“Frog” in turnout

[billyb]

What is considered the FROG in a turnout.  And why is it called a "frog"?

[Flare]

The frog is the middle section of a turnout where the two inner rails overlap.

Wikipedia says its name comes from part of a horse's hoof that closely resembles the component.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_switch#Frog_(common_crossing)

[bbmiroku]

I always figured it was called a frog so you can say the word that you want to say (when the train derails) in front of children.

"FROOOOOG!!!!!"

[Maletrain]

If it had been named in more recent times, when acronyms were in-vogue, maybe it would have been called a TOAD, for Train On Another Direction.  A doubt very many of the acronym guys ever saw the bottom of a horse's foot.

[Trainman203]

Or "Built For Derailments".😱😂

[Ckrails]

Because that's where our trains "jump" the tracks?

[James in FL]

 Frog = Friggin' Rail Out of Gauge

[Woody Elmore]

There is no overlap in a frog. Basically, two rails meet at an angle. The frog determines the number of a switch - number 6, 8 , etc. They can be fabricated in a shop or cast. New York's Penn Station is undergoing renovation and the job is taking forever because of all the frogs and points that have to be fabricated.

In addition to frogs, rail joiners are called "fishplates."

[RAM]

In rail terminology, a fishplate, splice bar or joint bar is a metal bar that is bolted to the ends of two rails to join them together in a track. The name is derived from fish, a wooden bar with a curved profile used to strengthen a ship's mast.

[bbmiroku]

Fishplates and rail joiners, as far as modelling is concerned are generally two separate things.  Kind of like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.

If you want to be really detailed, you can go ahead and solder on some wire on the side of the rails between track sections and not use the railjoiners.  Those railjoiners would be fishplates.  But if you go into a hobby shop and ask for fishplates, you may get some weird looks and directions to an aquarium supply store.

[RAM]

You really can buy ho fishplates.  I don't know if you glue them to the rails or what.  They are for people have a lot of money and time.

[bbmiroku]

Yuge amounts of time.  I knew they made them for O and up, but I didn't know they made them for HO.  It would probably be cheaper to buy wire, cut it, flatten it, and glue it.  Then put 'rivet' heads on the ends.

[Maletrain]

They even make fishplates for N scale.  But, they can't be sale thickness. So, putting them on the insides of the rails may cause derailments.  (Putting them anywhere may cause mental issues in this scale.)

[Trainman203]

Fish plates join prototype rail sections together with bolts.  They used to be every 39'.  Welded rail has done away with a lot of them.  HO fish plates are for people who want extreme realism, especially those who go beyond oversized code 100 rail in favor of better sized code 83, 70, or even 55.  You don't put them everywhere, just where they really show.

Trivia question- why were historic railroad rail sections made in 39' lengths?

[Len]

Trivia question- why were historic railroad rail sections made in 39' lengths?

Ummmm...So they'd fit on/in a 40' flatcar or gondola.

Len