Hello! I have an Atlas RS32 locomotive with a tsunami sound card that works flawlessly EXCEPT on turnouts. I have a very small 4X8 layout powered by a NCE Power Cab system. Just one locomotive at the moment. There are 4 Atlas Snaptrack #4 turnouts on the layout. The engine runs smoothly through the alternate leg of each turnout, but pauses when it passes through the "normal" route. At the moment there is only one set of feeder wires through this small layout. Any ideas? Thanks, Mark
If these are Atlas snap switches, the frogs are plastic and can not be powered. However, number 4s don't have long frogs, so the engine should be able to get over them with no problem.
I think the solution is in your post. You have only one set of feeder wires driving the layout. I'm guessing that you're also depending on the rail joiners to provide electrical conductivity all the way around from that single pair of feeders.
It's time to bite the bullet, install a track power bus beneath the layout, and add more feeders. You might also think about soldering some of the track joints. When you've been doing this for as long as some of us, you'll know that you can't rely on single sets of feeders and rail joiners to get power to every part of your layout.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
David has listed a good trouble shooting approach to this problem.
Since Atlas turnouts are thru power fed all the time, unless the turnout has a defect, rail joints are not the problem.
If the turnouts are Custom Line #4's with metal frogs, check to see if the frog area is slightly raised.
If so carefully file it down flush wit the ajoining rails. These sometimes slightly raised frogs can combine with less than perfect pickup - as David explained how to check - to cause stalling.
The raised frog will lift other wheels on that same truck off the rails, and poor pickup elsewhere on the loco will then cause it ti stall.
Sheldon
davidmbedard The first thing I would check is to see if you are getting all wheel pickup. Put the loco on the track and dial it up. Lift up the front truck, and then the rear. That will rule out a pickup issue. The second thing to do is to check the closure rail for continuity. It is possible that its feeder has come loose. Thirdly, check your wheel's gauge and the track's gauge. If the culprit isnt found, then look at powering the frog. David B
The first thing I would check is to see if you are getting all wheel pickup. Put the loco on the track and dial it up. Lift up the front truck, and then the rear. That will rule out a pickup issue.
The second thing to do is to check the closure rail for continuity. It is possible that its feeder has come loose.
Thirdly, check your wheel's gauge and the track's gauge.
If the culprit isnt found, then look at powering the frog.
David B
This is a pretty good checklist. If all else fails, add some more feeder wires. I always place feeder wires at the end of every leg on every turnout. Lack of strategically placed feeders is the usual problem when locos stall on turnouts.
Rich
Alton Junction
Marcopolo123 Hello! I have an Atlas RS32 locomotive with a tsunami sound card that works flawlessly EXCEPT on turnouts. I have a very small 4X8 layout powered by a NCE Power Cab system. Just one locomotive at the moment. There are 4 Atlas Snaptrack #4 turnouts on the layout. The engine runs smoothly through the alternate leg of each turnout, but pauses when it passes through the "normal" route. At the moment there is only one set of feeder wires through this small layout. Any ideas? Thanks, Mark
I have all Atlas turnouts, and have found two problems. One is the pivot point of the moveable rail, if the moveable rail does not make good contact at the end where it meets the other rail, electrical contact depends on the pivot point. I put a drop of rail-zip on it to keep the pivot point clean. I believe it helps.The other problem is where the opposite rails meet at the frog. Some times the gap is too small and a wheel will bridge the gap. Open the gap with a small file or a thin Dremel cut off wheel. When tuned up my Atlas turn outs work very well.
Good luck.
Lee
davidmbedard ...check the closure rail for continuity. It is possible that its feeder has come loose.
...check the closure rail for continuity. It is possible that its feeder has come loose.
I'd suspect this as well. I have a couple of Atlas turnouts that lost electrical continuity through the connection at the heel of the points. Locos would run through one route of the turnout OK but stall going the other way. Soldering a feeder to the dead closure rail solved the problem. If you have a multi-meter, turn up the track power and check voltage through the closure rails to be sure first.
