KRM jonadel The bigger problem is I had no idea my layout would get this big and I just kept adding MTH Real Trax and switches. I am way past the point of no return with track and switches, I do not want to start over..... way to expensive. There are better alternatives, live and learn. Jon, Dido,,,me tooooooo.
jonadel The bigger problem is I had no idea my layout would get this big and I just kept adding MTH Real Trax and switches. I am way past the point of no return with track and switches, I do not want to start over..... way to expensive. There are better alternatives, live and learn. Jon, Dido,,,me tooooooo.
The bigger problem is I had no idea my layout would get this big and I just kept adding MTH Real Trax and switches. I am way past the point of no return with track and switches, I do not want to start over..... way to expensive.
There are better alternatives, live and learn.
Jon, Dido,,,me tooooooo.
Exactly why I stayed with it. I also love their 073 Y switches.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
MPCAnthony 0-31 Tubular and 0-22 switches have a good longevity record....
0-31 Tubular and 0-22 switches have a good longevity record....
And if a locomotive requires O-42 or larger, you just...................................(This is where the answer goes.)
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
Buckeye is right. I've got over 40 and they do work. Funny thing is the Lionel repair stationhere sees Fastrack ones coming in with problems too.
Read my post again. They didn't make Fastrack when the Chief and I started our layouts over ten years ago.
Roy....I've always cared.
The best thing to do is change to a track system that has a good longevity record. I don't know which ones do but I changed from Realtrax to fastrack and have had one derailment. I changed before I got in too deep and hopefully you are not in that deep yet. I think many on CTT will agree. Just my 2 cents it relieved my headaches.
Kev
Can't stop working on the railroad!
Buckeye is right about switches. I have to modify some of my 072's as engines will arch when crossing. That trips my fast acting breakers if the engine is moving real slow. Buckeye has solved that problem.
Now I do find another problem with them. The guard rail will slip and close the gap between it and the corresponding rail on the attached track section. This make the switch think is has a car on the side of the switch and will not switch to the other direction. With continous tries to throw the switch, the machine shuts down. With a small flat blade, open the gap back up. Actually, I take a dremel tool and widen it a little more. MTH tech told me that.
Hope all of this helps.
BTW: I use a spare transformer and tun them on aux. power. Now I use 14V AC. I have several swtiches that are working in tantum [moving trains from one main line track to another mainline running parallel]. If the voltage is lower, they do not "snap" and sometimes doe not do a complete change.
Awww Buckeye - I didn't know you cared...
All you have to do to run on Auxilary power is to configure and connect the Aux power as it states in the manual. You do not have to further isolate the switch (i.e. I assume you are referring to the rail connections).
"Remove Jumper between Track AC Out terminal and Aux.PowerACIn terminals (Save the jumper for future use).
Connect Remote Switch as shown in Figure2.
Connect Auxiliary Power AC to Auxiliary Power ACIn screw terminal
Connect Auxiliary Power ACG (Common) to ACG (Common)screw terminal."
Manual for 0-72 switch:
http://www.mthtrains.com/sites/default/files/download/instruction/40as16412i.pdf
As you already note MTH recommends 10 VAC for power.
Good luck!
Regards, Roy
I started with MTH Real Trax 12-13 years ago, the track w/lock on's have worked well. I believe it's because they are screwed down. The switches are problematic, most of them work, some don't. The issue is that they have permanent scenery around them and I don't want to rip them out so I live with them. To be fair I also have 3 Lionel working scenes that also have failed, ugg.
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
Dog, unfortunately you are not alone. I run all my switches on track power but, and this is a big "but", I have 16 volts full time with TMCC. When I am running in conventional mode, my switches do not work very well, if at all at the lower voltage.
My main concern is if you have adequate circuit breakers to shut down everything before your switches are fried. I derail at 16 volts and 300 amps and sparks go everywhere, but my system shuts down in the blink of an eye thanks to the wonderful advice of Roy McClellan, ace electrical engineer and all around good guy.
