Brain fart here.
What number (close–we know LGB had their own numbering system) is an LGB 1800 turnout?
I think a 1600 is somewhere near a #4.
John Bouck said:
Brain fart here.What number (close–we know LGB had their own numbering system) is an LGB 1800 turnout?
I think a 1600 is somewhere near a #4.
The 1600 diverges at 22.5º, the 1800 at 15º. Since neither has a straight frog the numbering system is at best iffy, however one could measure the various dimensions and take it from there.
Dear All,
Aren’t LGB switches drop-in replacements for their curves,
therefore spec’d by radius, not numbered ?
My notes from about 2002 or so:
R#, diam mm, ~diam ft, turn degrees, curve series, turnout series
R1, 1200 mm, 4 ft, 30 deg(12/circ), 11000, 12000
R2, 1560 mm, 5 ft, 30 deg(12/circ), 15000, N/A
R3, 2390 mm, 8 ft, 22.5 deg(16/circ), 16000, 16000
R5, 4640 mm, 15 ft, 15 deg(24/circ), 18000, 18000
Sound right?
Corrections welcome.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
The trick is to figure out the intersect point of the curved track with the straight track, run a … etc. etc. all done with CADrail and the answer is 11.25º which is as close to a #5 as you get without really trying. Good enough? 
Oh yeah while I’m at it the 1200 would be about a #2, and the 1600 would be about a #3.5; give or take a little.
So, HJ,
what you are really specifying is "what number frog (code 332?) would replace the frog on an LGB R5 curved turnout ?
Joe
So a #6 would be tad bigger than an LGB 1800?
Except one can’t replace a frog like that other than in a curved turnout which is a different story. Interestingly even the European railways use numbered frogs not the angle equivalent like the modelrailway industry does.
BTW how heavy the rail is i.e. Code332 or Code250, has no bearing on the frog number.
HJ, I took your info and put it on my site (massaged into a table)… good stuff, these questions always come up.
Did they make (past tense) any other switches other than these 3? (I am ignoring the 3 way and I think they also had a double slip).
Regards, Greg
HJ said:
“BTW how heavy the rail is i.e. Code332 or Code250, has no bearing on the frog number.”
I was thinking you would try to match the frog height (not number) to the rail height. I guess you would just shim under the frog, or cut down the ties under the frog to match the rail height.
The frog would have to work with the Gauge-1 wheel profile, which doesn’t change with rail height.
So, you would specify:
1.) Gauge-1,
2.) The frog number (which can be converted to the angle), and
3.) Conductive or Non-conductive.
By the way, my LGB R1 turnout has a straight frog with too large an angle that really doesn’t flow smoothly into the adjoining rail. (A small sideways bump at the widest part of the frog.)
Not perfect, but I’ve never derailed anything because of it.
Joe Satnik
As long as the rail size of the frog is the same as the rest of the turnout all is A-OK.
Here’s some info I received from Switchcrafters.
Crossings:
<<Hi John,
Well, the way it works is you double the frog angle of the switches used and that is the crossing angle. So for #6’s, the frogs are 9.5 degrees, so you would use a 19 degree crossing. The #8 have a 7.1 degree frog, so the 14 degree is what is used.
If you have any other questions, let me know.
Thanks,>>
Bruce Milligan
www.SwitchCrafters.com
541-990-4455
Frog measurement:
<<Hi John,
I have never used LGB switches so I am not familiar with their numbering scheme. There is an easy way to tell the frog number. I’ll see if I can explain it.
Take a tape measure or ruler and measure from the “point” of the frog to a point on the exit rail (the same rails that are attached to the frog point and heading out of the switch) where the rails are exactly 1" apart. This distance is the frog number. So if you come up with a measurement of about 6"s, then it is a #6 frog.
Clear as mud! Let me know if you understand this jabbering.
Thanks,
Bruce Milligan>>
JB,
That works in most instances, but doesn’t apply when the diverging route is a constant radius.
Dear All,
Some 1:1 defs shown here. One would think they would scale…
http://www.harmersteel.com/catalog/5/02/determining_frog_number.shtml
Frog # vs frog angle:
N = 1/2 cot 1/2 A
cot 1/2 A = 2N
cot = 1/tan
A = 2 arctan(1/2N)
Approx. for frog number on a curved turnout:
Square root (0.5 x Radius/gauge).
Example: 4640mm Radius, 45mm gauge,
Sqrt(0.5 x 4640/45) = 7.18, or a #7 frog would probably work.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik