Newbie and question on Turnouts/switches

[mixedconsist]

Hi, I'm begining the journey into live steam and have come across your site and discussion forum. Thanks for all the friendly info. I'm in Australia, so some aspects of the hobby differ, while others are universal.

I'm building 5inch gauge (approx 1" to the foot), but not sure what that equates to in the USA. apart from the excellent photos on your site, where could I find plans for turnouts/switches, say for a 30-40 foot radius. Or is the art in building them as you go?

Incidently, a common material for track over here is 10mm x 20mm rolled steel bar, not truely prototypical, but in abundance and does the job.

Thank everyone.

[DavidT]

There is a good article on building switches on the www.discoverlivesteam.com website. It is listed in their E-magazine section. I have seen 1/2" x 1 1/2" used for rails with slotted 2x4's for ties ( groovy track) and lots of 3/8" x 3/4" bar stock rails. Use what you can get, cheap! You need lots !

[locodan5416]

That wouldl be 4-3/4" on our side of the pond