0-6-0 Stalling over turnouts

[Train1725]

Greetings, I am pretty new to the hobby (N-Scale) and was wondering why my 0-6-0 Steam Engine stalls over my Atlas turnouts, unless i cross it at top speed (not too realistic for a yard engine)? I use Atlas turnouts and the power pack came with a cheap train sets that i bought to get started. Also, are the wheels of the tender supposed to pick up power also? If not, can they be made to? Thanks for the help
Train 1725

[timthechef]

I model in HO so I don't know if this will work in N scale but you may need to power the frogs in your turnouts. The frog is the little metal piece that comes between the actual switch and where the tracks seperate. You can get relay switch from Atlas that is activated by the same switch that activates the turnout switch and this will provide the right current (positive or negative) to the frog depending on wich way the switch is thrown. Hope this helps.

[ndbprr]

small switchers are notorious for poor contact. You might be able to figure out what is happening if it always stalls in the same position but chances are you will not so here is what I would do. Tomar makes pick up shoes that ride on the rails and add to the pick up capability. You could mount them on the tender. When you paint them black they are almost invisible and run two wires to parallel the leads from the engine. Make sure you use some stranded extremely flexible wire. Then when the engine is in stall mode the tender will pick up the current and when the tender is in stall mode the engine will have cleared the problem area.

[BR60103]

If your power pack rund the train OK on the rest of your layout, it isn't causing the problem at the turnout.
The frog in your turnout may be plastic or metal. If it's metal. see the reply above. If it's plastic, you may be having one of several problems.
The frog may be long enough that the loco loses contact. Check how many of your wheels are picking up. Turn the loco and tender over and touch wires from the track or power pack to the wheels. Also look for pickup wires (may not exist due to different pickup system.) The tender may pickup--depends on the model. Hope that front and back axle pickup.
The frog may be lifting the whole side of the loco so all wheels break contact. This means either that the flanges are too deep or the flangeway in the frog is not deep enough. This requires complex adjustments.
Does the loco run through if you turn it around?

[Anonymous]

I have had the same problem in HO scale. I used a small file and filed the frogs deeper to solve the problem. This works well and will not require takeking anything apart. Older atlas switches are nitorius for this problem.

[Anonymous]

Assuming that it's a dead frog turnout (PECO Insulfrog type), this is most likely to be due to the loco not having a long enough wheelbase to avoid ending up with all its wheels on the dead frog. I have this problem with some small 0-6-0 diesel switchers I have in my British OO collection. Interestingly, I have a little 0-4-0 steam swither that will amble over the same track without any problems at all, despite having a far shorter wheelbase!

[Train1725]

thanks for the help, i'll let you know what works!

[AltonFan]

I really don't have anything to add to the responses already posted. Depending on the make and model of your 0-6-0, it may not pick up current from all six wheels. You may have to look into modifying the engine so it will pick up from all six wheels. The new steam locomotive project book as an article about this. If the switcher has a tender, and it is not already wired to pick-up current, you might also look at modifying the tender to pick up power. (This might get complicated, but it is not impossible.

But the real solution is to use turnouts with powered frogs, at least for #6 or longer turnouts.