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….......................--- N Scale Code 55 3-Way Turnout --- Servo for Turnout Control ---

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Once I realized that a 3-Way turnout vs. a pair of turnouts would make much better use of a space in yards and other places I decided to try making one. As show ( HERE ) I'd made other turnouts at this point, not a lot, using either a Fast-Tracks fixture or a paper template. Printing a template via Fast-Tracks site I could see that a 3 way was going to be harder to make but decide to forge on. At the moment I'd like to have 5 of these for the staging yard area.

After taking about 10 hours total to make the first of these I told Dottie that maybe there wouldn't be any more but a day or two later made me rethink that. I might bite the bullet and buy a Fast-Tracks fixture as I'm sure that would speed things up. I'll probably build another one or two before deciding on that and I'd like to get these in use to see how reliable they are before making the decision.

So what follows are some pictures that show some of the building process using a paper template. If you are going to consider building one be sure to visit Fast-Track for their instructions on building one using one of their fixtures ( HERE ).

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There is a lot going on in the middle of the turnout where the secondary frog is.

I did a lot of adjusting on the rails to get to this point. Best not to do all the solder joints up front in case you need to push the rail one way or another by heating the solder joints. I use a plastic truck and one with metal wheels and a NMRA gauge to gauge the track as I go along. I used the gauge on both sets of trucks to make sure they were also in gauge.

Making the hinged switch points is some small delicate work in N scale. I had to redo two of them after soldering them into a fixed position in the rail joiner that acts as the hinge point. Once I was able to unsolder and push them off it didn't take too long to make a new point using a Fast-Tracks point forming tool.

I have a Fast-Tracks Stock-Aid tools that really helps in cutting out the area of the stock rail where the switch points contact the stock rails. I also have a point forming tool from them that helps to quickly file the switch points and the frog points for a #6 turnout also with one of their #6 turnout/crossover fixtures. I could use the point forming tool for the two #6 frogs in the 3-Way but had to file the secondary frog points freehand. If you bought their 3-way fixture and the Stock-Aid tool and Point Forming tool you would have all you need to make these and it would be simpler than what I've shown here.

After building the turnout it was onto attaching wooden ties to it. I've used the method shown now in building a few different turnouts that were made on a paper template with good results. You could also use the same procedure for a turnout built in a Fast-Tracks fixture if you didn't want to use their Quick-Stick Ties.

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Once done I didn't think I wanted to tackle another one but I'm pretty sure I will. It was a nice feeling of accomplishment once done. Now if it works reliably I'm sure I'll make some more but might consider then buying the Fast-Track fixture.

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