Will 2-rail O scale equipment successfully operate through Gargraves switches?
Original Post
I've had mixed experience with Gargraves turnouts even with hi-rail equipment. Part of the issue using scale-wheeled equipment through a hi-rail turnout is the precision of the frog. Numbered/straight frogs (#4, #5/11-degree) seem to work best in both pulled and pushed mode (reasonable speeds on the latter), but curve-cut frogs for curve-replacement turnouts (O-72, etc.) can be problematic in some cases. The problem I had with Gargraves turnouts was some time back when they were using stamped steel points and frogs that were made from bent rails. My understanding is they've replaced the points with castings, but I'm not sure about the frog. Their 100" radius curve has a broad enough curve in the frog that it could theoretically support scale-wheeled equipment, but I don't have one to run tests on.
Hope this helps some.
