Bob, do you have any probs with the flanges of your BPRC locos going through 2rail switches, etc.?
Larry, none at all. Everything runs fine on Code148 2-rail track. All my switches are from Signature Switch, I told him what I was doing and he made them specifically for 3-rail wheels. I actually tried to run 2-rails wheels on some of my rolling stock, but the gaps in the frogs are greater than they would be on normal 2-rail switches, at least I think that's why it didn't work. One thing for sure...I have yet to have a derailment that wasn't "engineers error", which usually amounts to leaving one of the switches not lined up correctly. The big flanges help keep things on track. I hardly notice them, except on the front pilots of some of my steamers. The Williams/Samhongsa brass N&W 611 4-8-4 (and most Williams brass I have) have huge looking flanges. I will say without any proof that there's not much space from the "spikes" on the track to the flange of the wheels.
I don't know how they would perform on say Atlas 2-rail switches, easy enough for someone who has them to try and let ya'll know. My track is a mix of Atlas and Micro-Engineering, all (approx) 2 dozen switches are from Signature Switch. I tried making my own and it was a dismal failure. Definitely cheaper if you can go that way and have the patience and time.
With hindsight, I wish I had left the 3-rail track and switches alone and simply bought 2-rail, would have probably made some cash by selling the 3-rail for cheap.
Now that I've gone 2-rail, I wouldn't go back to 3-rail no matter what. Plus BPRC has given me the freedom to do it how I want and there's ZERO wires to my layout at present. I may eventually get around to wiring up buildings, etc, but no track. May even put power back to the Atlas turntable.
