Well, as we come off the curve of the eastbound main, I built the entrance to the yard tracks and the branch line. This first turnout went comparatively well, being finished in about an hour and a half. I had previously laid all the ties in the throat as you can see. I figured the next step would be easy as I had an Old Pullman pre-made double slip switch to cover both crossing the branch and accessing the arrival track.
Well, I was completely mistaken in that belief as the switch was a mess. It did not work and was not in any kind of gauge. So, I had to disassemble it on the bench and then relay it on a shim stock base to hold the frogs in place. Out came the torch as I held my breath and unsoldered all the frogs. I then reassembled every thing and held it all in place with spikes while I used the torch to solder it all together. Then I took it to the layout and it seemed to fit the diagram that I had made. The next problem was the way he had designed the points - they were just to flex by moving the rails - there was no joint or pivot. When I spiked it all down, I realized that the rail was too stiff and I had to make pivots. So, out came the smallest diameter cutting wheel I had to cut through the point rails without cutting the adjacent running rails and then insert rail joiners to provide the pivots. I am now at the 90% point as I have to adjust the frogs that I used to replace the ones he sent. I used cast #8 frogs from Trackside Specialties that really looked a lot better. I have invested about 7 days in this one switch as I have had to stop many times along the way. I am hoping to move right along on the next two turnouts and then lay out the actual ladder. Based on a planning session we had on Monday night, I will have to build a three way turnout at the end of the ladder. It looks like it will be a combination of a #10 and a #7. Am I looking forward to that or what! This is needed to get into the separate steam and the diesel engine servicing facilities. More later!
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