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Peco Bullhead Points: in the flesh


AJ427
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I removed some of the webbing and curved a bullhead turnout around a 150" radius former. While holding it there with fingers like an octopus, I carefully applied Loctite to the outside of the chairs. When set, I did the same to the other side to make sure the point stayed put at 150" radius. It isn't perfect, as there is a small straight-ish tail at the from end....

 

post-6680-0-97174500-1523527335.jpg

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There's a 3-page article starting a series on using the new Peco bullhead track to build a small layout, on page 383 of the May 2018 edition of the Railway Modeller. Part 1 is about laying it. Part 2 next month will be about the electrics.

 

Digital edition just arrived. I had better not post any screenshots for copyright reasons.

 

Martin.

 

 

Martin

 

Have you read it, some good advice there which for me is spoilt by trimming the length of the sleepers so they butt join the sleeper opposite rather than interlace them as in prototype practice. From a company that specialises in track quite surprising !!

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Thanks both - interesting link. Predominantly I'll be using Gibson and Markits wheels (preference is for Markits but they don't make it easy to get them!) - so according to that link, 14.6mm and 14.5mm respectively.

 

Thanks again :)

 

edit : missed the 0.5 off Markits...

Edited by Bucoops
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May's Railway Modeller starts a new series penned by Craig Tiley about using this track system, this first instalment is titled 'Cutting, joining and laying' and next month's will address wiring options including equipping the points with twin solenoid motors and auxiliary frog switching.

 

Peco really do want to ensure the success and wide adoption of this product...

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Looking at the section where he adds the flexi track to the turnout made me smile, he shortened each sleeper which was too close to its adjoining track instead of interlacing them, still I have seen this done at the club on one of the layouts !!

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May's Railway Modeller starts a new series penned by Craig Tiley about using this track system, this first instalment is titled 'Cutting, joining and laying' and next month's will address wiring options including equipping the points with twin solenoid motors and auxiliary frog switching.

 

Peco really do want to ensure the success and wide adoption of this product...

 

What could you possibly be suggesting?????

 

Actually, in fact, on the evidence provided so far, and within the constraints of the information publicly available, to my knowledge, and without prejudice to the facts that will inevitably appear from others, it seems to be extraordinarily well received on this side of the English Channel (other names are available). In each of the French mags which I am forced to purchase, due to the pleading look of my local purveyor of same, there have been a bizarre number of articles exploring how best to use the new range to represent secondary French lines (and one, even more bizarrely, for an Italian line based on the route along the Ligurian coast). Unifrog does not phase them whatsoever, but then they do eat some strange stuff.

 

Methinks Peco knew what the hell they were doing.

Edited by Mike Storey
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Never having experienced Unifrog before, I fitted the usual insulated fishplates at the frog end when relaying 'Carrog Road'. Then I ran a couple of feeds to the toe of the lead turnout and quickly discovered the Unifrog sends current to both sides of the frog no matter which way the point is switched........Great for me as a DCC user. So I removed all the insulated rail joiners. 

 

Metal rail joiners are much better at aligning rail heads, which is especially important with the laterally flimsy bullhead rail section. Apart from one code 83 large radius point, the remainder are Peco bullhead bend to suit the flow, so two are curved and one is a 'Y'. A great track system in my view....

 

post-6680-0-95125100-1525601311_thumb.jpg

 

The running lines are cambered as is the sharply curved siding around the concrete shed. The remainder are flat. Peco points bent to suit the flow....

post-6680-0-18634500-1525601313_thumb.jpg

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What could you possibly be suggesting?????

 

Actually, in fact, on the evidence provided so far, and within the constraints of the information publicly available, to my knowledge, and without prejudice to the facts that will inevitably appear from others, it seems to be extraordinarily well received on this side of the English Channel (other names are available). In each of the French mags which I am forced to purchase, due to the pleading look of my local purveyor of same, there have been a bizarre number of articles exploring how best to use the new range to represent secondary French lines (and one, even more bizarrely, for an Italian line based on the route along the Ligurian coast). Unifrog does not phase them whatsoever, but then they do eat some strange stuff.

 

Methinks Peco knew what the hell they were doing.

