Code 25 Turnout
Back in 2006 or thereabouts, I got it in my
head to make my own rail so I could handlay old, lightweight track. After considerable research, I finally found an outfit in Connecticut who
would custom-fabricate nickel flat wire to specs with a "reasonable" minimum order—most companies would only sell such stock in
lots of a hundred pounds. As it is, the minimum order I got was only 10-15 pounds, and it contained many thousands of feet of wire! But it
was affordable, and I sold off some of the extra wire to other modelers.
The first challenge I set for myself was to make a turnout. And, as it happened, it was easier than I thought it would be.
The points were connected to the throw bar by bending the ends downward, and they simply rest in slots cut in the bar. It looks a little awkward, but it worked surprisingly well.
I posed a car on the track that was retrofitted with NWSL narrow-tread wheels. I'd have purchased more of them, but they were raw brass, and not nickel plated.
Since then, I went on to use the rail for the Z Scale James River Branch, some handlaid Zn3 track, and even T Gauge track. I still have hundreds of feet of the wire, but I no longer have the ability to use it.