Peco c55 turnouts and DCC?

[Anonymous]

Hi, everyone,

I’m ready to start on my new layout with Peco C55 track and electrofrog turnouts.

My question is: Do I really have to modify the turnouts to use them with DCC?
I read Allan Gartner's article on wiringfordcc.com and looked at some other sources
to get some information. Now, I’m no dummy when it comes to putting a circuit together, but I admit that I’m still confused on this issue.

Would insulating the frog ends of the TO’s be enough, or do I really have to start cutting jumpers on those TO's?

To keep this thread short and sweet, please reply only if you’re using Peco c55 TO’s with DCC.

Thanks for your help!

[Anonymous]

Ok, here's a picture of a Peco c55 #4 turnout:



As you can see, it does not have jumpers that can be cut to insulate and
power route the frog. Although I like Allan Gartner's DDC prep site, he
referred to Peco 55 as being easily modified by cutting jumpers, which
is clearly not the case.
Since I'm not planning on ripping this or any future Peco TO's apart to make
them DCC friendly, I'm stuck.

Lord help me..

[Jacktal]

From your picture,I'd say this turnout is an "insulfrog" type turnout,which never had and doesn't need jumpers.If it had jumpers removed previously,we'd still see the cavity designed for this purpose.These are very good turnouts just the same however.The only difference is you would have short lengths of dead track that will likely show on very short loco's in the worst cases.

I have both code 55 and 80 Electrofrog turnouts on hand and they are both equipped with jumpers.With the exception of rail height,they are identical.I have installed many C80 turnouts at the club so far and have never cared to modify a single one.I simply install insulated joiners at both legs of the frog and they all perform flawlessly with our DCC (Digitrax) system.

You should have installation instructions with your TO...just follow them,no less no more,and you shouldn't have any problem.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacktal

From your picture,I'd say this turnout is an "insulfrog" type turnout,which never had and doesn't need jumpers.If it had jumpers removed previously,we'd still see the cavity designed for this purpose.These are very good turnouts just the same however.The only difference is you would have short lengths of dead track that will likely show on very short loco's in the worst cases.

I have both code 55 and 80 Electrofrog turnouts on hand and they are both equipped with jumpers.With the exception of rail height,they are identical.I have installed many C80 turnouts at the club so far and have never cared to modify a single one.I simply install insulated joiners at both legs of the frog and they all perform flawlessly with our DCC (Digitrax) system.

You should have installation instructions with your TO...just follow them,no less no more,and you shouldn't have any problem.

Well, the box says it's an electrofrog TO, and to the best of my knowledge, Peco
doesn't make c55 insulfrog TO's. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Jacktal]

You are right...and I'm puzzled.Peco don't list any Insulfrog C55 turnout indeed.However,the turnout I have on hand (Medium radius SL-E395F) definitely has jumpers,like the C80 turnout (SL-E395) that I compare it with.Since yours obviously doesn't have them,I only see two possibilities...they've been removed which is not likely if you bought it new or you have a newer item on which Peco has elected not to install jumpers anymore,making them DCC ready out of the box.Sorry,I'm definitely confused about this one.

I have installed quite a few of these so far and never have removed the jumpers,and they all work well so that I haven't investigated the purpose of removing them.And as I said before,we are using DCC at the club.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacktal

You are right...and I'm puzzled.Peco don't list any Insulfrog C55 turnout indeed.However,the turnout I have on hand (Medium radius SL-E395F) definitely has jumpers,like the C80 turnout (SL-E395) that I compare it with.Since yours obviously doesn't have them,I only see two possibilities...they've been removed which is not likely if you bought it new or you have a newer item on which Peco has elected not to install jumpers anymore,making them DCC ready out of the box.Sorry,I'm definitely confused about this one.

I have installed quite a few of these so far and never have removed the jumpers,and they all work well so that I haven't investigated the purpose of removing them.And as I said before,we are using DCC at the club.

Maybe Peco didn't include those jumpers on the small #4 turnouts (mine's brand new).
I'll get some #6 ones in this week, so I'll see if those have jumpers. But from what I
can gather, I don't really have to modify them to use with DCC.
That is great news, as I don't like to cut and chop away on these nice turnouts anyways..

[cuyama]

The jumpers are there, they are just a different shape. I've highlighted the area in your image below.


And of course, strictly speaking, there are no #4s or #6s in PECO N-scale C55 turnouts. For the C55, all the frogs are #6. The difference in "short", "medium", or "long" turnouts is in the radius of the diverging curve. These radii are 12", 18", and 36", respectively.

The relatively large frog number and curved diverging path are what make PECO C55 "short" turnouts such a tempting choice in tight spaces, even though some folks criticize their appearance (not without reason). The Atlas C55 look better and are more DCC-friendly out-of-the-box, but they take much more room. And the PECO C55 have the additional advantage of accommodating all equipment, which can be a challenge with some deep-flanged rolling stock and Atlas C55.

Great to have the choice in N scale, though!

Regards,

Byron
http://www.modelrail.us

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cuyama

The jumpers are there, they are just a different shape. I've highlighted the area in your image below.

Byron, I'm not so sure there.
The jumper on this TO connects the frog rails to the frog, that's all.
The frog however, is still connected to the points, even if you cut that jumper.

[cuyama]

Kyle,

I think that's all the jumpers do on the larger turnouts as well. That's why Charles Steadman recommends cutting the rails of the frog on Allan Gartner's site.

Here's the image from Mr. Steadman's discussion of PECO C55:


This is found about two-thirds of the way down this page:
http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_peco.htm

One could use either the existing tiny jumper wires or solder to the portion of the frog underneath the turnout exposed by a hole in the plastic ties to power the frog. Mr. Steadman discusses this in detail.

Although it would be quick to do, this starts to become a lot of surgery. I am running my small switching layout on DCC with PECO C80 Electrofrog turnouts without turnout modification and I have yet to have problems. But it's a small layout and I took care with the location of gaps and feeders in the first place, for example, gapping close to the frog end of every turnout (which leads to more feeders).

regards,

Byron