E-Z Streets (Superstreets) as Trolley Track (and D21 Double Curve Segments)

This is the second segment.  Its a corner curve with a short diagonal before completing the 90 degree curve.

 

Materials List (Diagonal Corner)

 

4 x 6-21261. Straight 2.5"
4 x 6-21281. Curve radius 9.54" , angle 45º
4 x 6-21282. Straight 2.5"
2 x 6-21431. Straight 10"
3 x 6-21433. Straight 5"

This is a third curve segment using only the larger D21 curves. Its a fairly conventional 90 degree corner.

 

As before the 90 degree crossing are only optional and are intended only to confirm track spacing.

 

4 x 6-21261. Straight 2.5"
4 x 6-21281. Curve radius 9.54" , angle 45º 
2 x 6-21282. Straight 2.5"
2 x 6-21433. Straight 5"

Interesting. These could make great corners for a O scale version of a certain modular standard for trams, trains, and trolleys.

While its great to draw up plans with Anyrail, there is nothing like putting the track together and seeing how it turns out.

 

When you add diamonds to double track you find there is a small gap between the tracks.  A strip of 1/4 x 3/8 inch balsa is just too big to fit the space.  Still, a solution is needed for curved track.

 

The second photo shows two MTH four wheel trolleys on the double track at crossover track centers.

 

 

Bill, what you are doing here is really interesting, thanks for posting this.  As Greg noted back in April, this has applications beyond superstreets.

 

essentially what you are doing is making nested or concentric curves without using tighter radius curves for the inside line.  At first one would have to say, 'you can't do that', but your diagrams show that you can.  Food for thought.  

 

As you show, it does mean that you have to be willing to put up with your tracks not being exactly parallel at all points (the space between the tracks widens and then narrows), but that does not seem to be an insurmountable issue, especially when you realize what you have gained by being able to have wide radius curves on both lines.

 

david 

 

 

This has to be the BEST postings I have seen in some time.  Excellent.  Please add more!!!

 

I have Super Streets on my layout for the trolley car down the middle of the 'town'.  Using 16 and 21 inch curves, but have the clearance issues noted.  Looked good on my paper, but in practice....    Your posting helps very much for when I attempt to fix.  Thank you.

Thanks for the support guys. I plan to test more plans in reality but summer will delay this a bit.

 

This is a tram crossover made from back to back left hand turnouts.  Outside to outside this requires about 8 inches of space.and gives a much wider track center than normal track center for a trolley line. Because these are D21 curves in the turnout it should accommodate larger trolleys like the Western Hobbycraft Johnstown double ender.

 

 

 

 

The railroad geometry of  E-Z Streets makes it hard to create tram style specialwork. One of the flaws of the E-Z Street geometry is that you get small gaps in the track when you try to create intersections. The solution requires custom cutting small pieces of track.

 

By comparison N gauge Kato Unitram was designed to create intersections. I will post a photo of Unitram later.

 

None of the systems is perfect. Unitram lacks single paved track.  All its track is double track with a wider track center on curves (so you can't do a half curve) and a narrower track center at the start and end of curves and on straights.

 

At least we have something to work with.

Bill Robb:

 

Yes, a very interesting and informative thread, thanks for posting.  I’ve been using Superstreets for many years now but wasn’t aware of that parallel track gap created when using a Superstreets 90-degree crossover as shown in your first photo, or the track misalignment when using the new E-Z track switches to create a 90-degree intersection as shown in your last photo.  I had bought a 4-pack of 90-degree Superstreets intersections a few years ago for potential use on my then planned layout but my final track design just couldn’t fit any crossovers.  Have you tried putting a straight section in between the curved branches of the two switches?  I know it would make the footprint of the intersection much larger but perhaps by using one or two 2½” curve-to-curve pieces would enable you to use stock pieces at the ends of the straight branches.  My E-Z track switches are screwed down and in operation so I can’t try it with mine.

 

I have used D-16 curves nested inside D-21 curves on my Christmas layout every year but I only run one PCC on that layout so overhang is not an issue.  But on my year-round layout, on which I run multiple PCC’s using insulated rails, relays and control blocks, I have left a “median” of about ½” to allow for the overhang as Lee Willis suggested a long time ago.  Actually I don’t use any D-16 curves on this layout so I don’t have any nested curves just overhang locations on each end where one track of the double track line curves away from the other to start a loop. 

 

Re non-concentric curves, those are prototypically correct as that’s the way Pittsburgh Railways did it on curves.  I know I have some photos somewhere which show track around curves.  All of the hills and intersections with diverging multiple routes required them to engineer unique track configurations including many S-curves.

 

Bill 

Have you tried to put a small straight piece between the two curves of the switches and the intersection piece? It may take a little bit of work but adding a few small straight pieces like; two and a half inch curve to curve help with the alignment of the switches. E Z Streets is not an easy system to do fancy layouts with.

 

Lee Fritz

That is what I will have to do. I will look into that later in the summer.

Bill, 

 

This may be the solution.  I have the pieces together, but I am having trouble seating the last piece.  Time to take a break.  Maybe later tonight.  Thanks for the suggestion.

As Bill suggested, I added a 2.5 curve to curve section to the intersection.  It works although the pieces are taking turns squirming when I try to align them. During the process I had to replace one of the connector pins. It will be interesting to see how this effects electric connectivity.

 

It makes for a large intersection, but it can be done.

I wouldn't go that route, I think it's getting you too far off track, literally.  I had to make a small filler piece to get things just right on my layout.  Maybe it was an inch long or 3/4", k-line even used to sell a kit to make a custom section.  The plastic cut very easy and I used a dremel cut off wheel to snip the rails, it was very simple to do.  The biggest problem was that the piece was so short, that there was no screw hole with which to mount it securely, but looking at your setup, you have a manhole in the 4-way, and plenty on the switch, so you should be more than fine.  Leave the curve intact and just make two fillers.

Some photos of this segment laid out. As you can see two double truck trolleys are very cozy on the curve. It appears E-Z Street tracks need a spacer of about 1/4-1/2 inch to run anything larger than a car or van.

Bill; taking over where Lee left off.

But I'm not an electronics genius.   I'll stick to trolley tracks.  

A followup on the devilstrip and track center.  British O gauge traction supplier Terry Russell suggests a minimum track center (center rail to center rail) of 3 inches.  As above E-Z Streets has a track center of 2 5/8 inches. At 3 inches the track center would be 12 scale feet, not too far off prototype.  

 

But we are starting out with 5 foot scale track gauge so we are not entirely prototype to begin with. Also note that many traction lines were / are broad gauge including New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Louisville, and Toronto.

 

Below is a cross-section from the Electric Railway Journal (not in copyright) circa 1920s for dimension reference. 

 

Here's how a 3 inch track center looks. This requires a filler of 5/8" between the tracks.

 

 

I'll have to get a picture of the fitter piece that I made.  It was not hard to do but if you needed to make 50 of them, all the exact same length, that might get difficult.  It would be nice if WBB would sell like a bag of 10 or so spacers to get all of the cross pieces and switches within specs.  If they gauge it for their Peter Witt cars, that should be good enough for most o-gauge trolleys.