Problem with curved code 55 turnout

[Ed Kapuscinski]

(i.e. not just "stuffed tight in the hole").

[soo]

Pete,, It could be web sight,,, if you saw it on the web,,, then you could have web sight. thank you thank you,, I will be here all week.

But seriously, I have come to solder feeders/jumpers on all turnouts prior to install, we saw what happened to my helix when I got upset.

Did I mention that green is my favorite color? LOL

prior planning prevents really poor performance,,,, yeah yeah I know I used the wrong word,, so SOO me,,,, hehehe

Y-it

[Dave V]

Just to throw a grenade and run...

These are the sorts of issues that drive even some experienced modelers toward Unitrack.

<ducking and running>

 

[towl1996]

I fixed all my Atlas code 55 switches by selling them. I make my own using fast track jigs. These are, by far, the best switches.
Steve

LOL. In the end, rolling your own seems the best course of action.

[peteski]

So, I took a half hour and completely cleaned the turn out - nothin..... then by accident I leaned on the ground throw and the loco roared past me.... appears the ground throw bar had been knocked and the points were riding to high..... problem appears to have been solved...

Thanks for all the sage advise..... you guys are great!

That was an easy fix for now Puddy, but you'll most likely have more problems in the future.  Depending on pints contacting the store rail as a sole electrical contact is a recipe for frustration.

Friend of mine has a layout using Peco switches (which have spring-loaded points for positive contact). He also solely depends on the points for electrical contacts. He cleans them often but the reliability is just not there.  This becomes a source of endless frustration during operating sessions.   To me it makes sense to do it right and never have to worry about intermittent contact.

[Upstate Gator]

@robert3985 thanks for the clear diagram. I have a #10 with a frog juicer that has the closure rail issue as well.

[robert3985]

Puddy,

Haha...sometimes the random universe works in our favor! Glad you got a non-soldering solution to your turnout problem. 

I fixed all my Atlas code 55 switches by selling them. I make my own using fast track jigs. These are, by far, the best switches.
Steve

LOL. In the end, rolling your own seems the best course of action.

Yup...I agree that rolling your own turnouts is the best solution to the many problems and configuration restrictions that using commercially manufactured turnouts imposes on us. BUT...I also understand that a lot of model railroaders don't want to "mess" with it, and disregard all the advantages hand-building our turnouts give to those of us who choose to take the time to learn how to do this. 

However, bringing this point up to a modeler who has already made his entire layout using commercial turnouts is pissing in the wind...giving relief and a bit of satisfaction at the moment, but likely to cause a mess depending on the way the wind is blowing!

One advantage that is seldom stated about rolling our own turnouts is that by learning to make 'em, we also (out of necessity) get to learn how they work, both electrically and mechanically, which makes solving problems other modelers have with their "bought" turnouts easy to do...although "fixing" problems with commercial turnouts is a LOT more difficult than fixing hand-built ones, which Max's (mmagliaro) post so graphically illustrates.

@robert3985 thanks for the clear diagram. I have a #10 with a frog juicer that has the closure rail issue as well.

Happy to be of assistance!  Your comment is one of the reasons I (and others here) take the time to do diagrams and detailed descriptions...even though Puddy found an easy solution to his turnout problem, I know there are others out there who may benefit from a little extra clarity.

To anybody else out there who may have electrical problems with track already laid, weathered and ballasted...I've made a really simple tool that I'm finding invaluable to assist me in soldering electrical jumpers and leads in flex track that's already laid on my layout.  What it does is melt and cut the plastic spacer that's directly under the rail, between ties.  It works great on Atlas flex (both C55 & C80), and ME flex.  I'm pretty sure it won't work with Peco 55 flex or turnouts.  Since I don't use commercial turnouts on any of my modules or layout, I don't have direct experience as to how it would work on turnouts, but I think it'd work just as well to remove a couple of spacers on turnouts already laid to allow soldering of a lead or jumper to the railfoot.  I've posted this before somewhere here at TRW, but here are photos of it again...

Photo (1)- X-Acto #11 blade ground this profile, mounted in a Harbor Freight Tools woodburning tool:



Photo (2)- Showing how it's used to remove plastic spacers between ties:


I bought a woodburning tool at Harbor Freight Tools for about 12 bucks, which is essentially a soldering iron with a blade-mounting tip to take my custom ground blade.  Very easy to make using my bench grinder and cut-off disks on my Dremel.

I'm in the process of installing four bridges into existing trackwork on my train buddy Nate's (Nato) layout, and this tool worked very well removing ties on his Atlas C80 neatly and didn't require me pulling up glued-down flex to get access to the between-tie-spacers where I was soldering C70 to C80 adapters on the rail ends at the bridge abutments, so it's also useful in other ways than merely making a space for electrical jumpers under the rail.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Dave V]

@robert3985, that's a very ingenious solution.  I may just need to try something similar!

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks Bob - do I solder the wire and run it direct to the other rail or do I run the wire under the roadbed and back up?

Mike "soldering doofis" Puddington

Pud, the suggestions here are good, but with a turnout already installed and in place, there is no reason to neatly connect the dead rail to the other rail, or to go "back up". One soldering connection, to the dead rail, is all that's required, and you can do that on the far side, away from view. Simply drill one hole through the roadbed, run a wire up, bend and press against rail and solder (flux required). The other end doesn't have to go back up, simply attach underneath to appropriate feed wire, no need to connect to the other visible turnout rail. 50% neatness reduction right there
Best, Otto K.