Before converting an ETS streetcar switch for 3 rail operation, a very important question is which commercially available 3-rail O gauge vehicles will be able to negotiate the curved portion of those ETS switches?
The radius or diameter of the curved portion of the ETS switch is not given in that link provided above by Dmasso. The ETS curved streetcar track elsewhere in that link includes the text “R170mm”. Does that mean the radius is 170 millimeters? If so, is the curved portion of the ETS switch the same radius as the curved track? Can someone who has used that track please answer these questions?
Doing the conversion, 170 mm works out to a radius of only 6.69”, or a diameter of about 13 3/8th inches. For comparison the Superstreets/E-Z Streets nominal curve diameters are 16” and 21” for the narrower and wider curves, respectively.
If the ETS switches also have a diameter of 13 3/8th, that would eliminate all of the O gauge trolley vehicles that I plan to run, including the MTH PCC’s which just barely make it through the D-16 curves and are my primary reason for wanting E-Z street switches.
Bill
