Peco 00 Bullhead turnouts. Can you curve them?

[dasatcopthorne]

Hope people don't mind me asking here but I feel that there are likely more readers here with experience of this.

 

I already have a layout using the Peco stuff and am thinking of extending. Two turnouts on the extension need to form a crossover on an S bend.

 

I have considered British Finescale be not sure how it compares in height with Peco.

 

Any help much appreciated.

 

Dave.

Edited July 12, 2023 by martin_wynne
typo in title

[Nick C]

On 22/06/2023 at 17:42, dasatcopthorne said:

I have considered British Finescale be not sure how it compares in height with Peco.

A pretty good match in my experience - I've used BF pointwork with Peco bullhead plain track on my current layout.

[Wheatley]

Can you curve them ? Not really. The stock rails have a bit machined out to take the switch rail tips, and they start to move out of alignment quite quickly if you start bending them. You might get away with making them slightly less straight but not to the extent that they'll replace a curved point. 

 

  

[Buhar]

@LNER4479 is the go-to fella on this matter. Points and slips have been gloriously mangled for Grantham and no doubt more are having their guarantees invalidated on Hills of the North.

 

The pictures have gone, but 

I can't recall if there are newer descriptions than that.

 

Alan 

[Grovenor]

I don't think the Peco bullhead points were available in 2012.

[Buhar]

14 minutes ago, Grovenor said:

I don't think the Peco bullhead points were available in 2012.

Good point (sorry), they weren't.  Also I think those activities were on code 100 too.  Hopefully there's some commonality that will help Dave.  The BF points are certainly amenable to curvature.

 

Alan

[LNER4479]

Thanks for the mention.

 

I most recently posted something about point manipulation earlier this year:

 

 

TBH, I haven't tried (yet) manipulating b/h points but I'm pretty sure that it'll be pretty much the same. The thing about the stock rail is noted but, if you're careful, you can actually slide the whole stock rail back and forth in the chairs to accommodate. The main limitations are the tie-bar becoming off set (illustrated in the linked post) and the risk of dislodging the link wires underneath the frog. Either way - and as stated above - only a relatively slight alteration to the geometry is possible but usually enough to keep the flow of a curve going through the pointwork and avoid the curve-straight-curve syndrome.

 

[simon b]

As said above you can bend them a little to tweak the geometry, but not enough to make a curved point.

 

 

[dasatcopthorne]

Thanks all.

 

I've just received my British Finescale order.

 

Wish me luck?

 

Dave.

[Enterprisingwestern]

10 minutes ago, dasatcopthorne said:

Thanks all.

 

I've just received my British Finescale order.

 

Wish me luck?

 

Dave.

 

 

Mike.

[Nick C]

17 hours ago, dasatcopthorne said:

Thanks all.

 

I've just received my British Finescale order.

 

Wish me luck?

 

Dave.

• Take your time.
• Read the instructions fully beforehand.
• Use Templot to print off a template with the curvature you want (there's instructions on one of the threads for how to set it with the correct geometry, but I've found that just creating a b-7 was enough, as it didn't really matter to me if the sleeper spacing on the template wasn't exactly the same).
• Measure twice, cut once.
• Clean off the cut ends of the rails with a needle file before trying to thread them on.
• Keep the rail offcuts from the first one, use those for the wing/check/other short rails on the next.

I've built about a dozen of them now, I reckon about 30-40 minutes per turnout, maybe double that for the first couple you do or for a slip.

[hayfield]

Dave

 

For some unknown reason track building is the Cinderella of our hobby, something we find hard to get enthusiastic about and perhaps scared of truing things out

 

With British Finescale Wayne has developed a very cleaver system which is both easy to use and requires little in the way of tools. As is the turnouts build a robust straight turnout, but with care can be adapted easily into a curved turnout

 

In the main British Finescale thread Martin Wynn has posted a reply showing which timber spacers should be removed, so before starting to build a curved turnout it will be worth reading it. If you can obtain a plan of the crossover you wish to build, Templot can do this. Finally if you cannot access a plan make a simple card former of the radii you are trying to achieve

 

Good luck

[dasatcopthorne]

2 hours ago, hayfield said:

Dave

 

For some unknown reason track building is the Cinderella of our hobby, something we find hard to get enthusiastic about and perhaps scared of truing things out

 

With British Finescale Wayne has developed a very cleaver system which is both easy to use and requires little in the way of tools. As is the turnouts build a robust straight turnout, but with care can be adapted easily into a curved turnout

 

In the main British Finescale thread Martin Wynn has posted a reply showing which timber spacers should be removed, so before starting to build a curved turnout it will be worth reading it. If you can obtain a plan of the crossover you wish to build, Templot can do this. Finally if you cannot access a plan make a simple card former of the radii you are trying to achieve

 

Good luck

 

Thanks hayfield.

 

Martin has re-posted his method of curving British Finescale turnouts in repose to my request.

 

I shall be taking his advice.

 

Cheers

 

Dave.