Rob Spangler
Thanks for all the excellent tips, guys! I checked for all wheel pickup and I am getting all wheel pickup just fine with the little Alco RS-32. I recently got a new loco (an SD40-2) and put a digitrax decoder in it. The SD40-2 runs through the switches with no problem, so I think it is the small wheel base on the Alco which is causing the short...
Sorry to hear that you have not yet resolved your problem with the RS32 loco. Incidentally, you referred to the problem as a "short" but from everything that you previously described, it is a "stall".
Since you have confirmed that all of the wheels on the loco are picking up power, you are probably correct that the small wheel base is the problem. If it is, then at higher speeds, it shoud be able to "cruise" through the layout based on sheer momentum. But, at lower speeds a stall may well result.
If I were you, I would install feeders on the end of every leg of every turnout. I have to believe that would eliminate the stalling problem.
Rich, thanks. You are correct - when I run the rs-32 through the switch at full speed, or even 3/4 speed, it flys through flawlessly, so it's not a short. I will try dropping feeders from all switch legs right now and let you know the results
richhotrain If I were you, I would install feeders on the end of every leg of every turnout. I have to believe that would eliminate the stalling problem.
That *should* help. Note that there is the occasional Atlas turnout where the electrical connection to a closure rail just plain fails, in which case the only feeder that will resolve the issue is one directly to the affected closure rail.
Well, I ended up biting the bullet and REPLACING all of the failing switch turnouts. There were 4 total. I bought one new one and replaced one of them. It worked fine. Then I replaced the other 3 and success on all...
Lot of work, as they were all installed via white glue onto cork roadbed... But it is working now.
Thanks,
mark
Marcopolo123 Well, I ended up biting the bullet and REPLACING all of the failing switch turnouts. There were 4 total. I bought one new one and replaced one of them. It worked fine. Then I replaced the other 3 and success on all...
Hmmm, isn't that like killing an ant by having an elephant step on it?
I cannot believe that you had to replace all four turnouts to solve the problem.
But, to each, his own.
richhotrain Marcopolo123: Well, I ended up biting the bullet and REPLACING all of the failing switch turnouts. There were 4 total. I bought one new one and replaced one of them. It worked fine. Then I replaced the other 3 and success on all... Hmmm, isn't that like killing an ant by having an elephant step on it? I cannot believe that you had to replace all four turnouts to solve the problem. But, to each, his own. Rich
Marcopolo123: Well, I ended up biting the bullet and REPLACING all of the failing switch turnouts. There were 4 total. I bought one new one and replaced one of them. It worked fine. Then I replaced the other 3 and success on all...
Yup - "my old car ran rough because the plugs were shot .... so I bought a new car !"
To each their own I guess. The problem was lack of contact with the switch points - I'm positive, as I had the same problem. I soldered small flexible wires from each point rail, around that pivot rivet and to the closure rail. The shortest of all my engines will now crawl through any turnout.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Out of about 50 locos, I have maybe four or five that pause on Atlas turnouts, but not all atlas turnouts. Wheel gauge is fine. I'm suspecting the slightly raised frog may lift the truck a few thousands of an inch.
hobo9941 Out of about 50 locos, I have maybe four or five that pause on Atlas turnouts, but not all atlas turnouts. Wheel gauge is fine. I'm suspecting the slightly raised frog may lift the truck a few thousands of an inch.
File the frog even with the tops of the adjacent rails. Problem solved! I file the frogs on every Atlas turnout I use to avoid the consequences of misaligned frog castings and allow for the smoothest possible operation. You may also have a few turnouts where the closure rails are not electrically continuous with the points. A feeder soldered to the affected closure rail is a quick, cheap fix. Beats the cost in time and $$$ to replace the turnout.
The frogs are the least likely to be the cause of electrical problems. Most of the problems are caused by the points, usually one or both of the hinge rivets not conducting to the point rail, usually cause by wear, paint or dirt, all three of which are difficult to fix. Abetter solution as sugjested by Mark, is to solder a junper wire (with stranded wire) or put a wire drop to the buss at the heel of the point rail. This will fix it forever. A secondary reason are the rail joiners, a simple fix for them is to solder them. I know some folks say that it makes them harde to remove, actually it doesn't, you just heat the joiners up with an iron and using a screw driver push them back past the joint.
Jay
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