Hand laid crossing

[nkalanaga]

My one and only crossing is a seldom-used industrial spur crossing a mainline.  It's powered with a Peco 4-pole double-throw toggle switch, as there's no possibility of two trains trying to use it at the same time, and the only time it needs to be changed is to switch that industry.  The local "crew" can throw it, make the move, and return it to the mainline position right there.

The "industry" is an abandoned mine, which ships an occasional carload of tailings as part of a cleanup project.  Hardly a high priority job, so not worth automating the crossing, and the main is unsignaled "dark territory", so that's also not a consideration.

Now, if you're railroad has CTC, or is DCC with autoreversing sections, remote control or automating the crossing would make sense.  If it's in a crossover, with machine-thrown switches, I might try automating that as well, probably with old-fashioned relays attached to the switch machines.

[jdcolombo]

If you had told me  5-6 years ago that I would be building my own turnouts I would have told you to  JUMP!..Having never done it before so I invested in a FT jig and tools.
 With about 180+ built so far,less than half of my turnouts have been done on the jig, all others freelanced off a commercial template or one of my own designs.  If you are unsure go for the jig and have fun, yes you might
 get a few stuffups ,but I am sure, like most have indicated here, you will be more than satisfied with your results.

Jim
Modelling the NH down under

I'm in a similar camp.  Having never done a hand-laid turnout, I decided to invest in a Fast Tracks jig (#6) and try that first.  Once I learned the techniques using the jig, I "graduated" to paper templates.  I will say that while you can get along nicely without a jig, the Fast Tracks point form tool is very handy for making switch points and frogs.  If you think you're going to be building a lot of one particular number of turnout, buying a point form tool for that turnout number is a useful investment (and can be used to file point rails for any number of turnout; only the frog part is number-specific).

And there's simply no comparison between a hand-laid turnout and commercial ones.  My engines/rolling stock literally glide through my hand-built turnouts; I can even run my Athearn Big-Boy through a #4 that I made by hand (it has trouble navigating an Atlas #5).  If I had it all to do over again, I'd have made all the turnouts for my layout - the time commitment would have been daunting, but in retrospect, worth every minute.

John C.

[kondor]

I started building over paper templates, without a jig.  Working on a very flat surface like a piece of tempered glass was very nice.  I also used Super 77 to stick the PC ties to the template.  One thing that I didn't care for was the three-point tool.  I managed to build several turnouts with just the NMRA gauge and an callus from holding the rail in place with my index finger. 

I used a Weller WES51 iron, so about 50 Watts, with a small tip.  Clean PC ties, good solder, and flux are key for a quick and strong solder joint.  No worries of loosening other joints if you apply the right amount of heat.  With too small of an iron you tend to dwell on the joint too long and may end up putting in too much heat to the entire area and melting other than the intended joint.

[Jim Costello]

The other good thing about making your own turnouts is that it is now so easy to repair your own,and, make a turnout to fit anywhere you want to put one.

[robert3985]

...And there's simply no comparison between a hand-laid turnout and commercial ones.  My engines/rolling stock literally glide through my hand-built turnouts; I can even run my Athearn Big-Boy through a #4 that I made by hand (it has trouble navigating an Atlas #5).  If I had it all to do over again, I'd have made all the turnouts for my layout - the time commitment would have been daunting, but in retrospect, worth every minute.

John C.

+1

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Angus Shops]

I started out building my turnouts mostly as a cost saver. With a young family it was hard to justify $20 (Can.) for a turnout when I could build one for about $1. I also wanted long turnouts in code 55 which were not available at the time. The first ones weren't perfect and they've been replaced by now.

Geoff