I have often wondered what good these do? Yet they are present on all turnouts. If a wheel jumps the track it would still derail the train and cause damage. I can understand the logic on trestles as it may keep the train in-line rather than over the side.
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I have often wondered what good these do? Yet they are present on all turnouts. If a wheel jumps the track it would still derail the train and cause damage. I can understand the logic on trestles as it may keep the train in-line rather than over the side.
They do a LOT of good. The guardrails opposite the frog gently "tug" the wheel over to the proper direction on the frog. Not the best description but....this video offers a decent look. Watch your O gauge trains going through a curved switch. You can see the wheels pulled to the guardrail when hitting the frog.
Someone else can provide a more detailed and better description. Somethings are a little easier said than typed!
"I have often wondered what good these do? Yet they are present on all turnouts."
They keep the wheel against the outside rail so it is less likely to hit the point of the frog and take the wrong route. Usually a truck will work thru the frog just fine without guard rails but if it is turning toward the frog point it might "pick the point" and go the wrong way. A guard rail acts as insurance against that by keeping the truck straight and aligned with the correct route thru the frog. Some frogs are self guarding and have a small raised edge to nudge wayward wheels back in alignment thus they don't need guard rails. .DaveB
Usually when I have a series of derailments at a switch it is because the guardrail has snapped off. That's what I get for saving money by buying old Gargraves swiches on ebay!
Nathan
Interesting. Well what about the new "frogless" switches...where the frog sets in a flush position.
That is a "spring frog". When going through the turnout leg, the guard rail holds the wheel over and the flange forces the frog to open. You can see these in a yard or on the mainline. On these, you will only see the "spring" side toward the diverging route or slow side, not the high speed side. They do make the ride on the mainline side much smoother.
Then you have the "Self Guarding" frog. The lips on the outer edges of the frog are the "guard rails". They keep the wheel in its proper place as it goes through the frog as there is no guard rail on the outer rails. You will only see these in places such as yards where the speed is always slow.
One time we ran over an old air hose laying in the frog of a mainline switch. It either fell off, or somebody laid there on purpose. The glad hand and the threaded end gave us a pretty good bounce. The guard rail kept eveything on the intended path, instead of letting the lead wheel flange roll up onto the top of the frog, and out onto the ballast.
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