Gauntlet tracks & scale

RJR posted:

The Classic Trains photo newsletter just out has a picture of a Milwaukee Road scale with bypass track.  This scale on the Milwaukee Road has a bypass track to allow locomotives to avoid the scale track itself. The scale house is a simple, small wood structure."   My question is, if the locomotive or loco&tender is on a gantlet to avoid the scale, but the cars go over the scale, why does not the major coupler misalignment cause derailing or other issues?

Because it is not that far out of alignment. Besides, when weighing a train, the turnouts are aligned so the whole train does indeed go over the scale, but they really don't bother to weigh the locomotive (steam or diesel).

Note is was Kalmbach, not me, who said the loco bypassed the scale.

RJR posted:

Note is was Kalmbach, not me, who said the loco bypassed the scale.

Well, having been involved on a few "weighing moves", sounds  like Kalmbach missed it. Think about that whole setup for a minute, having the locomotive "bypass" the scale track would require someone throwing the turnout UNDER THE TRAIN, which could be a receipe for disaster. The reason for the "bypass" around the actual scale is so normal movements do not constantly "go over the scale". 

Also, for what it's worth, such a track layout is NOT actually a "gantlet track", which does not have switch points.

The word is "gauntlet" not "gantlet" and Hot Water has it right. The scale bypass was not for the locomotive to bypass the scale. It was to prevent every day switching movements on the track from wearing out the scale mechanism.

Yes, Kalmbach missed it...again.

Interesting on "gantlet" vs "gauntlet." I was living in Gary, Ind., at the time of the 1993 head-on between two passenger trains on the South Shore (NICTD) on a gauntlet bridge. At the time, as I recall, the spelling AP settled on was "gantlet." Just checked a dictionary, which says "gantlet" is a variant of "gauntlet," though the dictionary doesn't give the railroad meaning as one of the definitions.

While commuting to work, happened to be riding the first revenue train that used the two-track bridge that replaced the gauntlet. There was applause, as I recall.

David