FIRST RADIUS

OO GAUGE · POINTS

Points explained: sidings, loops and crossovers

A point (called a turnout in North America) lets one track divide into two. Points are what turn an oval into a railway with somewhere to go: sidings, passing loops, yards and crossovers all start with one.

The parts of a point

Left-hand or right-hand?

Stand at the toe and look along the point. If the branch curves away to the left, it is a left-hand point (Hornby R8072). If it curves to the right, it is right-hand (R8073). Which you need depends on which side you want the new track to go.

Hornby standard points

A standard Hornby point is 168mm long, the same as a standard straight, and its branch is a 22.5° curve at 2nd radius (438mm). That means a point can replace a straight in an oval without changing anything else, and the branch is straightened up with one 2nd radius curve (R606) facing the other way.

A siding

TOESTRAIGHT ROADSIDING
A left-hand point feeding a siding: the curve after the branch straightens it up 67mm from the main line

One point and one curve to straighten up give you a siding running parallel to the main line, exactly 67mm away. Finish it with a buffer stop. Ready-made plan: Add a siding to your train set oval.

A passing loop

MAIN LINELOOP
A passing loop: a right-hand point, a left-hand point facing the other way, and two curves on the loop

A passing loop uses one point at each end, of opposite hands, so the loop leaves and rejoins on the same side. Ready-made plan: Train set oval with a passing loop.

A crossover

67
A crossover: two right-hand points joined by their branches link two parallel tracks 67mm apart

Two points of the same hand, joined branch to branch, link two parallel tracks. With Hornby setrack the tracks end up exactly 67mm apart, the standard spacing for double track. Ready-made plan: Double oval with a crossover.

Facing and trailing points

A train approaching from the toe can be sent either way: the point is facing for that train. A train approaching from the other end can only go one way, back to the toe: the point is trailing. It matters when you plan how trains will use a layout. On a double oval where both loops run the same way round, one crossover lets trains move from one loop to the other but not back; a second crossover, facing the other way, lets them return.