Kato #6 turnout questions

[Bart1701]

I am adding a staging yard on my layout. The area I have to work with is about 55" x 8".

I had originally tried Kato #4 turnouts, but I was running into issues with longer wheelbase equipment and my UP #844 derailing quite often (or always). I also have seen many opinions that Kato's #4's can often be troublesome. I did try a length of straight track (anywhere from 2" to 5" between the turnouts to allow the equipment to "straighten out" before entering the diverging (curved) route on the next turnout, but that did not seem to help much.

I am thinking about doing the yard with Kato #6 turnouts instead.

Are you able to connect the #6's to each other without the need for any straight track between them?

I included an image of the plan being considered.

If you have any other suggestions or ideas, I would welcome them.

Thanks,
Bart

[Maletrain]

A couple of thoughts:

1.  Kato #4s are notorious for having the points "picked" by wheel flanges and causing derailments. The fix is to file slots in the stock rails that allow the points to go into those recess slots so that the flanges do not pick them.  So, if that is your problem, you could work on the #4s and keep your track plan.  But, if the derailing is due to curvature pulling long equipment off the track, then you will need the #6s.

2.  Kato #6s, as they come from the factory, result is wider track spacing in yards.  They can be cut down to keep the same track spacing as the #4s, which is Kato's standard double track spacing.  To see if that works for you, see how your equipment manages Kato's double crossover, which is 4 #6s with track spacing the same as #4s.  Or, if space is not a problem, just use the #6s as they are.

[myxie]

My small layout has 2 #6 turnouts connected to each other in the same way - for what it's worth, I've never had an issue with derailments with my Kato Big boy, Athearn challenger, or any of my BLI six-axles (sd4-2, es44ac).  Keep in mind the track spacing as Maletrain suggested - #6s result in 49.5mm between track centers, while #4s are 33mm, but that probably shouldn't matter too much for your plan.

[robertjohndavis]

It’s also a bit of personal taste. The 49.5mm spacing with unmodified #6’s is too wide for me. I cut them back to achieve 33mm. There’s no functional issue, just preference. It does allow for more tracks.

Rob