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Track Work - Switches. Lots of Switches.
Before I could finish the mainlines (at least, finish them as much as I could considering this is only half the layout), I had to lay switches. This was a pretty quick & easy process. Once I figured out where the switch needed to go, I placed two drops of glue—one at the end of the switch and another underneath the frog—and lay the switch, being careful to line them up properly. In total, I have put in 16 switches as of making this post, and I still have quite a few to do, though they will come in future updates.
The majority of the switches are within the yard. 4 lead to classification tracks, switches between the A/D track and the main ladder (with the yard lead on the other side), 4 will lead to track yet to come, and 1 connects the reverse loop to the main ladder and the mainline.
6 switches form crossovers. 2 of said crossovers connect the A/D track to Mainline 1. The 3rd connects Main 1 to Main 2.
All switches are Atlas code 80, both #6 and #8. I found during the installation that the #8s seem to be higher quality. The #6 switches seemed to be more prone to slight defects, the left-hand ones in particular.
All the switches will be thrown via Caboose Industries ground throws. The next 2 posts will be discussing them.
