This is the track work that for over 20 years I have wanted to make. Could I actually do it? I had no doubt and never wondered if I could. It was simply a matter of doing it. Over the course of more than 20 years I have made more than 2,000 pieces of track work for other people and my own model railroad projects. I only have two fixtures from Fast Tracks but use all their tools and supplies. Most items are made by hand over paper templates using NMRA track gauges. I have made turnouts and crossings in N and Nn3, HO and HOn3, On30 and even Live Steam (1 1/8″ scale).
When I say “The One That Started It All” that’s really a double meaning. According to Tim Warris’ website on his build of the Bronx Terminal, this configuration of triple lapped turnouts helped to inspire the creation of his company Fast Tracks! He was looking for an easier way to build turnouts and it just happed that so were many other people! Four years after getting his company started he finally started on his Bronx Terminal. I followed along reading his blog as he updated it. I haven’t seen an update for over 10 years but it remained in my mind as something I always wanted to do.
The second meaning is that this is the first piece of track work I built for my version of the Bronx Terminal. You can see and read on other pages about all the other phases of construction but as complicated as this is, it is probably the easiest part of the entire build! I had to build this first to know if I could and it would connect the main yard to the Free-mo module that I would use to join the rest of the Free-mo world. As a side note, it can also be a stand-alone layout, as the prototype was. Working with the car floats to bring traffic onto and off of the rest of the yard and switching cars to the appropriate yard track or freight house door.
Here are some progress pictures as I built this track work.
