Ross vs. Gargraves curved sections... same radii?

In my experience the gargrave curves are poorly formed and may not be the radius advertised.  So I junked all my gargrave curved section and went with Ross. Now this was 15 years ago and gargrave  may be better.  I don’t know

SUPERWARP, thanks for the rapid response.  I hope to get a few more responses before I commit to a purchase.

A circle is a circle, 054 or 072, or 088; the quality in my opinion is Ross, and here are pictures of Ross custom curves. Gargraves is also good, I think Ross just does a really nice job. Another thought, Ross has nice track clips to hold their track to the table. Ross is hollow rail, lays flat on wood ties. Happy Railroading.

That Ross looks like GarGraves, but more open along the web & foot. The Ross(switches) last used in the 70s had a brownish stain vs black.  

  A circle is NOT always the same between MFGs.  Some measure outer diameter of rails, some used the ties O.D. footprint, some used center rail. They also used Diameter or Radius (usually easy to notice until your over about 64")   

That said, most "SCALE" track is measured to the center rail.

I'll get to the point, should have I suppose.  I have mostly all Ross track and switches on my outer main lines (some Gargraves flex).  I need 8 O-54 curved track to finish a major section.  My LHS only has Gargraves.  They look similar enough to me.  But dimensionally will the radius be the same (can always cut length to fit)... some manufactures measure from different rails (inner, middle, outer) so only worried about the radius.  Don't want to pay/wait for shipping.  Simple question I would think/hope. 

So, take a real close look at my picture, the Ross is on real wood ties, not Plastic, it fits flat on the tie, does not go through the tie. For what it’s worth, I used Atlas O track, 072-081-091-099, Ross 096-0108-0120. I really like Ross turnouts best, but, over the years Atlas O has much improved their turnouts.  My process was, track on 1/4 cork roadbed on top of Homesote, on 5/8 plywood...Then Fully ballasted with scenic express ballast.   

I really think they will match in diameter. You can mix and match both brands. 

Thanks Larry!

I use both. Ross is absolute. Gargraves is good but always needs tweaking. The bonding on the ties will break loose where as Ross is spiked and rigid. I’m happy with both.

Ross doesn't have that metal skirt that comes down below the ties looks better than Gargraves

They are not the same, here's Gargraves data page:

http://www.gargraves.com/files...onal%20specs-web.pdf

054 curved track with wooden ties is 52.75" center-center

Also, Ross track uses spikes, Gargraves rail sits in a groove cut in the ties.

Kirk R posted:

Getting towards the end of the track layout project but need some O-54 curves.  I was wondering if anyone can tell me if there is any difference between Ross and Gargraves O-54 sectional curves in terms of radius?  The lengths look different, but they can be cut to size easily enough.  I'm mostly worried about the radius of curve.  Are these interchangeable?  

Kirk R.

Quick answer to your question without any brand bias, IIRC the GarGraves 054 tracks come in two different radius depending upon wood (52.75" ctr. to ctr.) or plastic (53.5" ctr. to ctr.) ties. Not sure what the actual ctr. to ctr. of Ross 054 is. In any case if you cut the tracks you would no longer have a smooth circular curve as some of the arc would be missing.

Ross track clips? Could not find them listed on their website.

I was blind   but now I see 

I recall the spikes now.... and driving about a thousand or two of them into GG to match better too.  I still have a few fists full in the basement. I forgot about skipping over the Ross. (pilot holes to prevent tie splits on the GG are a good idea if you drive spikes)

Thanks for the "kick in the memories"

How Many track clips do you need, I have some extras.

leapinlarry posted:

How Many track clips do you need, I have some extras.

I wanted to see what they looked like and if they would work in place of the missing track clips for the K-Line trestle set. Here is what the K-Line ones look like. They fasten the track to the trestles with a small machine screw. The nut is inside the surface of the trestle. There are 26 trestles and each uses two brackets. I’m missing 10 brackets and screws. The screws I can get but not the brackets.

Here's what Gargraves looks like:

By the way Ross gets their rail from Gargraves.

Doug