Trackwork wars, Part 10

In a recent post, number 9 in my series on this topic, I showed the work done in leveling some track in the area between my layout towns of Ballard and Santa Rosalia (you can read that post at this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/02/trackwork-wars-part-9.html ). 

But even as that work was being completed, I realized it was not all of the problem. There remains some variability in the track gauge that still can cause derailments, and in a few places the track gauge becomes too tight. Thus this post.

For example, I have used the clear plastic “test car” shown in the previous post (see first paragraph for link), and even with the track leveled, there are still derailment problems. Below you can just see the leading wheel lifting and turning to derail.

Both these switches have given trouble for some time. The one at left in the photo below is a Peco, and like other Peco switches I have, it has evidently experienced shrinkage in its plastic parts, and the track gauge is now too tight. I corrected this once before, by filing the inside of the rail head. By now I’m not too enthused about continuing with that, as I have had to do the same with two other Peco switches on the layout, and it’s an apparently endless task. At least the other two don’t cause derailments after their gauge is corrected.

[By the way, I contacted the Peco “help” service about this shrinkage. Amazing how naive I was, even at my age: I thought they might apologize for the defect, might even send me a replacement. But in fact, Peco replied that they “had never heard of anyone experiencing shrinkage in a Peco switch,” though I have three different Pecos that have done this, and others around the U.S. have told me the same. Makes me take a deep breath before purchasing more Peco switches.]

Next I began to measure the individual rails in the two switches, since some appeared to perhaps be bent. I soon found that indeed there were bent rails, bent vertically, not horizontally, which is less convenient to fix (perhaps the result of an earlier derailment). At first I began to try and straighten them, which wasn’t going well, when it came to me: “What am I doing? Replace the bloody things!”

My first step, in which I admit I took pleasure, was to remove the annoying Peco switch. Once it was separated from the other track, I felt better already.

Over at the right edge, you can see the existing curved switch, and just above it, a new switch, one I had in stock, but not one that would fit.

I spent some time shopping for new switches, and reading a couple of email lists for comments about the various switches on the market. For the curved turnout at the right of these photos of the area (see middle photo, above), it looked like the dimensions of the relatively new Walthers line of “DCC friendly” switches would fit. 

For the other switch, a left-hand #6, I am still looking at options. The Walthers switch of this kind has a very straight diverging route beyond the frog, which I don’t think will work in my location. There are a couple of other manufacturers of switches that are options.

It would have been nice if these new switches could be located with throw bars exactly where their predecessors were located. But I realize that isn’t likely, so probably the entire switch machine locations (see photo above) will have to be moved, including digging up the buried tubes that carry the activating wires. That’s just to be expected as part of the project.

Now I just need to get the new switches in house and start restoration. Progress reports later.

Tony Thompson