Does anyone sell 60 degree crossing tracks? Or 75 degree?
I have a 30 degree crossing which I was hoping would work, but as it turns out, I really need a crossing of at least 60 degrees. But so far I haven’t seen anything available between 30 degrees and 90 degrees.
I don’t think any of the manufacturers make a 60 degree crossing, but you might ask Rodney to make you one. I saw the one he made for Bob and it looked great.
I had Rodney build me a 45 degree crossing and it is a gem. A distant shot, but I can assure you that it is VERY well made.
Uh, Rodney who? Sorry, I’m drawing a blank.
Rodney Eddington I think. - he’s on here occasionally. Are you running track power Ray? Rodney’s switches and crossings are designed for battery or steam as they are not insulated.
Ray,
Jon has the right name, and I think he is an advertiser here. R&K Enterprises if my memory is correct. Rodney is the fellow who did the new gear reduction for the B’mann K27. (Too bad wife has been unemployed for near a year or I would have one.)
Bob C.
Edit: R & K Railroad Products - check the advertisers listing at the bottom of the page.
http://www.randkrailroadproducts.com/
I ordered a K27 block and a couple sets of trucks from Rodney.
Nice guy to deal with.
I promised a review on the trucks and he’ll get one as soon as my new shop is finished.
The floor goes in tomorrow and then the benches and wall racks.
Then I can get my projects back on track, so to speak.
I saw the crossing he built for Bob at the Dalton Ga Show this year… Beautiful work. Also saw the re-gear for the K27 and want/need one for my K27. Like Bob C., wife has been out of work too long so hobby funds are scarce. Hope to order one in the coming months.
Looks like I’ll have to hire someone to make a crossing for me. If that’s the case I might as well get it done at 70 degrees, which would fit my situation perfectly; whereas a 60 degree would work but not as elegantly.
However, I’m sure custom work would be expensive so it’ll have to wait awhile.
Well, it’s not cheap, but dang, it sure is good. Mine was custom built by Rodney. He does excellent work.
Can I ask a dumb question? Why not build your own crossing? That way you can have it exactly what you want. I know you have skills so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Craig
Well, I might consider building it myself, or at least attempting to do so. My soldering skills are fairly pathetic, and this crossing is on the mainline so any flaws would probably be a serious detriment to operation. But I might get brave enough to try it.
I was considering making my own 90 degree so I drew this one up to get an idea of what it would take. 70 degrees would have all teh same components, just a different angle.
I’m with ya Ray. I’m a little scared of my soldiering skills. However, if funds are scarse. It only costs a small amount of rail and your time. You might surprise yourself.
Looking at your past projects I think you have the skills to make a pretty good one.
I’m attempting to build a #9 frog and some points too so I can’t blame you for trying to feel like you can’t do it. If you’ve got all the tools (propane torch and some scrap rail) why not try and do a little experimenting? What would it hurt if you didn’t buy anything… Nothing lost, nothing gained.
I wouldn’t say my soldering skills are any better then yours but I’ve managed to solder a few copper pipes and they still don’t leak water! LOL So it might not be pretty but it works. The same thing applies here.
Craig
Yea, soldering doesn’t need to be pretty, just functional. If you’re battery power, you can even solder the whole thing together in one big piece. Just make sure the rail is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN, joints tight, use a good amount of flux, and tin before assembly. You can file off excess solder easily.
If I were to attempt this myself there are some issues that would need to be solved. I use track power, so I can’t solder it all as one piece. I assume the frogs would have to be made of something non-conductive, and I have no idea what to use there. Also, it will be in an area where it may get stepped on, so it has to be strong enough to handle that.
What’s wrong with cutting gaps in the rail after everything has been soldered together, and then filling in the gaps with styrene? That would solve the problem of making it electrically isolated, and if you ever needed to have powered frogs it would be that much easier. To make soldering the frogs individually easier you place a small piece of brass underneath the frog area, and then it would give it a little base to sit on, then if you had to cut it you still could.
As for being stepped on, I think if you used 332 rail and soldered it together it would be just as strong as something commercially made, if not stronger.
Craig
Ray,
Consider the following game plan:
Start out with a commercial 12 x 12 or 18 x 18 patio block. This will provide both a good flat surface to build the crossing on, but also a stable surface under the crossing after installation.
On the patio block, anchor bolt four independant brass plates (sheets) under where the frogs are going to be, but NOT touching one another.
Build the crossing in one congruous piece soldered to the four brass plates. (remember the four brass plates are anchor bolted to the patio block - preferably two bolts per plate to promote stability).
After the crossing is completed, make the desired cuts to isolate each frog. In lieu of putting styrene in the saw cuts, I would recommend a two part epoxy that can be filed smooth on the inside and top of the real head.
No place the completed crossing mounted on the patio block in the desired position on the layout. This will provide the stability you are looking for. It will not provide a prototypical appearance, but will be almost bullet proof.
I have not used this system, but being a mechanical designer, this is the process I would use for your circumstances. Credits to Craig and Bob for their earlier input. I just added my twist.
Bob C.
Wow that sounds like solid piece of track work! Here’s my adaptation of your idea. First build everything together like Bob suggested, and then you could remove the bolts from the patio block, put ties in, and then reattach the patio block underneath the ties. That way it would hold the strength of the patio block, but still look okay. Or just build everything with the patio brick and then discard. That way nothing moves as you build it.
Criag
