Definitive Atlas Code 55 Turnout Guide

[Chris333]

 Atlas c55 turnouts are exactly why I ditched my half built layout and did a door layout with hand laid turnouts.

And I  was using the better number 11's.

[Sokramiketes]

Atlas c55 turnouts are exactly why I ditched my half built layout and did a door layout with hand laid turnouts.

And I  was using the better number 11's.

To be fair you've ditched about 10 other layouts and some with hand laid too...   

I've done the solid rail replacement on a #7, and it's working well.

[peteski]

For this thread to be complete it should include this info from Max.

[mmagliaro]

For this thread to be complete it should include this info from Max.

Thanks... I was going to post that in here, but figured people were sick of seeing it.  But it is a good photo for "telling the whole story"
in one shot.

[Mark5]

One step beyond:

I'd say +1 on using a bulb or meter to locate exactly what rails are dead (closure, frog, both).

And yes, you are going to have to carefully solder a jumper wire from the associated stock rail to the dead rail.
For the frog, of course, you'll need to power that through a switch or some contacts or however you normally power frogs.  That can't just
be done with a simple jumper because it changes which rail it needs to be linked to based on the turnout position.

And now... if you'll indulge me...
This is a common problem on all Atlas turnouts, in my experience.  I have one of those curved turnouts, and a lot of #7's plus a few #5's.  Those bridging bars and hinge points are horrible contact points and they fail often.  Of the 25 or so turnouts in my layout, I'd say at least half had one or more dead rails in them right out of the package, caused by those bridges and switch point hinges.  I soldered fine jumper wires and direct feeds to the point rails and stock rails on every single one before installation after I had two of them go bad during my early tracklaying and testing.  I'm glad I noticed this before I had 25 turnouts in there!

I really urge people to "hotwire" their moving point rails, the frog, and the closure rails before you put the turnout in.  It's a lot of work, but it will save you a ton of headache in the future.

Here's an example of the bypass wires I have around the hinges to the moving point rails.

Why isn't this thread best of?

[thomasjmdavis]

A belated thanks to Max for the photo.

They say a picture is worth 1000 words.  I don't know if it would take 1000 words, but that picture is a full explanation of the majority of derailments I experienced on my last layout. Now that I think about it, if I add all the cuss words brought on by the derailments, I am sure we get to 1000 easily. But in my defense, you all started this thread just after I moved in 2016, and the layout was disassembled.  I will be taking it into account as I construct the new layout.