I have a trolley going around in the middel of the town in my HO layout and I am currently starting over on the roads. I am using joint compound for the roads and it is working well. My question is how do i do the turnouts. I aim for the roads/track to be like sanfransico and it's cabelcars, for example, where the track is in the road. This is easy to do on the normal sections but I havent figured out how to work the turnouts into the street. The design is two interlocking rings so there are 2 turnouts and one crossover.
trolley turnout
- Thread starter Collyn
- Start date
try this site http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/school/lesson6_3/
Scroll down the page. There is a section on paving around turnouts.
After that, you should check out the rest of the site. Very informative and impressive.
Scroll down the page. There is a section on paving around turnouts.
After that, you should check out the rest of the site. Very informative and impressive.
Trolleyville is a good place to start, and to teach you how to use Richard Orr turnouts. You can get the turnouts from CustomTraxx: www.customtraxx.com and the owner of that company is also the person who writes most of the tutorials. Orr turnouts are ideal for use with paved streets because they can be completely covered: they are single-point turnouts, so there is no mechanism between the rails to gum up, as long as you don't gum up the one pivot point where the switch point turns!
The track in the street you are hoping to emulate is the kind seen on San Francisco's streetcar lines, as well as the streetcar lines of other cities, because the cable car lines use a very different sort of track: narrow 3'6" gauge with a guide in the middle for the cable.
The track in the street you are hoping to emulate is the kind seen on San Francisco's streetcar lines, as well as the streetcar lines of other cities, because the cable car lines use a very different sort of track: narrow 3'6" gauge with a guide in the middle for the cable.
Collyn.
The big question is are you powering of the overhead?
If you are then you will find Richard ORR link on the trolleyville site.
They are the switches you need for street trackage.
If you are running two rail power they will NOT do.
The big question is are you powering of the overhead?
If you are then you will find Richard ORR link on the trolleyville site.
They are the switches you need for street trackage.
If you are running two rail power they will NOT do.
Collyn: look for Interurban's threads on his layout. he's built a bit of street trackage.
There are a couple of ways to build the track. Some people are satisfied with a bit of brick paper between the rails, others go for the whole girder rail business (the Orr track) . I cheated on my last trolley layout -- no streets! But the overhead worked.
There are a couple of ways to build the track. Some people are satisfied with a bit of brick paper between the rails, others go for the whole girder rail business (the Orr track) . I cheated on my last trolley layout -- no streets! But the overhead worked.
Sounds like you already have your turnouts in place. You can continue to use joint compound, or if you don't like the cleanup after you scrape out the flangeways, you could always use sheet styrene painted to match the road.
Good luck! Sounds like a neat project! :thumb:
Val
Good luck! Sounds like a neat project! :thumb:
Val
Ah, sharp eyes Val, I hadn't noticed that the turnouts were already in place. If the turnouts are Atlas turnouts, there is a "Walthers Street System" that includes plastic pieces that can be glued in place in between the points of the switches. And yes, of course, one down side of the Orr turnouts is that they are designed for powered overhead (both rails are electrically connected.)