Hi guys,
Thanks for the positive feedback. It's appreciated.
rex desilets posted:For MTH's next venture I recommend #5 switches
Rex, as Matt mentioned, the ScaleTrax #4 is actually a #5. It's frog angle is 11.25 degrees.
For those not familiar with numbered turnouts, they are defined by the angle at which the diverging route departs the frog in a straight line, rather than a continuous curve. The number comes from a ratio of the length of the sides of a right triangle that equates to that angle. Here are the defining triangles for #4, #5, #6, and #8 turnouts.
You'll notice a #5 has a frog angle of 11.3˚. A ScaleTrax "#4" has a frog angle just a bit smaller at 11.25˚, the same as a "Ross Regular" or Gargraves "O-100". A ScaleTrax #6, at only 9˚ is actually slightly shallower than a defining #6 triangle. If we superimpose a #5 triangle over a ScaleTrax #4 and a #6 triangle over a ScaleTrax #6 you can see how close they are.
Rich Battista posted:Dave,
Great review! And good news on the improvements. I've had some Lionel engines arc between the frog and the points and had to either change to MTH rollers or grind the ends down on the Lionel rollers. Moving the pivot point forward will fix that problem for good. Man, I'm getting the itch to build a new layout!
Rich
Rich, do you remember which Lionel engines you had to modify? It's always nice to know how to eliminate trouble before the sparks start flying.
I hope you do start building again! Can't let a great talent go to waist.
