The first concept for turning locomotives for the south end of the Louisiana, Texas & Pacific Railroad was to use a wye. The first switch for this wye was installed in the main line, but was never completed. Later, LT&P engineers rethought the operational possibilities of a wye as compared to a return loop. The loop would allow operators to run continuously, even if it was slowly and carefully due to its 25-foot radius. The new plan includes the loop and a loading ramp for visitors. For a 25-foot radius curve to fit on the property, the new switch had to be moved closer to the fence. This required a new, curved switch. The plan also included a revision of the grade near the switch to make the transition smoother.

The grade is made of sand, with a weed barrier, and ballast on top. Track crews lifted out the original switch quite easily. Almost all of the original ballast was reclaimed, too. The revised grade used some new sand to supplement the original. In all, about 30 feet of the original track was removed.

The new switch ties were laid out and stringers were screwed to the bottom of the ties. (Yes, this operation was done with the ties upside-down.) Track crews turned the panel over and placed it in its location. The crew added new rails, starting with the outside running rail for the 40-foot radius, then adding the inside running rail for the 25-foot radius.

With the running rails in place, the track crew added the frog and switch rails to fit. They placed the points in their spots to determine the start of the switch rails. Once they got the frog location figured out, they notched the rails for the bend near the frog, then used track gauges to screw the rails in the correct places. Some LT&P rail was delivered in 8' 10" sections and some was delivered in ten-foot sections, all from Real Trains. The track gauges were from Cannonball Ltd.

The crew notched the points to fit the running rails with a Dremel tool, cutting disks and a heavy file. They installed the points with regular track joiner screws (10-24 x ¾" hex head with nylon lock nuts). The crew also added new landscape timbers and ballast. On the LT&P, most of the ties are screwed to stringers. This means that the rails can be screwed to every other tie. The LT&P uses typical one-inch hex-head screws to hold the rails in place.

The Cannonball Ltd. RTR Loco Switch Machine includes the assembled body, direction indicator, throw bar and link bar. LT&P track crews had to drill (3/16") the link bar and the points (made from 1/8 x ¾" aluminum angle), then bolt them on with 10-24 x ¾" hex head rail joiner screws and nylon lock nuts. Shims of 1/8 x ½" aluminum support the points and keep them at the proper height to line up with the top of the Real Trains rail. This also lets the points slide all the way over to the rail head without hitting the foot of the rail. Crews mentioned the intense amount of work involved in grinding and filing the points to fit the head of the rail!

Where the points contact the running rails, crews had to drill the foot of the running rails to accept 1 ¼" galvanized wood screws. Regular hex head screws were used in all other locations where they would fit without disrupting the points. Some builders also drill the foot of the running rails opposite the frogs to attach them to the ties. This lets them fit the guard rails close enough to the running rails to keep the flanges from picking the frog.

The descending grade from the bridges is much smoother than the original. The photo also shows the switch guard rails: the 40' radius has a piece of regular rail, but the 25' radius curve has 1/8 x 1" angle stock. The outside guardrail is mostly for show, whereas the inside guard rail is functional to keep car flanges from picking the frog.

The return loop with its 25' radius curve will continue here. The piece of rebar stuck in the ground shows the approximate location of the curve's outside rail as it sweeps around the yard. The end of the grade coming from the bridges enters a short S curve. The new switch is about 16" closer to the fence, requiring the jog in the track. The S curve has a straight stretch of about 4 feet between its curved segments. This may cause binding in couplers of longer cars, but seems to work on the LT&P, where the longest car is about six feet. Keeping track level side-to-side is also very important. Cars track better on level track. With a 25' radius curve, level track is even more critical.

The completed switch took three weekends to build. The next project is to construct the grade and track for the remainder of the south return loop, then have fun running on it!