Model Railroading > Walthers Shinohara Code 83 crossing

I nipped two of these down (60 degrees and very, very carefully) to form a single track crossing, double track on 2" centers. I also used rail joiners and soldered the two sections together.

I tested it by running a loco on all tracks with no problems. However, I notice there is a bit of a rub with all the plastic insulation. I wonder how long this thing is going to last before it causes problems. Anyone used any of these in the long term?

I'm thinking it might be better to build one all metal with gaps from say a Fasttracks jig.

I have had 2 of them in use for a couple of years with no problems.

Also, an old layout had a single track crossing 3 tracks in Shinohara Code 100 that lasted ok for over 10 years with weekly operation.

spken in Oz