Spectrum 2-10-2 derailments

[Atlantic Central]

Atlas #540, 541, 542 & 543 are 18" radius snap switches as I discribed in my first post.

That loco will no run through them.

I suspect #6's or MAYBE Bachmann #5's are likely the smallest turnouts that will work.

Atlas #4 Custom Line turnout are really #4.5, BUT my Spectrum heavy 4-8-2's will not run through those, so I doubt the 2-10-2 will.

Glenn, you are very correct about rigid wheel base vs number of drivers. A small loco like a Russian Decapod has five coupled drivers, but a relatively short rigid wheelbase for so many drivers - a scale 18.67'.

However, the 2-10-2 in question has a scale 21' rigid wheel base. A GS4 has a scale 21.5' rigid wheel base - not much different in this case. Both are way too big for the type of trackwork the OP is trying to use.

Again, my Spectrum 4-8-2H with a scale rigid wheelbase of 18.25' will not run through an Atlas #4 Custom Line - so expecting the 2-10-2, which is very similar in construction, to run through a snap switch is beyond hope.

Sheldon

[bobwrgt]

You have to take into acount that the 2-10-2 has a blind driver (no flanges). The 4-8-2 heavy has no blind drivers.

Bob

[ebtbob]

David,

      When you bought the turnouts,  if they came with 1/3 18in radius curve then they are #4s.  A second point to look at....if the turnout is 9 inches long then it is a #4.  The #6 turnouts from Atlas are 12 inches long.  BTW.....Atlas does not make anything smaller than a #4.

[OldTimer]

Atlas stamps the part number on the bottom of the piece of track. 

[Atlantic Central]

ebtbob,

The snap switches which come with the 1/3 18" radius are not #4's - they measure out to be #3.5 but have a curved frog.

The Custom line #4 is not really a #4 either, it measures out to be a #4.5

John Armstrong covered this in serval of his track planning books many decades ago.

bobwrgt,

That one blind driver is unlikely to compensate for the very sharp nature of the turnouts in question, especially since the loco manufacturer recommends 22" radius as the minimum - we can take that to mean 22" radius through a turnout as well.

Both an 18" radius snap switch or a #4 Custom Line have a subsitution radius that is less than 22".

And Bachmann also recommends 22" as the minimum for the heavy Mountain.

Sheldon

[glennk28]

The mention of John Armstrong in this context, with the snap switch, brings up a story.

I railroaded with John and Ted Stepek back in the mid sixties when the Army had me at Walter Reed Medical Ctr.  He was sharing some of the letters that people who were building layouts from their track planning books had sent to Atlas--we  were assisting him in diagnosing their problems.

One fellow insisted that there was no way that a pparticular track would fit.  It got down to a location that John had specified a "Snap Switch" on one end of a track that diverged and returned.  Turned out that our builder considered the "Snap Switch" inadequate and substituted a #4 Customline.  The change in the frog angle causwed an alignment problem half-way around the layout.  When our hero replaced the Customline with the spercified Snap Switchy, everything fit.  gj

[ebtbob]

Sheldon,

      I realize you are trying to offer the most precise info,  but in all my years on this hobby,  I have never heard an Atlas turnout referred to as a #3.5.   Bottom line,  more than 90% of the hobbyists that I know refer to Atlas switches as #4s,  #6s,  #8s,  etc.   I go back to my comment.  If the turnout is 9 inches long,  it is a "#4"  If it is 12 inches long it is a "#6".    I now respectfully bow out of this whole conversation.

[rookie]

Ebtbob,
         I haven't looked yet but i'm pretty sure that the switches in question are the same length as a straight piece of track which would make them 9" long. Do you feel pretty confident that the 2-10-2 would operate well if i switched, (pardon the pun) to # 6's? thanks, david

By the way, thanks everybody for your input, your answers to my questions on here have become invaluable to me.

[Atlantic Central]

ebtbob,

Atlas product #540/541 - left/right hand remote snap switch, 18" radius - not labeled a #4 by Atlas, comes with 1/3 18" radius and with such is equal to a 18" radius piece of "snap track" and straight portion is 9' long - this turnout has a curved frog - but by North American Railroad practice of unit measure is aprox. a #3.5

Atlas Product #561/562 - left/right hand Custom Line #4 turnout - no switch motor, no 1/3 18" radius piece - not the same as the product listed above - WILL NOT REPLACE A SECTION OF 18" RADIUS - has straight frog at 12.5 degree angle - by North American Railroad practice of unit measure is ACTUALLY a #4.5 - BUT it too is 9" long along the straight portion.

Atlas Product #563/564 - left/right hand Custom Line #6 turnout - no switch motor, no other accessories included - has a straight frog at 9.5 degree angle - by North American Railroad of unit measure is a #6 - measures 12" along straight portion.

You can call the first two items both #4's all day long, that does not make it so or make them interchange with each other - they will not - the "snap switch" is much sharper than the #4 Custom Line turnout and has a curved frog.

But both are STILL too sharp for a Spectrum 2-10-2. The third will work fine for the 2-10-2

Next time you'r in the hobby shop, get a "snap switch", an Atlas #4, and a Walthers #4 and lay them all one on top each other - you will clearly see they are all three different angles - so they can't "all" be number 4's.

The Walthers will be the only true #4, with the "snap switch" being sharper and the Custom Line being more gentle than the Walthers - because it's really a #4.5.

These facts have not changed since I first worked in a hobby shop - 1969.

When it comes to trackwork, precise is very important - it's what keeps our trains on the track - or not in tis case.


Sheldon

[Atlantic Central]

David, are you using flex track? I ask because the #6 turnouts will not "fit in" to sectional track curves.

Yes the 2-10-2 will run fine through #6's, but it alos requires larger curves for good operation, at least 22" radius, and bigger would be better.

Sheldon

[rookie]

Sheldon,
          Yes i am using flex track although not everywhere. I'm using some straight pieces and all are 22 degree radius. I'm not having trouble on curves. thanks, david