Finally, by adding the last three-way turnout for tracks 9 and 10, I was able to close the loop. My track work for the CNJ Bronx Terminal is almost complete! The last section fits nicely with tracks already in place, including with the quadruple diamond section. I was worried that somehow the ends wouldn’t meet. With hand-laid track a minor inaccuracy can translate into a complete misfit.
To avoid any issues when closing the Outer Circular Track, I soldered the stock rails that branch out to the diamond on the layout. This was safer than creating the structure on my workbench. It ensured a 100% accurate radius and avoided pressure on the turnout when forced to fit. I did the same to the last turnout that connects track 10 with track 11 to form the Wye. Building a turnout in place on the layout was a new experience to me. It’s possible, not very difficult and very rewarding when at the end everything matches perfectly.
Wrapping-up the Track Work
There’s still a lot to do. I have already connected the team tracks to the loop electrically using the bottom side of the PC ties. Testing of the turnout electrically revealed no shorts so far. I’ll also have to solder feeder wires to each pair of tracks near their end. They will be redundant but that’s intentional. Installing the turnout servos for team tracks 1 to 10 and fine tuning stock and point rails will be a bigger task. I will also have to use frog juicers for the first time. Both the third and fourth three-way turnout have a long isolated frog in the middle that needs to be powered. Finally, I will have to add wooden ties in the longer gaps between PC ties and then air-brush track and ties. And on top of that, testing, testing, testing, and fixing…
