that can be printed out so I will probably print a few and see what I get.
Hi John, Even the big railroads agree that 3 way switches save space! In this photo there is one on the main lead and then one on each of the 6 sections of the bowl. I have build many switches with my Fast Tracks jigs and have been more than happy with them, it takes some patients and several mediocre to bad switches to get the technique down and to make a reliable switch. However once you get it they are far better than any commercial switch and you can customize them to fit exactly what you need.
I was in a similar situation also. I was trying to come up with a yard throat also. I started out by working on my maintenance facility trackage and then it just came down to designing the whole end of the yard and facility trackage. I posted variuos different threads asking for input after recieving ideas and pointers from other people I came up with this drawn with 3rd Plan-It model railroad CAD software. Here are some shots of my throat/ladder/yard. All of the turnouts used are #7 Atlas cd 55. I hope this helps. Adios, Wyatt
....... True story re. the PECO #6 turnouts. For my ladder I had to add short sections not only for the correct spacing but for the outboard "manual switching tabs" to clear each other. Here's a rough pic of what I needed to do in order to use PECO #6s for my yard ladder. Brian ps, FWIW I've only had one problem with point routing electrofrog turnouts and that was solved with a simple cleaning. All others have performed flawlessly even after balasting and painting. Ya just gotta be a bit careful.
