One of the biggest things to hit the hobby in some time is the Fast Tracks turnout fixture. Fast Tracks website Having one of these units allows you to make highly accurate turnouts in one particular scale and gauge (a separate fixture is required for each frog number - i.e. an HO scale, 36" gauge, #5 fixture makes only that size of turnout - but you can make left or right-hand models).
I have finally had the chance to use one of these fixtures to fabricate an S scale, standard gauge, #8 turnout. All of the rails are in-gauge and the test truck rolls very freely through both routes. Super. Will it change the way I build my turnouts? Yes!
They aren't cheap, but if you consider the cost of good quality commercial turnouts a fixture would pay for itself in short order. Even if you don't spring for a fixture, you might want to consider their frog-and-point filing jig to create the proper angles on those particular rail segments. As an added bonus, the website has downloadable, correctly scaled reference drawings for most frog angles in most scales.
Note: This isn't an ad (or even a useful review), and I don't get a kickback from FastTracks for mentioning their product.
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