Buckeye Riveter We have been discussing MTH Real Track Switches on this forum for over six years. Here is what I posted many years ago as the Chief and I were starting to find out about an MTH problem. Buckeye Riveter Fox14120The switches i liked were MTH Real Track switches. Like i said a minor thing only all these years i've had the two No 042 switches and always liked the red\green lanturn's. Checked the price on Real Track and it costs a little less any quirks to working with Real Track over Fast Track? I know Real Track uses Lock On but don't know what the bottom of a piece of Real Track looks like wondering of i could still soder the wires under the track instead of all the Lock On's? Before you fall in love with RealTrax Switches read this: Buckeye Riveter Chief....I hope you are paying attention because you need to see how I solved my problem with the MTH O-72 Realtrax Switches. Oh!! What's that? You say the Chief is off goofing off fishing at the lake? Anyway, here goes. A little history about the MTH Realtrax Switch Problem: The Chief and I installed a bunch of MTH Realtrax Switches on our layout. I have 12 MTH Switches and the Chief has a few more. When I started my layout, Fastrack by Lionel had not been born. About half way through the building of the second phase of my layout, I started to notice that the newer track did not fit as well as the old. The Chief was seeing the same thing as he connected his Realtrax. (Incidentally, someone in the last month provided a history about the manufacturing changes of Realtrax....THANK YOU!) The Chief and I really became upset when the new O-72 Realtrax Switches started not to work. The Chief had switches that the switch motors were DOA. I opened a box of a supposedly new switch and discovered it had been reconditioned. Then I started seeing derailments at two brand new O-72 switches. Two out of my six O-72s would derail certain types of locomotives including BEEPS, Post-war, and Williams. After watching a small new Lionel Steamer ride over the frog and derail, I said something has to be wrong with that switch and not the engine. Here is the MTH O-72 switch that was derailing random locomotives. Look at the gap between the back of the wheel flange and the guard rail. The car is an MTH tank car. Needless to say when I measured the gap between the guard rail and the main rail on an O-72 switch, it was the same as on the O-42 switches by MTH. Logic says that on a straight section of track, the gap between the guard rail and the main rail would be the smallest. On sharper turns, the gap should be the widest. To check to see if the gap width between the guard rail and the main rail was too large and causing the opposite wheel to ride over the frog, I put three (3) layers of 7 mil electrical tape on the guard rail, as shown below: The tape effectively, reduced the space between the guard rail and the main rail. After several hours of running various types of locomotives and rolling stock through the switch at different speeds, not one derailment occurred. I sent the locmotives through the switch in reverse, too, with loads and without loads. BINGO!! After a trip to the LHS, where I purchased .020 x .188 styrene strips, I added one to the face of the guard rail as shown below. After several hours of hard running, not one locomotive on the Baltimore, Ohio and Wabash Railroad has had any problems negotiating this switch. Now you know, Chiefie!!! I would not recommend MTH RealTrax. If you do a search of this forum, you will find discussions and comments for the last six years about the problems the Chief and many others have had with RealTrax.
We have been discussing MTH Real Track Switches on this forum for over six years. Here is what I posted many years ago as the Chief and I were starting to find out about an MTH problem.
Buckeye Riveter Fox14120The switches i liked were MTH Real Track switches. Like i said a minor thing only all these years i've had the two No 042 switches and always liked the red\green lanturn's. Checked the price on Real Track and it costs a little less any quirks to working with Real Track over Fast Track? I know Real Track uses Lock On but don't know what the bottom of a piece of Real Track looks like wondering of i could still soder the wires under the track instead of all the Lock On's? Before you fall in love with RealTrax Switches read this: Buckeye Riveter Chief....I hope you are paying attention because you need to see how I solved my problem with the MTH O-72 Realtrax Switches. Oh!! What's that? You say the Chief is off goofing off fishing at the lake? Anyway, here goes. A little history about the MTH Realtrax Switch Problem: The Chief and I installed a bunch of MTH Realtrax Switches on our layout. I have 12 MTH Switches and the Chief has a few more. When I started my layout, Fastrack by Lionel had not been born. About half way through the building of the second phase of my layout, I started to notice that the newer track did not fit as well as the old. The Chief was seeing the same thing as he connected his Realtrax. (Incidentally, someone in the last month provided a history about the manufacturing changes of Realtrax....THANK YOU!) The Chief and I really became upset when the new O-72 Realtrax Switches started not to work. The Chief had switches that the switch motors were DOA. I opened a box of a supposedly new switch and discovered it had been reconditioned. Then I started seeing derailments at two brand new O-72 switches. Two out of my six O-72s would derail certain types of locomotives including BEEPS, Post-war, and Williams. After watching a small new Lionel Steamer ride over the frog and derail, I said something has to be wrong with that switch and not the engine. Here is the MTH O-72 switch that was derailing random locomotives. Look at the gap between the back of the wheel flange and the guard rail. The car is an MTH tank car. Needless to say when I measured the gap between the guard rail and the main rail on an O-72 switch, it was the same as on the O-42 switches by MTH. Logic says that on a straight section of track, the gap between the guard rail and the main rail would be the smallest. On sharper turns, the gap should be the widest. To check to see if the gap width between the guard rail and the main rail was too large and causing the opposite wheel to ride over the frog, I put three (3) layers of 7 mil electrical tape on the guard rail, as shown below: The tape effectively, reduced the space between the guard rail and the main rail. After several hours of running various types of locomotives and rolling stock through the switch at different speeds, not one derailment occurred. I sent the locmotives through the switch in reverse, too, with loads and without loads. BINGO!! After a trip to the LHS, where I purchased .020 x .188 styrene strips, I added one to the face of the guard rail as shown below. After several hours of hard running, not one locomotive on the Baltimore, Ohio and Wabash Railroad has had any problems negotiating this switch. Now you know, Chiefie!!! I would not recommend MTH RealTrax. If you do a search of this forum, you will find discussions and comments for the last six years about the problems the Chief and many others have had with RealTrax.
