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Peco OO Streamline Large Radius points


Harlequin

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I noticed that the new bullhead rail large radius points are still being described as 60in (1524mm) radius when we all know that's rubbish. They simply can't be if they are to give a 12 degree turnout angle and a 2in (50.8mm) separation between parallel tracks.

 

I emailed Peco and they said the 60in radius is a "nominal" figure because the points include "combination curve"s. This is also rubbish because either "nominal" means the overall effective radius of the points, which you can measure and is not 60in, or the "combined curves" include some smaller radius sections as well as the 60in radius to achieve the 12 degree turnout and 2in track spacing - in which case they should be quoting the smaller radius. (If that's the case they may as well say the all their points are "nominally" infinite radius - because they include straight sections... ;-)

 

They kindly gave me a phone number so I called and explained that mathematically the 60in radius is impossible for the large radius point, given the angle and spacing constraints. The person I spoke to:

  • Was very resistant to accepting that the radius they had been quoting all these years was wrong.
  • Said that it would be confusing to customers if they changed it now.
  • Said that the radius was "given to them" by the original designer of the point and he probably worked it out by laying known radius curves onto a paper drawing to see which matched.
  • Said that it doesn't really matter what the radius actually is as long as trains run smoothly over it...


I said that I understood the problem of changing the quoted radius now but in the long run it must be better to give correct information rather than incorrect.

 

Not very satisfactory, really...

 

Phil

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