# What to do if you don't have room for a wye...



## SlateCreek (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, how about a double crossing wye....star.... thingy?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?near=carbonia,+sardinia&q=google+earth&f=p&rl=1&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=39.167152,8.51133&spn=0.001759,0.003433&z=18 here's a reversing star !

and a pic

http://www.brickish.org/members/files/dgraham/0765.jpg 


Matthew (OV)


----------



## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

Fascinating! But, wouldn't a turntable have taken up less room, and been less expensive than all those switchesand diamonds?


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Somebody must have really wanted to turn an engine to go to all that trouble... but I agree, why not a turntable?


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Turntable more maintenance... 

Besides, it's Italy! 

Regards, Greg


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Reminds me of a bad driver attempting a K turn in a bus!


----------



## ohioriverrailway (Jan 2, 2008)

Not much shine on those rails, doesn't seem like they get used very often. They still use steam in Italy?


----------



## Paul Norton (Jan 8, 2008)

That’s a pretty complex switching operation to accomplish a 180 turn.

Space is always a problem on any model railway and wyes do take up a lot of room. On our club railway we have built one at each end using the engine service peninsulas.





























The one at Fir Grove, shown in the last picture, looks complicated but is the easiest to use. The track farthest left is the main, and the one in the center is a siding. Locomotives enter on the siding, uncouple from their train, pass through the wye, and return on the main facing the other direction. This allows them to back into the siding and switch their cars into Fir Grove Yard.










But even on large railways wyes are not always possible, so a Dave Goodson turntable was installed at Nelson Yard.











By mounting the turntable at the edge of the yard, it takes up a little more than half the space normally required.

Another slick turntable is used on the Panama Canal.











This accomplishes the same thing as the wye in Fir Grove, but in much less space and with one quick turn.


----------



## McGinty26 (Jan 3, 2008)

Turntable more maintenance... 

Besides, it's Italy! 

Regards, Greg 

I was in Italy a few years ago. Went from Roma south to Bari, up the Adriatc Coast all the way to Venice. Then to Florance and back to Rome. It was a great 2 weeks. I found the rail system to be superlative. The route I took was all overhead electric. Of course, its nationalized, and was completely rebuilt courtesy of the US 9th Air Force. LOL. 

The only problem I had was I kept forgetting NOT to flush the toilet while sitting in the station. 

Pat McCarty


----------



## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I've had Ys off and on and hardly ever use them.


----------



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 11/01/2008 12:25 PM
I've had Ys off and on and hardly ever use them.


Ours was hardly getting used either. Then I converted it into a combination wye/point-to-point between the station and the mineral springs recreation area. Now it gets used all the time, though hardlly ever as a wye.

BTW, this is the most compact that you can possibly make a wye using a minimum of 8-foot diameter (LGB 1600-series) curves.


----------