Hi Mike

 

Methinks Peco generally know what they're doing, shame about much of the rest of the industry- on both sides of the channel. 

 

Although the track was designed to scale for 00,  Peco lost no time in advertising it as Voie Double Champignon in France.  The sleepers are wide to scale in H0 for most French railways, (though  not apparently those used on parts of the Midi, something to do with maritime pine sleepers) but  French modellers of DC track have long used SMP and similar British 00 bullhead track and just accepted the slightly overwide sleepers and possibly that the chairs are a bit heavy. .

post-6882-0-68900500-1525640686_thumb.jpgpost-6882-0-23665300-1525640660_thumb.jpg

 

I saw these two examples on modules exhibited at Trainsmania in Lille last year;  I'm not sure whether they are SMP or C&L. Peco were there with a stand displaying the new track and the, at that time yet to be released, points but I don't think anyone had used it yet.

Edited by Pacific231G
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This morning I received an email from the publishers of Loco Revue, promoting various products. It included this with pics of flextrack and points : 

 

"Ces nouveautés Peco vont vous permettre de reproduire les voies à double champignon très répandue en Angleterre et en France en particulier sur les anciennes Régions Ouest et Sud-Ouest SNCF."

 

As others have said, it has hit the mark here. 

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"Ces nouveautés Peco vont vous permettre de reproduire les voies à double champignon très répandue en Angleterre et en France en particulier sur les anciennes Régions Ouest et Sud-Ouest SNCF."

 

"Double mushroom track" I like that...

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What could you possibly be suggesting?????

 

Actually, in fact, on the evidence provided so far, and within the constraints of the information publicly available, to my knowledge, and without prejudice to the facts that will inevitably appear from others, it seems to be extraordinarily well received on this side of the English Channel (other names are available). In each of the French mags which I am forced to purchase, due to the pleading look of my local purveyor of same, there have been a bizarre number of articles exploring how best to use the new range to represent secondary French lines (and one, even more bizarrely, for an Italian line based on the route along the Ligurian coast). Unifrog does not phase them whatsoever, but then they do eat some strange stuff.

 

Methinks Peco knew what the hell they were doing.

 

Indeed they did.  And regrettably having received an 'SNCF in the 1960s' album for Christmas there are some terribly attractive views in it of secondary lines with double champignon rail and mightily impressive steam engines on short freight trains.  I really must stop reading books!

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"Double mushroom track" I like that...

Always ready to rise to a challenge I searched my usually reliable (and at 2300+ pages, comprehensive) Collins Robert French Dictionary but found no reference to a rail meaning / usage for champignon. TBH first time it's failed me.

Prof W came up with this

 

post-26975-0-83647100-1525691271.jpg

 

 

Colin

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Where was this rail section devised I wonder? Tete de Bouef would work as a descriptor. What do the Germans call it, Ochsenkopf, Doppelpilz, or yet something else?

 

The UIC Lexicon is your guide. - Item 8559 'rail à double champignon'

 

German - doppelkopfschiene;  English - bull-headed rail; Italian - rotaia a doppio fungo; Spanish - carril (or 'riel') de doble cabeza (or 'de doble hongo'); Dutch -  dubbelkopspoorstaaf

 

So apart from the Spanish also having another word all the southern European languages, viz  French, Italian, and Spanish seem fixated on a comparison with mushrooms while the more northerly languages use a word pertaining to head.

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...all the southern European languages, viz  French, Italian, and Spanish seem fixated on a comparison with mushrooms while the more northerly languages use a word pertaining to head.[/i]

. And the modern image advocates focus on the bottom... ?
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The UIC Lexicon is your guide. - Item 8559 'rail à double champignon'

 

German - doppelkopfschiene;  English - bull-headed rail; Italian - rotaia a doppio fungo; Spanish - carril (or 'riel') de doble cabeza (or 'de doble hongo'); Dutch -  dubbelkopspoorstaaf

 

So apart from the Spanish also having another word all the southern European languages, viz  French, Italian, and Spanish seem fixated on a comparison with mushrooms while the more northerly languages use a word pertaining to head.

 

Guess whose food is better...... :nyam:

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