Unfortunately all the UK standard gauge pictures showing trackwork I have pre British Rail use bull head rail. Was flat bottom rail common in the UK before British rail was formed? When I visited a number of years ago, (still BR) there was still plenty of bull head rail in use, some on mainlines. My comment's referred to flat bottom rail turnouts.
Yes, but then you have to wire them and have control buttons. On the new N-Scale layout I've been building over the past year, I've done a complete 180 and gotten rid of all motorized turnouts except 2 that auto-switch in reversing loops.
On one, I used a Hankscraft motor with a home-brewed linkage (this is the same motor that's in the Switchmaster). On the other, I used a Tortoise. Both work well. But I must say, I'm disappointed with how noisy the Tortoise is. They say it's quiet, but I think it's pretty noisy. I even have it mounted with a piece of thick foam tape between it and the benchwork, and I operate it on half-voltage (which makes it move slower anyway). Both of those things cut down on the noise, but the Switchmaster is whisper quiet compared to the Tortoise.
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