Code 55 Turnouts

[mightypurdue22]

I checked Atlas and googled for answers but found none.  Has anyone heard when #5s will be readily available again?

Thanks,
Dave

[davefoxx]

Here's Atlas' response to that question, which was posted here on TRW a few weeks ago in another thread:

Online store is getting close - but if you need something right now you may want to fax or phone your order in, it may get processed faster that way.

The code 55 stuff is scheduled for production starting in March, turnouts probably in April, so that would be a May arrival.

[robert3985]

Time to learn to make your own, and not be enslaved to the whims of the Chinese business climate and manufacturer miscalculations.

[kalbert]

Time to learn to make your own, and not be enslaved to the whims of the Chinese business climate and manufacturer miscalculations.

 

[robert3985]

What? Was "enslaved" too harsh a term? ...uhhh...maybe "...completely dependent upon..."  Yeah.  OR, a positive way of saying it "...and be completely free from..."  There ya go!!

[VonRyan]

At least there is no room in the packaging for the forced laborers to send messages to be passed on to human rights organizations. 

-Cody F.

[Ridgeline]

Last I read it was February... now its May. *sigh* And here I just finished planning my layout..... 

[Mark W]

A turnout a day makes the disappointment go away. 

[robert3985]

A turnout a day makes the disappointment go away. 

Yeah!!!      No whining, just elbows out at the bench!!

[chicken45]

How much does it actually cost to get set up to build turnouts?

[davefoxx]

How much does it actually cost to get set up to build turnouts?

It depends.  You can spend in the tens of dollars to build an inventory of rail, ties, and other parts to build turnouts from scratch, or you can spend hundreds of dollars also investing in tools (e.g., Fast Tracks' turnout fixtures and point jigs) to build turnouts.  Some modelers, like Chris333, build templates on the paper templates that you can download from Fast Tracks website without the need for the expensive fixtures.

Hope this helps,
Dave Foxx

[chicken45]

I couldn't imagine building them without a fixture. Even filing down turnout points makes me nervous. I guess everyone has their own demons.

Those fixtures are expensive.

[davefoxx]

They are expensive, but I went route.  The fixtures and filing point/stock rail tools work well.  My first turnout was a code 40 #8 curved turnout.  The more that you build eases the cost of the tools per turnout.  When I bought mine, I was planning a layout that had at least a half dozen of those turnout sizes needed.

By the way, I just received an email a few days ago that Fast Tracks is changing vendors, so they bought up all of the vendor's inventory.  They're overstocked and are pushing out some of the tools at 20% off.

Good luck!
DFF

[Scottl]

I made a proto87 turnout (#8, code 55) from parts and ACC.  It was easy and only a bit of soldering of the frog and points, and only cutting the points to length.  I would not bother with the cost of the jigs now that I have done one with these beautiful parts.  It looks great and is smoother than all of my Atlas code 55 turnouts.  It cost me$20 to try my hand at the first one and I am sold.

[kalbert]

There was an outstanding article in Model Railroader a while back by Lance Mindheim that covered building a turnout from scratch using only rails and ties, no special fixtures or tools other than a saw, file and soldering iron. I can't remember which issue it was but I want to say October 2011?