Of course, then there is the product that started this whole thing, tie plates. I have moved away from the tie plates themselves as it seems that others can do the regular tie plates quite well and thus there is no real need to delve too much into it. Specifically, I like Jimmy Simmons’ tie plates from http://www.monstermodelworks.com. In this post, I’ll be talking about switch tie plates. I recently just updated my switch tie plates for use with 16′ 6″ points, either number 8 or number 10 turnouts.
This comes with the gauge plate in both insulated and non-insulated iterations. The trouble with it is that you will have to order the adjustable rail braces seperately since those were drawn in Sketchup and thus are not compatable with the Solidworks files I create now. The braces are drawn specifically for Code 138 rail, but the plates themselves will work with either code 125 or code 138. With some filing, the rail braces should fit into the code 125 without an issue. I have to draw a set for code 125, but that requires drawing a code 125 rail and I don’t need to get into the details … Here is the link for the rail braces, there are two types:
But, apparently, there is only one style up there for sale seperately. You will also need hook tie plates for under the frogs, which you can find here by themselves:
Or here with a pair of 9ft long guard rails, which are very nice. This second set is a bit more useful, in my opinion, not just because of the guard rails, but also it has a lot more of the hook plates that you actually need, as opposed to what the standard plans say you should use, it is up to you.
There is also this version of the hook plate array, with more plates so that you have some extras, I just saw that it was not up for sale.