Defective Turnout?
- Thread starter felliott
- Start date
Check the frog closely for flash. It could be that a bit of flash from casting the plastic frog is blocking the flangeway.
A plastic frog?
If it's really a number 6 turnout with a plastic frog, then short wheelbase locos with limited pickup will stall there. A four axle loco with all wheel pickup should go right through with no problems.
If it's really a number 6 turnout with a plastic frog, then short wheelbase locos with limited pickup will stall there. A four axle loco with all wheel pickup should go right through with no problems.
One other possibility - some turnouts have VERY wide gaps in the guardrail - thats the (often plastic) "rail" on the other side from the frog, which doesn't "pull" the wheels far enough over to clear the point of the frog, The cure is to either stick a VERY thin strip of styrene vertically between the guardrail and the outer rail so that it is tight against the guardrail, or wrap a 0.005" strip of phosphor bronze strip around the guard rail and ACC it into position. an email will get you a picture! Either way what you are doing is reducing the gap so the wheels are pulled across.
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
Is it a short you're getting at the frog? Some frogs have the two rails coming close enough together that the wheel tread crosses over andshorts there (Some Peco do this). Cure is some sort of varnish over the rail.
In that case the cure is live frog turnouts aka Peco Electrofrog
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
The other solution is to ensure there are pick-ups on all wheels, including the tender. I have an 0-6-0 that runs through Atlas snap switches (plastic frog) easily. It has pickups on all 6 drivers, and on both sides of both trucks on the tender.
Unless you are running an 0-4-0 tanks engine with nowhere else to put pick-ups, this may solve your problem without replacing all your turnouts.
Andrew
Unless you are running an 0-4-0 tanks engine with nowhere else to put pick-ups, this may solve your problem without replacing all your turnouts.
Andrew
You might have success testing to see if wiring connections between the track on either end of the turnout and possibly the turnout itself help. I've had this problem and touched wire from track leading to the turnout to a rail on the turnout or to the track on the other side and have found that this lets me power a loco through. Once you know where the conections need to be made it soldering time! 
Ralph
Ralph