HI _ new to the site and enjoy reading the post _ thanks for the support!
Im setting up my lionel O gauge which began with my father in the 1930s _ I took it over in the 1950s _ having been packed away for over 30+yrs _ Im running about 250ft of track through the house with several lines
_ Question : 4 out of 5 of my 022 switches will not throw automatically ( non _ derailing feature ) on the curves only _ 1 switch does work perfectly _ I have interchanged the four in the same space / all pins in the correct position but the 4 switches ( non_derailing feature)only works on the straight sections _ when I hook up the controllers all of the failing ( curve sectons ) 4 work fine with the controller _ its just the non-derailing part that does not function.... and only on the curve section _ Im lost with what to do next other than ship them out for repair .... if they need repairing _ any suggestions?
Thanks for you help!
You might have better luck posting this on the "Classic Toy Trains" forum.
Mike
Look for my post in 022/711 switch operation pblms. I posted a set of instructions on how to refurb 022 switches. If you do everything, your 022s will operate reliably for many years. I have 75 022 switches, and so far, I have been through 64 of the.
The problem you are having is a broken solder joint inside the switch. Remove the switch motor and the bottom cover and resolder the broken joint. Put some extra solder on it to make it stronger. These joings are almost always broken.
Bruce Baker
And I third the motion. I bought several sets on da bay, and probably 7 out of 10 had the curved non-derail bad. You actually can just take the 2 or 3 little tiny screws out of the undersides plate, and see the broken solder joint. There is a long metal piece, and it solders to only ONE of the tangs that come from the FORWARD isolated part of the topside rail. I have also taken and cut the metal piece off about 1" or so back, polished it up, and soldered a wire to that, and then solder the other end to the little 'tang' tab from the rail. Then just put a piece of insulating material over the wire, like part of a heavy brown sack, then screw the metal plate back on. If that connection, however was not broken, time to check the 4 contacts on the motor unit and clean. I have also had one or two where I had to clean the solder blob next to the contacts. (The little round knob at the far end of that metal piece that connects to the inside rail, makes contact with one of the solder blobs next to the sliding contact assembly.)
there are several places in the switch where you can have a bad conndtion, and I think I have found all of them and pointed them out in my post.
bztrain,
One more thing. If you are setting up a new layout, I have a suggestion to make sure all the track connections are tight. Bend the center pin on each track section to the right and the outside left pin to the left. Grab the rail where the pin is inserted and bend the rail. Then when you assemble the track, you will have a positive connection between the pin and the rail, not only in the track section with the holes, but also in the track section where the pins are installed. I started doing this several months ago because I could never get a good connection when I squeezed the open ends of the rails to make them smaller. When you squeeze the open ends of the rails, and then take the track apart, you have to squeeze them again when you put them back together. This is too much like work. If you bend the ends of the rails, you only have to do it once, and you can disconnect the track sections and put them back together as many times as you want to, and you never have to bend the rails a second time. Originally, I thought you couldn't bend the rails on the 022 switches, but since then I have discovered that you can also bend the 022 switch rails. Just be careful not to break the plastic.
You need to check the pins in the 022 switches to make sure they are making good connection with the rails.
Hi Bruce _ thank you for your help _ yep the leads were cracked and I soldered them _ all the switches are works well except for one _ I have it set up correctly but all it does is chatter _the main middle rail just vibrates back and forth at a rapid speed _ I tried swaping out a motor from a functioning switch but it does not fix the problem _ next I insulated the underside of the rails ( from where I did the soldering ) but that did not fix the problem.... so maybe this guy is just not going to make it _ after over 40 yrs Im back with a set up and have a great time _ the tracks are nailed down to my floor running through the first floor of my house _250 + ft of track _ Im now starting the wiring _ Ive located a reproduction wire that Tomas Edison designed / cotton wrapped ( now insulated ) black twisted wire _ it looks great with the old tin tracks _ not being a real train purist Ive taken the casing off two engines and Im running them as motors only _ hopefully that is not insulting to real train community _ thanks again
It sounds like you don't have the insulating pins installed correctly. If the insulating pins are replaced by steel pins, you will get the symptoms you have. If that is not the problem, you have both of the non-derailing rails grounded somehow. Do you have a controller installed? If you do, it could be the problem. If you have a meter, check the terminals on the switch motor to ground. They should both show open to ground and about 7 ohms to the center rail when the switch points are centered (halfway between the two normal positions). If that checks bad, remove the switch motor and check the non-derailing rails to ground. They should both show open circuit. All of these old switches can be made to work. I guarantee it. I didn't discard any of the ones I have, and one of them has a die cast cover on the motor. It is probably older than I am and I am 68. Definitely prewar.
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