Small lengths of track

[bordercollie]

Hi

I have two queries in relation to the portion of track in the attachment.

Would the small section of track between the single slip and the RN turnout have been normal practise. It is over 15' long. However, would the track makers have tried to close the gap so that the switch end of the turnout butted on to the exit of the slip so as to eliminate the small length of pain track?

Also would the spacing of the end sleepers of track less than a full panel have been arranged so as to maintain the normal spacing of sleepers at each end. In my case 2'1 7/8" at the ends as against 2'6 1/2" for the rest of the panel?

Regards
Graham

 

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Graham,

There is no problem with a 15ft length of plain track, if that is what is needed to create the required track alignments. The end couple of sleepers at each end will match the end spacing for normal track panels, within an inch or so. The sleepers in between will then be spaced out to fit.

But shorter rails are undesirable in main running lines, so if they can be eliminated by moving a turnout that would be done. But often it's not possible because of other factors.

If it is very short, say less than 6ft or so, it's likely that the switch would be replaced with a longer one, or else maybe fitted with over-length stock rails. For example a 12ft switch might be replaced with a 16ft switch. There are no hard and fast rules because every site is different. The designer is expected to create a design suitable for the type of traffic, while keeping an eye on cost and maintenance issues. Special-order non-standard components are more expensive and difficult when needing to be replaced at short notice. Against that short rails with multiple joints will need more frequent maintenance attention.

Sometimes switch positioning is constrained by other factors, such as the location of rodding runs, or underline bridges and culverts.

For yards and sidings, and in low-traffic or low-speed locations such as a quiet country branch line, almost anything goes and often serviceable second-hand material is used.

In cramped conditions such as the throat of an inner-city terminus, traffic requirements always take priority. So if a connection into a given platform is essential and makes a short rail unavoidable, so be it.

When it comes to a model design, we often have to break a few rules simply to get the required track layout into the available space. If modelling an actual location to exact scale, there is no substitute for looking at photographs. If modelling in a non-exact gauge, such as 00 or EM, turnout lengths will be shorter and recreating a prototype plan exactly to scale is impossible.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[bordercollie]

Martin

Thanks for info.
Graham