Best turnouts for yards

[iis612]

I am trying to find the best turnouts to construct 2 fairly large yards.
Because of all of the variations in turnout dimensions, some will just not work for producing convincing yards.
What turnouts are you all using in your yards?

Also, has anyone had to "customize" any turnouts? If so, what is the best way to go about it?

 

[brakie]

I prefer Atlas C83 #4 Custom Line switch for all yard tracks including the engine terminal area...I find these are workable in most situations...

 

[steamhead]

Hi,
I use mostly Peco mediums...Larger engines, both steamers & diesels, may have trouble going thru #4's. Depends on what you plan to run as far as engines & rolling stock go.

 

[tetters]

I'm using # 5 on my yard where space is at a premium. I was thinking about using them throughout, however I am now considering some # 6's for my industry spurs. It is a switching layout so no high speed trains are going to be ripping through it.

 

[richhotrain]

I use mostly Atlas #6 turnouts and every kind of engine goes through them but they take up a lot of space. In a few instances, I use Atlas #4 turnouts but only the diesels handle them well. A lot of my steam engines don't like #4 turnouts except for 4-6-2 and smaller. 4-8-4's, 2-10-2's, 2-10-4's are not likely to negotiate the smaller, tighter turnouts - - mine sure don't. If I had the space and could do it all over again, I would use nothing but #8 turnouts, they take up one heck of a lot of space, but anything on wheels will go through that size turnout. If you ever want to understand why some engines won't go through a #4 turnout, just lay the turnout on a table and study the curvature of the turnout and you will see what a 2-10-4 or a Big Boy or some of the bigger articulated engines have to deal with. There is just no way. If you must use #4's in your yard, the switchers can handle the small turnouts just like in the prototype.