I am designing a new plan using MTH Real Trax with O42/O54 curves. What switches should I use, the O31, O42 or O54?. I want to run parallel tracks.
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They all create parallel tracks, so it's only a matter of what will fit in your space, how tight of curves you want to use and what amount of center-to-center track clearance you want. I think most of us would recommend using O72 switches because the transition isn't as tight as the others. However, if your choices are limited to O31, O42 and O54, then the obvious choice is O54.
And here's a quick example of the difference in minimum footprint difference between O54 (blue) and O72 (yellow).
And then by locating part of the crossover on the curve, you can minimize the effects of the tighter switches to make the transitions smoother.
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You can increase the usefulness of a crossover (space permitting) by doing the following.
You gain a storage track for the cost of a few straight tracks,
Jan
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But then you can’t get back out without backing up if you are running counterclockwise or back in if you are running clockwise.
Thank you for the helpful tips.
