12-04-2011, 04:04 PM
I would continue what ever size rail you are using for the rest of the layout, although because it is buried in the street, you could use code 100 without having it show as out of scale!
The Peco turnouts do have the off center spring that is very nice for manually throwing the turnout. If you need to change frog polarity, you could wire the frog to the points so that when the turnout is thrown, the frog polarity changes to the polarity of whichever stock rail has continuity with the points. The problem is that a poor electrical connection between the stock rail and the points will result in a relatively long dead section. If your locomotives will all bridge the frog, then running insul-frog turnouts would be the best solution because there is no frog polarity. A further consideration if the insulfrog turnout has such a long insulated section that it causes electrical pick up problems, you could use an electrofrog turnout and cut gaps close to the frog.
The modular Ho club I belong to, which pre-dated both N-track and the NMRA o modular standards, has always specified a 4 inch joiner track between modules because 4 axle diesels like F-7's and Gp7's & 9's will easily bridge 4 inches. We do have problems on occasion with smaller locomotives like 44 toners, and steam engines, since the joiner tracks are the only place on the layout where every piece of rail does not have a drop soldered to it.
The Peco turnouts do have the off center spring that is very nice for manually throwing the turnout. If you need to change frog polarity, you could wire the frog to the points so that when the turnout is thrown, the frog polarity changes to the polarity of whichever stock rail has continuity with the points. The problem is that a poor electrical connection between the stock rail and the points will result in a relatively long dead section. If your locomotives will all bridge the frog, then running insul-frog turnouts would be the best solution because there is no frog polarity. A further consideration if the insulfrog turnout has such a long insulated section that it causes electrical pick up problems, you could use an electrofrog turnout and cut gaps close to the frog.
The modular Ho club I belong to, which pre-dated both N-track and the NMRA o modular standards, has always specified a 4 inch joiner track between modules because 4 axle diesels like F-7's and Gp7's & 9's will easily bridge 4 inches. We do have problems on occasion with smaller locomotives like 44 toners, and steam engines, since the joiner tracks are the only place on the layout where every piece of rail does not have a drop soldered to it.