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[union pacific 844]

how do you set up a wye to turn engines around like 4-8-4s

[sd24b]

how do you set up a wye to turn engines around like 4-8-4s

do you access to a library?  it would be a little easier than trying  to explain.  wyes can b formed by 2 regular turnouts and one wye turnout (easiest) or 3 wyes ( also easy).  Wyes take up space

[union pacific 844]

what is easier  a turn table or wye?

[Doneldon]

844-

There are two meanings of "wye." One is a turnout configured so that both diverging legs diverge as opposed to a conventional turnout which has one straight (through) track and one diverging track. The other meaning is a setup with three turnouts which allows an operator to turn anything from a locomotive to a whole train, depending on how much track is used.

You need three turnouts to build a wye. Wye turnouts work in the least space but any turnouts will work. You arrange the three turnouts so their single tracks are pointing away from a center point, connect the two inner facing legs to one another in a rough triangle shape and then add as much track as you need on the three legs which are sticking out. You'll only need 12"-18" if you just want to turn a locomotive but you'll need several feet if you plan to turn whole trains at one time. Be aware that even the smallest wye will use A LOT of space on your railroad.

Wyes to turn locos or trains as a part of normal operation. They are frequently found as part of a yard throat or, especially, approach tracks for a large terminal. All of the classic single-ended passenger stations have wyes so that trains can be either backed in or easily turned around for outgoing flow after entering the terminal front end first.

Do note that a wye configuration creates an electrical conflict the same as a reverse loop so you need to wire accordingly, or use a reverser if you're running DCC.

                                      -- D

[union pacific 844]

ok i have a 4x8 layout my bigset engines right now are 4-8-4s but plan to get a 4-8-8-4 and a 4-6-6-4 i just don't want to pick them up all the
time to turn them around im afraid of dropping one or braking off details  

[jward]

how much room a wye takes up is determined by the radius of the curves used. rhey take up more room than a turntable, expecially with the wider radii you will have to use. remember the tail track on the wye has to be long enough to hold your longest engine.

as for your big boy, any turntable large ehough to hold it is going to be expensive, and not a drop in project like an atlas or bachmann turntable. a wye can be built from components you should already be familiar with, and thus both easier and cheaper to set up. but on a 4x8 you really don't have alot of room to work with. fitting in a wye with reasonable radius may require you to build an extension.

[Doneldon]

844-

We all like those huge engines but a Big Boy, or almost any articulated locomotive, is going to look a little bit ridiculous on 4x8. But if you want to run them, I strongly urge you to forego the expensive mega-turntable you'd need for such long engines and also to skip the space-ravenous wye. You can turn locos by using figure-eight cut-offs inside of a loop to change locomotive direction without a tt or a wye. There is a cost, however: The middle of your layout will be a tough place to put in much more than short sidings for switching, assuming you want to do that. If you just want to be able to run trains and reverse directions, use a figure-eight nested within a loop. You'll need four turnouts and a crossing, plus whatever straight and curved track you need to connect them. That, of course, will be determined by the size of your loop, crossing angle and so on.

                                                                 -- D

[union pacific 844]

i just keep doing cents i use ez track  i have a turn out with straight track i drive on it the  straight track then unhook it form the  turn out and spin the straight track with the engine on it then recount it and drive the engine off

[Joe Satnik]

Note lazy Susan "half" turntable, lower right.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe

[union pacific 844]

how a half a turn table going to work?

[jward]

same as a re3gular one. it's actually a little more than half a turntable, and the pivot point is near the edge of the table. the bridge will swing out over the edge when it is being turned.

[RAM]

I am with Don on this.  With a 4 by 8 layout I would go with 2-8-0s , 2-6-0 4-6-0s and 0-6-0s.  A 2-8-0 with a 5 car train looks far better than a 10 car train and a bigboy.  But it is your layout and you can do a you like.

[union pacific 844]

this is my first layout  and i will have a bigger layout in the future i buy the bigger engines and stuff now so when i do build a  bigger layout i have the stuff for it make cents?

[rogertra]

What is a turning Wye? 

Google would have told you that but the easy answer is to think of the UK equivalent of a "Wye" where they use the much more accurate description of turning "Triangle".  After all, the North American "Wye" is nothing like a "Wye" but is, in fact, a triangle.  But of course, we couldn't possibly use a UK term so we invented one of our own.  :-)


It's rather like the French keep on creating their own technical terms because they couldn't possible adopt the English ones.  :-)