Street-running with 3 rail?

well for switch machines, hands down its tortoise if you have the room underneath.

Its easily done by using super streets. I would presume you could also use regular track, just make sure that the street level is slightly below the rail head. 

DZ machines can be undermounted to the bottom of the table, you just need to make your own spring from music wire. 

I'm sending this post to a friend, who will hopefully respond with the pictures you seek.

Malcom, check out this link for some pics of street running. +1 on Tortoise switch machines.

Pete

Brother Love, Do you mean like this?

To have the pick-up roller able to reach the center-rail 100 o/o of the time, I cut a path into the particle-board I had placed atop all of the 3/4" plywood platform of the entire layout and recessed the track - in these photos best seen along the trolley-line - into it. Then, I "paved" up to both outsides of the outer-rails and cut strips of pavement for inside the rails, right up against, but slightly below the top edge of, the center-rail.

FrankM.

Our city has a trolley line running through it. Only the rails are visible. Ties were hidden by the "pavement" as well as wood strips inserted between the rails.

I’ve been wanting to do this for several years now. The remaining window is about 10 years.

I have a few industrial buildings done and many parts in boxes.

Possibly a hi-brid track set-up.

I might apply 3M conductive foil tape that has a sticky backing and comes in several street colors. One day I plan to experiment using it as the center of 2r tack allowing 3r operation without the middle rail.

2R tracks could also be used where a 3r engine would back a string of cars into a non-powered siding without passing a 3r switch.

We shall see?

By no means would I do a street layout with a middle rail, it looks unrealistic.

The rail head top should look flat as well complementing the scene.

Oh, a rainy scene added too!

I used Super Streets. I placed the streets sections on 1/8" Masonite cut under-size to each street section. Then I used 1/4" masonite butted against the assembled street sections for the rest of the paved surface. The joints between the Super Streets and the masonite were filled with wood putty and sanded flush. The whole thing was sprayed with gray primer then washed with black.

Transition from Ross to the Super Streets was accomplished by cutting the one side of a standard Gargraves pin to 3/16 or less then filing to fit inside the Super Street outside rails. The center rail on the Ross track was cut back farther than the outside rails. A Gargraves pin was twisted so that one side was vertical and the other horizontal, the vertical side was soldered to the Super Street center rail connector pin.

Working on a section of street trackage using ScaleTrax and .115 Tempered Hardboard (aka Masonite). ScaleTrax is lower than Atlas, Ross and Gargraves so this should work for those track systems as well. I haven't painted the hardboard yet as I'm deciding between gray (concrete) or black (asphalt). I'm leaning toward the latter. In the photos, nothing is glued down yet as this is under construction.

I opted against street-mounted turnouts as I haven't figured out an aesthetically pleasing way to deal with the turnout points. Unmodified, they leave huge gaps in the pavement because of the clearances required for the point movement.

Thanks everyone! Love the link to the ROSS layout since I am considering their turnouts. Matt, that looks good!

I am about to try a brass strip turned on edge and blackened is a asphalt roadway.

We will see.

Thats actually the FCTT HiRailers layout. Ross is one of our sponsors. FCTT uses Ross turnouts with Gargraves track, another sponsor.

Come to York and see it in person.

Pete