06-08-2010, 08:24 PM
WELL.
I sometimes think that I am making a mistake by going with Atlas turn-outs instead of the better but more expensive turn-outs. The other day, I started the trackwork, and put down a few of them, and after the glue dried, I noticed the obvious curve in one of them, in an obvious place where a viewer can obviously see the bend in the turn-out.
For those who don't know of the fabled curve, here is a pic. Notice the ends of the turn-out are on the level, but the middle is not even touching it. There is quite a curve there! I think it is because the rails which diverge are not actually pre-bent to shape at the factory. They are held curved by the force of the ties, and the rail has enough force to bend the straight rail into an opposite curve.
This can all be fixed when the turn-out is put down, but you have to be aware of it and pin the track down so the straight rail is straight. Although I knew about the curve from previous experience, I forgot about it and didn't compensate. The trackwork was in a section where the "mainline" was angling out from the back of the shelf to the front. There was a 24" piece of straight, then a left hand turn-out where the main also turned left past the turn-out. When viewing down the main - first, the 24" was straight, but then the turn-out curved right (and was supposed to be straight) and then the main curved back left. It looked pretty bad :cry: - it was a dad-gummed "s" curve!
Anyway, I wetted down the glue, waited awhile, and then used a knife to seperate the turn-out from the glue. I rinsed it off and dried it with a hair drier, then scraped the glue off the cork. I'll let the cork dry and sand the rest of the glue off, then try again.
Not all the atlas turn-outs are as bad as the one in the photo, and it is about the worst one I have seen. I wonder if they know of the issue?
I sometimes think that I am making a mistake by going with Atlas turn-outs instead of the better but more expensive turn-outs. The other day, I started the trackwork, and put down a few of them, and after the glue dried, I noticed the obvious curve in one of them, in an obvious place where a viewer can obviously see the bend in the turn-out.
For those who don't know of the fabled curve, here is a pic. Notice the ends of the turn-out are on the level, but the middle is not even touching it. There is quite a curve there! I think it is because the rails which diverge are not actually pre-bent to shape at the factory. They are held curved by the force of the ties, and the rail has enough force to bend the straight rail into an opposite curve.
This can all be fixed when the turn-out is put down, but you have to be aware of it and pin the track down so the straight rail is straight. Although I knew about the curve from previous experience, I forgot about it and didn't compensate. The trackwork was in a section where the "mainline" was angling out from the back of the shelf to the front. There was a 24" piece of straight, then a left hand turn-out where the main also turned left past the turn-out. When viewing down the main - first, the 24" was straight, but then the turn-out curved right (and was supposed to be straight) and then the main curved back left. It looked pretty bad :cry: - it was a dad-gummed "s" curve!
Anyway, I wetted down the glue, waited awhile, and then used a knife to seperate the turn-out from the glue. I rinsed it off and dried it with a hair drier, then scraped the glue off the cork. I'll let the cork dry and sand the rest of the glue off, then try again.
Not all the atlas turn-outs are as bad as the one in the photo, and it is about the worst one I have seen. I wonder if they know of the issue?
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times