Toe-to-toe turnouts

[newport_rod]

I'm planning the fiddle yard for our new club layout (info here <http://www.newportmrs.com/littlemilljunction.htm>) and the design calls for a number of pairs of turnouts to be laid toe-to-toe (i.e. with two sets of switches close to each other). On our earlier layout (info here <http://www.newportmrs.com/bellevuerip.htm>) we failed to get reliable running over a section of track with this configuration. Over the years the track in this area had been fettled a number of times and the wooden timbers had become charred reducing the strength of the trackwork and thus our abilities to fettle the trackwork somewhat.

Is this a common problem (in which case we might choose to put a short section of plain track between in between the two points) or were we just unlucky the last time around?

[Russ Elliott]

I would suggest putting at least a loco's coupled wheelbase length between adjacent toes for the reasons explored here.

[newport_rod]

Thanks Russ, a couple of hours work on Templot and we’ve now got a 9F’s fixed wheelbase between all the adjacent toes.