problems wiht O42 turnouts

[Anonymous]

I have 2 lionel O27 turnouts that are O42 Radius. Every time any car goes over it, it sparks. No matter what speed it is going. It also sparks so much that my coil couplers open. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

[lionelsoni]

If the sparks are on the running rails, they may be normal, since isolated sections of rail are used to throw the switch to implement the anti-derailing feature.

However, the fact that your couplers are opening suggests that the coupler pickup is touching the fat center rail at some point. This may be due to worn pickups that are vulnerable to the geometry of that switch design. The pickup, as you may know, is a small plastic shoe with ridges on the side that are meant to prevent this sort of thing from happening. If the ridges are worn, the center contact may protrude enough to touch the center rail sometimes.

I have never tried to find replacement shoes, but they might be out there. If the wear on the shoes is not too bad, you might be able to make things better by filing down the contact a little.

Before doing anything, however, I would push a car or two through the switch slowly and repeatedly to see exactly what is sparking and where. I wouldn't be surprised if the things I mentioned are both happening.

[Anonymous]

Both the engine and turnouts are brand new.

[lionelsoni]

Okay, forget the stuff about the pickups. I thought you were talking about early postwar electromagnetic couplers, which used such pickups on the trucks to operate the same kind of couplers that are now put on locomotives like yours.

I would still try to see where the sparking is coming from. You might have a (locomotive) pickup touching a running rail or a wheel touching a center rail. If the normal anti-derailing sparking is all that it is and it is affecting your digitally controlled couplers, you don't want to hear my advice on how to cure it.

[Anonymous]

lol what is the advice on fixing it. I think it is normal anti-deraling sparking

[waltrapp]

I own 8 Lionel O27 42" switches and pretty much swear at them all the time!! [:(!]

In my case many times the spark is so severe it will cause the engine to cycle! They just destroy my DCS signal and operation so I can't use them on my sets of track controlled by DCS.

I have put electrical tape on the sides of that fat middle piece and that seems to have helped some. I am not at home now but I have some solutions written down that others have tried even though I myself have not.

Many times the problem with these switches is that a wheel or roller will contact both the center fat piece and an outer rail concurrently. If you're running the train fast enough many times the inertia will overcome the quick short. Sometimes not.

I can't run my passenger cars thru them at all. And I'm talking about the older MTH RK 13 1/2" ones!!! Funny, because THE reason that I bought the 42" switches was because the passenger cars wouldn't clear the motor housing on the 27" switches. Sometimes you just can't win for losing.

I have 30 of the Lionel O27 27" ones and have started replacing them with K-Line's. So far, for the 12 that I've replaced, I'm A LOT happier with the K-Line ones.

If I remember I'll dig out my notes tonight and get back to you with other people's suggestions.

Good luck.

- walt

[Anonymous]

Thanks Walt. I am heading off to work here in a few so I do not have a chance to try out the tape on the sides of the fat middle piece. Actually when I go very slow through the turnout ther is no problems but when I go faster is when everything goes wrong. I was thinking of going with the k-line ones. Are they direct drop in replacements or will I have to modify my track a bit?

[waltrapp]

I can't say if they are direct drop ins replacements or not. I only have a Christmas layout so I was not in the situation of having to lift out the old Lionel O27 27" switches and replace them with the K-Line ones.

Not only that, even if I confirmed that the 27" diameter ones are matches I wouldn't say that they 42" diameter ones would be too. The divergent path would probably measure out the same but the straight pass thru path - Unless you measured the K-Line one against the Lionel one you wouldn't know. You know how the Lionel 42" switch's straight track is pretty long.

Sorry I can't help.

- Walt

[Anonymous]

You'll be much better off with the K-Line.

[lionelsoni]

I compared a Lionel with a K-Line last night. The tangent track seems to be the same length. The diverging track has the same curvature but is a complete eighth of a circle, not short like the Lionel.

I have noticed a problem with my numerous O27 switches, that truck parts, particularly the sideframes of the trailing truck of my 773, will contact the end of the center rail of the tangent track when the locomotive is taking the diverging path. The newer examples of the switch have a diagonal cut out of the end of that center rail, apparently to mitigate this problem. However, I have had to cut them back farther to stop the shorting. The O42 switches are also cut back, but straight down through the railhead with the rail flanges left full length. The K-Line switches have a much greater clearance in this area.

[Anonymous]

I think I will pick up a few of of the K-Line tracks and see if I can fit them into my layout where the lionel ones were.