12874 County Road 314B Buena Vista, CO. 81211-9102 (719) 395-8076 (888) 393-1259 BKTruscale@aol.com www.TroutCreekEng.com

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BK all rail turnouts are made using Micro Engineering nickel silver non-weathered rail. The turnouts DO NOT have ties under them and are made to be laid by hand, usually on wood ties. Our line consists of 5 types of items:

ASSEMBLED	-	this is a complete turnout that has 2 or 3 straps soldered on the tops of the rails to keep the turnouts ROUGHLY in gauge.
KITS	-	this is the assembled turnout WITHOUT the straps. It consists of 2 stock rails and a point and frog assembly.
BLADE & FROG	-	This is the center section ONLY of the turnout. There are no stock rails included.
STUB	-	this is a complete turnout that has 2 or 3 straps soldered on the tops of the rails. A stub turnout is the old-fashioned type where the lead rails move to make the switch, instead of the blades moving as in the assembled turnout.
FROG ONLY	-	this, of course, is the frog assembly only. There are no blades attached.

Our turnouts should "mate" with most rail and/or flex track. There may have to be some height "adjustment" either with the flex track or with the ties under the turnout. Either the flex track may have to be shimmed up to meet the turnout, or the ties may have to be sanded. The adjustment should be small.

We make our turnouts with non-weathered rail - because of the difficulty in removing the weathering. Micro Engineering does make a weathering solution, or painting the turnout with Floquil "Roof Brown" paint will accomplish the same.

Many people are under the illusion that hand-laying track and turnouts by hand is difficult, tedious, nerve-wracking and a host of other adjectives. This is not the case. Hand laying is for those modelers who want to take the time to enjoy one of the finer arts of modeling. Many of our customers use flex track for the roadbed and hand-lay the turnouts. Granted, handlaying does take more time than using flex track and purchasing ready made turnouts. However, to go this route is just a matter of deciding what it is you want out of your hobby.

A good pair of needle nose pliers, 6" is suggested, some three point track gauges, and a NMRA standards gauge is about all that is needed. This plus some patience and a willing to keep the "art" in modeling.

If you have a DCC control system, it is IMPORTANT that there be gaps in front of the frog as well as behind the frog. Both the frog and the blades would have to be "hot-wired".

Please note that there is a $7.00 shipping charge on all orders.

We do some custom work. Please contact us for more information.

Prices are subject to change without notice.

Prototype railroad track consists of two rails spiked to wooden ties resting on a bed of ballast for drainage. This ballast may be gravel, cinders or any of several kinds of crushed rock, usually limestone or granite. In model railroading, we add the ballast to the trackwork for increased realism. Many modelers think this type of trackwork is too difficult to build, but if the following suggestions are followed, it becomes quite simple and easy. We hope you will give it a fair try.

After you have decided where the track is to be laid, mark the roadbed with a pencil where the ties should be placed (two parallel lines). Paint about 2 to 3 feet of roadbed with a watered down white glue, only enough so that it does not dry while you are working. Set the ties in position the full length of the painted section. Some hints, if we may: If you are putting down ties for a modern mainline, make them even and straight. If they are for an older line, sidings, branches and yards, do not lay the ties too straight. Should one or two be a bit out of line here or there, the trackwork will look more realistic.

A typical stretch of track will have ties in all stages of weathering because old ties are replaced only a few at a time. Ties are spaced about 3000 to the mile. This comes to about 91 ties per actual foot in N scale standard gauge. Narrow gauge ties should be spaced a little farther apart. Ties should be a tie width or less apart on mainlines, and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 tie widths apart on branch lines.

With the ties in position, sprinkle on the ballast. Some modelers use a salt shaker or similar device, some use a teaspoon; any method that works for you works. You will have to determine for yourself the length of roadbed that you can work without the glue drying. While this section is drying, you can move on to the next section. After a section is dry, remove excess ballast with a small soft brush or a vacuum cleaner with a cloth tied over the nozzle. This excess ballast can be used again. There will always be spots where the ballast does not adhere, so fix these spots at this time. Also make sure that the ballast is not above the tops of the ties.

When completely dry, begin laying the rails. It is important to remember that turnouts should be laid first, and then the rail laid to the turnouts, not the other way. Hold the needle nose pliers in a fist, thumb up and nose down. Push the spike in at a slight angle under the rail. It will not take long to get use to doing this.

Place the turnout on the ties using the frog as a center guide. Always, and this is important, place the frog in position first, and spike it down. Then the stock rails may be spiked in place. In front of the frog, spike the same number of ties as the frog number (ie - #4 frog, spike 4 ties). We suggest using a least 2 3-point track gauges to keep the rails roughly in place and an NMRA Standards gauge for the final spiking. If you are using an assembled turnout, remove the straps as you work. Always check and recheck the gauge with the Standards gauge.

We suggest using small spikes for code 70 rail. Code 40 and 55 should be glued with PLIOBOND, or like glue, not spiked. Code 70 could also be glued.

NOTE!!!! If ordering turnouts for crossovers, PLEASE state this on the order forms so that we can add length to the frog points.

Prices are subject to change without notice

Prices are subject to change without notice

Prices are subject to change without notice

We also can supply:

Rail Cutters - Mascot
Ballast - Tru-Scale, Faller, Highball and Woodland Scenics