I'm sure there's a prototype for almost everything -- somewhere.

I've seen double-slip switches in a relatively small station in
the Austrian mountains. And those are something that you usually
associate with larger terminals/yards.

But in this case, the station represented a relatively short --
perhaps half-mile or so -- stretch of flat terrain on what was
otherwise a 2-3 per cent mountain line. And double-slip switches,
even though they are more expensive and more expensive to maintain,
certainly let you fit more working tracks into a small space.


Regarding the initial question, I would think it would be more
likely, if you needed a diverging track off one that was already
a curve, that you would have a curved turnout, where both tracks
of the turnout are curved.

-- Ernest