Fox14120The switches i liked were MTH Real Track switches. Like i said a minor thing only all these years i've had the two No 042 switches and always liked the red\green lanturn's. Checked the price on Real Track and it costs a little less any quirks to working with Real Track over Fast Track? I know Real Track uses Lock On but don't know what the bottom of a piece of Real Track looks like wondering of i could still soder the wires under the track instead of all the Lock On's?
Before you fall in love with RealTrax Switches read this:
Buckeye Riveter Chief....I hope you are paying attention because you need to see how I solved my problem with the MTH O-72 Realtrax Switches. Oh!! What's that? You say the Chief is off goofing off fishing at the lake? Anyway, here goes. A little history about the MTH Realtrax Switch Problem: The Chief and I installed a bunch of MTH Realtrax Switches on our layout. I have 12 MTH Switches and the Chief has a few more. When I started my layout, Fastrack by Lionel had not been born. About half way through the building of the second phase of my layout, I started to notice that the newer track did not fit as well as the old. The Chief was seeing the same thing as he connected his Realtrax. (Incidentally, someone in the last month provided a history about the manufacturing changes of Realtrax....THANK YOU!) The Chief and I really became upset when the new O-72 Realtrax Switches started not to work. The Chief had switches that the switch motors were DOA. I opened a box of a supposedly new switch and discovered it had been reconditioned. Then I started seeing derailments at two brand new O-72 switches. Two out of my six O-72s would derail certain types of locomotives including BEEPS, Post-war, and Williams. After watching a small new Lionel Steamer ride over the frog and derail, I said something has to be wrong with that switch and not the engine. Here is the MTH O-72 switch that was derailing random locomotives. Look at the gap between the back of the wheel flange and the guard rail. The car is an MTH tank car. Needless to say when I measured the gap between the guard rail and the main rail on an O-72 switch, it was the same as on the O-42 switches by MTH. Logic says that on a straight section of track, the gap between the guard rail and the main rail would be the smallest. On sharper turns, the gap should be the widest. To check to see if the gap width between the guard rail and the main rail was too large and causing the opposite wheel to ride over the frog, I put three (3) layers of 7 mil electrical tape on the guard rail, as shown below: The tape effectively, reduced the space between the guard rail and the main rail. After several hours of running various types of locomotives and rolling stock through the switch at different speeds, not one derailment occurred. I sent the locmotives through the switch in reverse, too, with loads and without loads. BINGO!! After a trip to the LHS, where I purchased .020 x .188 styrene strips, I added one to the face of the guard rail as shown below. After several hours of hard running, not one locomotive on the Baltimore, Ohio and Wabash Railroad has had any problems negotiating this switch. Now you know, Chiefie!!!
Chief....I hope you are paying attention because you need to see how I solved my problem with the MTH O-72 Realtrax Switches. Oh!! What's that? You say the Chief is off goofing off fishing at the lake? Anyway, here goes.
A little history about the MTH Realtrax Switch Problem:
The Chief and I installed a bunch of MTH Realtrax Switches on our layout. I have 12 MTH Switches and the Chief has a few more. When I started my layout, Fastrack by Lionel had not been born. About half way through the building of the second phase of my layout, I started to notice that the newer track did not fit as well as the old. The Chief was seeing the same thing as he connected his Realtrax. (Incidentally, someone in the last month provided a history about the manufacturing changes of Realtrax....THANK YOU!)
The Chief and I really became upset when the new O-72 Realtrax Switches started not to work. The Chief had switches that the switch motors were DOA. I opened a box of a supposedly new switch and discovered it had been reconditioned. Then I started seeing derailments at two brand new O-72 switches. Two out of my six O-72s would derail certain types of locomotives including BEEPS, Post-war, and Williams. After watching a small new Lionel Steamer ride over the frog and derail, I said something has to be wrong with that switch and not the engine.
Here is the MTH O-72 switch that was derailing random locomotives. Look at the gap between the back of the wheel flange and the guard rail. The car is an MTH tank car.
Needless to say when I measured the gap between the guard rail and the main rail on an O-72 switch, it was the same as on the O-42 switches by MTH. Logic says that on a straight section of track, the gap between the guard rail and the main rail would be the smallest. On sharper turns, the gap should be the widest.
To check to see if the gap width between the guard rail and the main rail was too large and causing the opposite wheel to ride over the frog, I put three (3) layers of 7 mil electrical tape on the guard rail, as shown below:
I would not recommend MTH RealTrax. If you do a search of this forum, you will find discussions and comments for the last six years about the problems the Chief and many others have had with RealTrax.
We're new to the railroading hobby. We chose Realtrax because it appeared simple to use compared to other manufacturers. We have blown three of four switches, an expensive experience, in the past year. Not sure why the first one went, but the last three went after a derailment.
Our switches are run on track powers. Our theory is that we were running an engine at about 8 volts and that prevented a nonderailer switch from working causing the derailment. The resulting sparking both at the derailed engine and at the other end of the track caused a power surge that fried the switches.
We think we need to power the switches separately so they are at 10 volts. That is doable, but do we need to also isolate the switches from the rest of the track, or just add the power to them?
Thanks for any ideas.
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