bachmann crossover

[arthur0109]

can i accomplish the function of the crossover($45) with 2 rh/lh turnouts ($25.)? also can a turnout be entered from either of the 3 portals? also any significant problems mixing steel track with ns track?  thanks

[jonathan]

Arthur,

I use two turnouts as a crossover, no problem.  Recommend you use larger turnouts for smooth transition from one track to another; like a #6 turnout.  Have not purchased a ready-made crossover.  Others will chime in on that.  From recent posts, the ready-made crossover may be more trouble than it's worth. 

Not clear on the portal question.

I have mixed steel track with nickel silver track.  Be aware the steel track is quick to oxidize and requires more frequent cleaning than NS.  You'll notice the difference when your loco drives onto the steel track and the loco slows down until it reaches more NS track.  Means it's time to clean the steel track again.  Also, it take a little longer to solder to the steel track (my experience).  There's a greater potential to melt the ties.  Opinion only

Regards,

Jonathan

[arthur0109]

jonathan     thanks for the answer. for the switch question i'm referring to the straight section has a right and left end with the turnout as the third end. my question is can i enter the switch thru either of these 3 ends?    your answer to the crossover question seems to say that i can enter a switch thru either of the three ends.  thanks again.

[Jerrys HO]

arthur,
If I understand you right the answer is yes your train can enter from any route you desire to place your turnout.
I use Bachmanns crossover's and found them to work excellent as they are designed as #6's. I did not pay $45 for mine. If you search e-bay and not in a hurry you can save $$$$. I paid 30.00 each and 1 of them was DCC control which I prefer using the switch controller rather than my command station. The non-dcc come's with 2 switches which I wired together in to one switch so when I flip the switch both sides move as one. Just can not figure why they package two switches, who would just throw one.
Jerry

[Jim Banner]

You can enter a turnout from any of the three "arms."  

If you use two right hand turnouts or two left hand turnouts as a crossover, then use at least #6 turnouts, even if you use standard  turnouts elsewhere.  However, if you use one left and one right hand turnout as a crossover, then you can use standard turnouts in the crossover assuming standard turnouts will work with your trains.  The problem is  S-curves which many cars do not like.  If the curves are too sharp going from left hand curve to right hand curve or vise versa, the cars may derail going forward and will almost certainly derail backing up.  By using a left hand plus a right hand turnout to make up a crossover, you can avoid S-curves completely.

Jim

[jonathan]

Jim,

Please forgive my ignorance.  I have been racking my brain trying to imagine and/or draw a crossover using a left and right turnout.  Can you, or someone, please explain or show a quicky diagram?

Thanks a million

Jonathan

[Jim Banner]

jonathan,
Before you over rack your brain and damage it, have a look at these photos.  They are not E-Z Track because my E-Z Track and I are at opposite sides of the city at the moment.  So I used some old Atlas sectional track and snap switches.  In the first photo, the crossover is located in the corner of a table.  I like doing this because on a 4 x 8 footer, it leaves some straight track for turnouts for industrial spurs.  Otherwise, the long sides get mostly taken up by the crossovers.  The section of track shown in red is the 18" radius 1/3 curve (10^o of 18R if you prefer) that adds to the 2/3 curve in the turnout below and right of it to make a full 30^o curve.  On old E-Z Track turnouts, this was a separate piece of track sharing a base with the turnout; on the newer ones, it is built in with no joint.  What matters is that both of these Snap Switches have the 1/3 curve added to make them the same size as a standard E-Z Track turnout.

Note that the two turnouts, one a left hand and the other a right hand, are close together.  This leaves some space between the two mainlines to one side of the crossover but not the other.




In the second photo, I have moved the two turnouts farther apart.  This leaves some space between the two mainlines both before and after the crossover.  One of these spaces has a siding between the two mainlines.  I was going to show a similar siding in the other space but I ran out of right hand turnouts.  It is also possible to put a siding in the wide space in the first photo.




If a crossover like this is used in one corner of a table and a mirror image one is used cater corner across the table from it, then the track pieces work out pretty well.  At worst, you would have to cut two pieces of straight track which is pretty easy.  With two crossovers at diagonally opposite corners, you could run that siding across one end and down one side of the table, giving room to park two or three trains or one really long one.  I think this would be a good start on a track plan for someone with half a dozen locomotives and forty or fifty cars but not much room for a layout.

By the way, the corners in the photos really are 90^o - they look less than a right angle because I took the photos at a bit of an angle, not straight down.  But I think the photos still give the idea.  Perhaps the most important thing they show is that both the crossover and the siding have no, nada, none S-curves in them.  Without S-cuves, standard or Snap switches can be used as crossovers if the equipment being run will take 18" radius curves. 

Jim

[jonathan]

Thanks, Jim!

I get it now.  I couldn't get out of the box of using the divergent route for crossing over.  That does look handy for small to medium layouts.

Regards,

Jonathan