It seems that each and every one of my turnouts (peco and atlas n 55) simply don't operate correctly out of the box (or blister pack). I've got the atlas switches/track/rail joiners and peco switches/track/rail joiners in segregated layout sections so my grief isn't from intermixing brands, The v part of the frog (points?) needs plenty of filing. The peco switches need some bending so they make electrical contact when the turnout is switched. Some of the atlas switches don't send power down one of the rails on one of the turns. I've spent so much time running a loco back and forth and back and forth trying to tume these *** things.
So after all this bellyaching, I do have a question. Is this normal???????
Can be. That's why a lot of people hand-lay. They want to control the quality control.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
If you don't already have one, invest in an NMRA standards gauge, it will tell you everything you need to know about not only the turnouts and track, but the wheels of your locos and cars also. There are times when out of the box turnouts need fine tuning, but without being on site at your layout I cannot begin to speculate what the issue may be. I really don't think every turnout you got is bad, I'm thinking you have other issues, maybe a bad wheel set on the loco, bad track connections, I don't know. My delvings into N scale were a long time ago and I used Atlas turnouts, and I don't remember many issues apart from cleaning off some mold flash and filing the points a little sharper.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
I've got a standards gauge so that's the first step. And maybe I was exagerating in writing that EVERY turnout needs help. I'm seriously considering handlaying track and turnouts for section 2 of my layout.
I am surprised that you are having problems with Peco turnouts. Almost a year ago I scrapped an 80% complete layout because of serious (and continuous) electrical problems with Walthers/Shinohara products. My answer was to go to Peco and I have nothing but praise for their products. The suggestion of using an NMRA track gauge is a good one - but I have to agree with the poster that suggests you may have a wheel/driver problem. My layout is in an unheated/unair-conditioned garage and has had zero/none/nadda problems. For the record: I run American 4-4-0s (Bachmann Spectrum) through Peco's small radius turnouts.
"Keeping my hand on the throttle...and my eyes on rail."
I've had to adjust some of my brand new Atlas turnouts. The most common issue was the guard rails being too far from the frog, according to the NMRA gauge. A little careful work with an emery board brought them into spec.
Doing these wiring mods to your turnouts before you lay them can stop a lot of your headaches.http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches.htmWorks for DC or DCC.
I've had a bunch of Atlas Code 55 turnouts with dead frog rails. Some are dead right out of the box, others are dead because I pulled too hard on the frog rail and dislocated it. I've also dead frog connections (where the frog is not connected to the little solder loop that extends outside the track).
I've tried a few repairs, and the best I've come up with is soldering jumpers to the dead sections using small gauge magnet wire. I'm still not that good at soldering so I have been able to salvage a couple of turnouts, I've completely destroyed at least a half dozen, and I have a box with four or five more I need to fix.
Mechanically, I've only had two bad turnouts, both had loose point rails and wouldn't throw correctly. One was bad right out of the box & I think I damaged the other one. I'm sure there is a simple "dab of glue in the right place" fix for these.
Also I found the gap between the stock and point rails is different depending on where it is made (Japan or China).
I wish the Atlas had better quality control, but I still rate the turnouts pretty highly. The ones that do work, have worked well.
I only have one Peco (the double slip insulfrog) and its been top notch.
Greg
Greg Amer
The Industrial Lead