Greetings,
This is a "before I purchase" question.
Will an 0-72 half turn section of Gargraves Track turn back to parallel from their 0-100 (#5) turnout?
Many Thanks
Rick.
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No. The Gargraves O-100 turnout is 11 degrees (roughly) while a Gargraves O-72 half curve has a 22.5 degree arc. Of course, you can cut the O-72 curve down to match the turnout. As a practical matter, you'd be better served with a section of flex bent to parallel the straight track off the turnout.
Hello Matt,
We have spoken before, how are you?
This was my thinking with explaining so: A 360 circle of 0-72 requires 16 sections at 22.5 degrees as you pointed out, half of a section should equate to 11.25 degrees. And as you stated the 0-100 turnout is roughly 11 degrees... So shouldn't a half section of 0-72 turn back to within 00.25 degrees of parallel? Which I would think is "close enough"!
Many Thanks,
Rick
FWIW, SCARM says the O72 curve is 19.22" long while RR-Track says 19.23". Using the Snip tool in SCARM, it appears that one needs to cut the curve to 1/3 to get a parallel track. RR-Track lets you Cut track in 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 increments and then lets you further adjust that. It also says 1/3 (or 6.41") will get you a parallel track and results in a 10° arc.
Gargraves shows their O-72 at 45 degrees for each section (8 per circle). As you've seen in my posts, I'm a vehement opponent of "reverse curves", so putting an 11-degree O-72 curve next to the turnout isn't what I'd recommend. Using a flex section, you can minimize the reverse-curve effect by making the return curve as broad as possible with a little straight incorporated into it to achieve the 4" or 4.5" spacing. You can accomplish the same result using a small straight section and a cut-down O-72 curve, however.
Though Gargraves has drastically improved the points on their turnouts, if you haven't purchased the turnouts yet, I'd recommend paying the extra money for Ross 11-degree turnouts which are straight past the frog and operate very smoothly. You'll achieve the desired result with cleaner operation.
AGHRMatt posted:Gargraves shows their O-72 at 45 degrees for each section (8 per circle).
When I look at the GarGraves site, I see plastic ties at 8 sections, but I also see wood ties at 12 sections.
Thank You Gents,
Matt,
I have new Gargraves in hand so I will make do.
Dave.
I too see (now that I took time to research) that Gargraves has 8 and 12 pieces per circle. I was thinking Lionel.
Thanks again gentlemen.
Rick.
Note the almost straight diverge on both these switches. Ross left, Gargraves Right. Numbered switches are different from curved switches. The higher the number switch the smaller the diverge angle. A #8, (considered a high speed switch), has a smaller diverge angle than a #4.
