Manufacturer: Garich Light Transport, 14582 Aspen Circle, Huntington Beach, CA 92647. Price: $ California residents please include 8.25-percent sales tax.

Garich Light Transport turnout kits are fun. Especially compared to the last turnout kit I assembled, in HOn3. What a treat for the eyes!

I built a number 6 turnout kit containing Garich's code 250 brass rail. Uncle Russ reviewed the rail and tie strip in our December 1991/January 1992 issue so I will limit my comments only to the turnout. Brass spacers across the top of the rails tentatively hold the kit together. The ingenious Delrin frog is already in place. Small pieces of brass are also in place to insure electrical conductivity between the stock rails and the points.

All rail parts are pre-bent and pre-ground into a complete turnout, but the rail is lacking ties. The kit contains all you need (in the correct sizes, of course) along with spikes and a drawing of a finished turnout so excellent you may want to frame it.

The instructions tell you first to look over each part, learn their names, and to understand the terms in turnout construction. They then suggest you gather the parts you must provide yourself: a piece of plywood, Homasote®, or other material to use as a work surface, a track gauge, needlenose pliers, a small hammer, a nail set, a couple of drill bits, and a hand drill. A drill press might save some effort but little time.

When I compared the actual rail pieces to the drawing, I noticed the position of the ties relative to the frog and points was wrong. But the instructions anticipate that and tell you to adjust the ties to space them evenly.

First attach the ties directly under the frog screw holes. Then start drilling. Locate and pre-drill the holes for the spikes attaching the straight stock rail. Then, use the needlenose pliers, hammer, and nail set to attach most of that rail. The brass contact pads attaching to the stock (outside) rails near the points also hold the rails in place-a very good idea since spikes on the outside would push those rails out of gauge toward the center.

When you have spiked the straight rail, move on to the curved stock rail. Use your track gauge wherever you can and attach the curved rail just as you did the straight rail, pre-drilling, gauging, and spiking as necessary.

The spikes are longer than the ties are thick, so they will protrude from the bottom of each tie by about 1/8-inch. On assembled Garich turnouts, the spike points are bent over but I simply cemented mine with silicone sealer. I spent almost five hours building the turnout, but I enjoyed myself. If you build several kits, you will probably become more efficient.

The turnout's operation is superb, mainly because of its design. Everything ran through it smoothly and I was unable to cause a derailment with any truck or wheelset I could find. The Delrin frog is largely responsible and I congratulate Rich Garich for devising such a little wonder. Not only does it make turnout construction much easier, it also acts as an electrical gap to simplify wiring.

To operate the turnout on your layout, you must install a switchstand or some kind of motor. Garich offers a manual switchstand in brass and Llagas Creek has one in bronze. You also may use an electric motor or a pneumatic system

Overall, the kit was fun to build and results in a reliable turnout smooth in operation and very attractive in appearance.-Larry Larsen