Hi All,
I have been following the Red Oak project railroad closely as it fits the design I want to follow for my own layout. One thing I am having trouble understanding is the DCC wiring. I know they are using Peco electro-frog turnouts. My understanding is they are dropping feeders on each section of flex track, and before and after each turnout. Is that it? Is there any need for any modification to the turnout (removing the little jumpers)? No wires to the frog? I am still new to dcc and I just want to make sure I have this correct. I don't want to put something together only to find I must dismantle it because I left something out. Thanks for any help you may offer.
For Electrofrogs, they should be modified, one set of jumpers underneath cut and another set added, and the frog should be powered. On the frog side, you need gaps in the diverging rails. See the turnout modification video from the Olympia Logging series for how to do that.
If they are using Insulfrog - then there are no modifcations necessary, and applying feeders directly before and after each turnout will work fine - so I suspect they are using Insulfrog here.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
In the February issue (2015) on page 64 they list Electrofrog turnouts. The picture shows the (modification turnout for Olympia Logging series.) Like Randy said.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
A modified Electrofrog will be much more reliable, especially for N scale, as there will be no dead (power wise) track through the turnout. Yes, it's more work and requires a control mechanism with contacts to power the frog, but with no dead spots you should have the ultimate in reliable operation. Insulfrogs have a fairly small insulated section, unlike Atlas, but offer their own issues where wider wheels can bridge the two rails in the frog past the insulation which will cause a short - this is where you see people talking about applying nail polish to make the dead section slightly longer. I would bite the bullet and make the extra effort now, for more reliable operation later.