Yard ladder

Atlas used to make 3 turnout ladders back in the code 100 brass rail / fiber tie strip era, as did a couple other specialty suppliers (I think one was "UMPCo"), but I'm not aware of any of the current principal suppliers (Walthers/Shinohara, Atlas, or Peco) offering it today. One reason is probably that there is so much variation in ladders - different spacing of the yard tracks (minimum clearance spacing for parallel straight track, wider spacing if the yard is on a curve, wider still for 0-5-0 access), code

70 or 83 or 100 rail size, solid or insulated frogs, right or left hand, number of tracks, use of compound ladders (to increase siding length), etc.

Why don't you want to assemble it yourself using the track system components you are using for the rest of your layout? If you want to avoid cutting the turnouts or adding a bunch of spacers, most stock turnouts can be connected end to end to produce a reasonable simple ladder. The yard track spacing is then set for you, but that would be the case with the prefab ladder as well. Gary Q

I'd rather just build up from the number of turnouts that are needed for the job. The prebuilt ladder will be more expensive than using individual components and, I suspect, a custom product that is probably a PCB tie product rather than a plastic casting product like a Peco turnout. I'll note that much of the rail from the frog to the end of the turnout can be cut off if you are trying to shorten the turnout plus you can also generally take about 3/4 of the part between the points and that end of the turnout without hurting things.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works every time it is tried!

Had a yard ladder for a long time until the homeowner's association made me get rid of it. *groan*