Stub Switch

     Here's an amazing bit of trackwork I found in an old MR magazine. It's a three-way stub switch that functions as a double slip! It took me a while to puzzle out just what happens when you throw it, but it's actually really simple when you finally see it. Here we see the turnout in its center position, acting like it's not  really there (upper and lower routes go their own way.) Pull the throw downward, and the straight line goes through. Push it upward, and the curving line goes through. Genius! I'm considering making it the focal point of my new layout!

     Of course, we all know why this sort of trackwork went extinct a long time ago. Any route that isn't selected is a perfect derail; both rails lead off into the weeds. From a modeling standpoint, I don't see that as a problem. I'm talking about a micro layout here, not a mainline run. Switching is much of the fun, and this makes switching just a little more interesting. You see, I'm of the school of thought that says it's bad form to run your trains through an open switch. Just because there's a spring in there that allows a train to back through without derailing doesn't mean that's the way it works in real life. If the train's a-coming, they throw the switch. (I know there are exceptions, such as fixed or sprung points, but that's another story.)

     This arrangement also gives the opportunity to build a signal system showing which routes are clear and which are dead. Also, there's the problem of how to index the three-way throw. Electronic and mechanical challenges, Oh Boy! It just gets better and better =)