Junction Advice with Peco code 100 Streamline

[BournehamRob]

Working on getting my first layout started and while i've been designing it Anyrail I have a small gap in the junction to my storage yard. Laying the track out on the baseboards shows this gap to be about 8mm. Is it sensible to keep the layout below and try and cut and fit in 2 8mm lengths of rail or do I complicate things slighty by changing the right point, labeled 1 forr a single slip and introdruce a right hand point connected to point 6. First diagram is currrent design with 8mm gap, see circled in red. Second Diagram is proposed alteration. This area of the layout is off scene so any worries about junction not being prototypical can be thrown out the window.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by BournehamRob

[RobinofLoxley]

Off scene or not the second diagram is better because the first diagram has a reverse curve going through 4-5-1.

 

Just to be safe, its a quirk of anyrail that while all the track joins look to be in line where they show up as having a zigzag through the join it suggests everything is not in line, but in practice all you need to do is just click on each track element to 'wiggle' it and all the zigzags should be replaced with white circles. With the chosen lower layout everything should fit.

 

If you needed to use the upper drawing for some reason then yes, you have to cut short pieces of rail and solder them into the fishplate of the crossover. Reducing the fishplate length may also be required.

[Suzie]

10 hours ago, RobinofLoxley said:

...If you needed to use the upper drawing for some reason then yes, you have to cut short pieces of rail and solder them into the fishplate of the crossover. Reducing the fishplate length may also be required.

I think I might acheive similar by cutting 8mm off of point 1

[RobinofLoxley]

6 minutes ago, Suzie said:

I think I might acheive similar by cutting 8mm off of point 1

You would, but you are cutting close to the tie bar and my experience trying that, admittedly without high quality tools, was not good. A related option is to have a shorter turnout in that position and again, solder short cut pieces to either element to close the gap.

[DCB]

5 hours ago, Suzie said:

I think I might acheive similar by cutting 8mm off of point 1

So would I.  Just be careful cutting the rail.   I use end cutters and then carefully file the rail ends square,this does not twist the rail in the rail chairs like using a disc cutter does.     Short pieces of rail never stay flat in my experience,  Is point 1 a large radius?  If so try a medium.

[BournehamRob]

Thank you for the replies. I've decided to go with diagram 2. I hadn't thought about the reverse curves that Robin pointed out and that swung the balance in it's favour. I did consider cutting off 8mm from point 1 as suggested by Suzie but I discounted that due to it only leaving 2 functional sleepers before the tie bar I felt it was best avoided. The 3rd sleeper closest to the end of the rail after the cut would have had the chairs cut away to allow for the fish plates to slide into place.

[Dungrange]

2 hours ago, BournehamRob said:

I did consider cutting off 8mm from point 1 as suggested by Suzie but I discounted that due to it only leaving 2 functional sleepers before the tie bar I felt it was best avoided. The 3rd sleeper closest to the end of the rail after the cut would have had the chairs cut away to allow for the fish plates to slide into place.

 

Of course you wouldn't need to take all of the 9 mm* off of Point 1.  Half could come off the double slip, so you'd only be taking one sleeper off of each. I'd see that as preferable to inserting an 8mm length of track.  However, if you're happy with diagram 2 (which I prefer myself), then that's all that matters - it just looks like you need to amend your baseboards to accommodate the extra trackwork.

 

*According to the Peco website the large radius turnout has a length of 258 mm, whereas the double slip is 249 mm - the difference between these should therefore be 9mm.

[5BarVT]

On 02/09/2023 at 19:01, Dungrange said:

*According to the Peco website the large radius turnout has a length of 258 mm, whereas the double slip is 249 mm - the difference between these should therefore be 9mm.

But are those measured in the same way?  The large radius length will be along the straight rails, the double slip might be symmetrically down the middle of the unit rather than the rail length one way through the slip on straight.

Though that would make the difference even more and thus further away from the 8mm mentioned previously.

Paul.