Anybody having problems with short wheelbase locomotives stalling on Walthers code 83 DCC ready turnouts?
Yes, that can certainly be a problem with them. I have a Proto 2000 SW-8 that would not cross them until I removed the traction tire axle and replaced it with a metal tire set. My smallest steamer, a Proto Heritage 0-6-0 has good pickups in the drivers and on both trucks of the tender, so it can stagger the dead frog in DCC-friendly turnouts without difficulty.
I take it that you know that DCC-ready or friendly means a dead frog? If your engine is stalling and it isn't because the frog rocks the engine and breaks the contact of the rear wheels with the rails, then you will have to either replace the turnouts with electrofrog turnouts or solder a single feeder between a DPDT and the power bus.
The engine that stalls is a Proto S3 that picks up power from all eight wheels (I checked). I realise that the frog is dead but most of my turnouts are hand thrown so power routing isn't an option.
Even though the frog is dead shouldn't the other truck pick up power?
edwardpaI realise that the frog is dead but most of my turnouts are hand thrown so power routing isn't an option.
Not so. I converted over to "live" Fast Tracks turnouts last year on my layout and use Caboose Industries 220S ground throws:
Both the turnouts and ground throws work great!
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I would have to change 20+ groundthrows plus all the wiring! Isn't there a problem with these turnouts. I have checked all the jumpers underneath the turnouts and they are okay.
Are they okay? One way to tell definitively is to meter them. Apply track power, and then lightly touch your probes along the points, closure rails, and the frog, and then beyond to the rest of the frog rails. Are you getting the power routing that the manufacturers promised? I suspect that either you are not, or the engine needs attention. If the turnout is a sure thing, then the engine needs adjustment and probably some cleaning. One other possibility that I have already covered is the frog. If it is constructed in such a manner that it causes the frame to rock, it will cause one of the two rear axles, or both, to also lift on one side. That will break contact, even if it is deficient by the thickness of a sheet of rice paper.
-Crandell
The frog was the problem! It was causing the frame to lift on one side and lose contact. Added a few spikes to bring the frog down and everything OK. Thanks for your help.
Well, that is a great success story! Good for you. FYI, I have heard/read, that someone with a brave heart can heat up the frog sufficiently, perhaps with a soldering iron or something, and press it into the now soft plastic around it. It seems like something I would not want to do, but so I have read here. If the frog is soldered rail sections, then applying a soldering iron is not the thing to do. Your spiking method, if it is permanent and not destructive, is the way to go.
edwardpaThe engine that stalls is a Proto S3 that picks up power from all eight wheels (I checked).
Well, since the problem was the high frog, I guess my suggestion doesn't apply here. But, for future reference for anyone else who may be reading, just this evening I took apart a Proto GP-9 that was stalling. Yes, it's supposed to pick up power from all 8 wheels, but when I buzzed it with a meter I found one side of one truck that was out of touch with the rest of the engine. With the shell off, it wasn't hard to see the broken wire. A touch of the soldering iron was all that I needed.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
edwardpaAnybody having problems with short wheelbase locomotives stalling on Walthers code 83 DCC ready turnouts?
Hello
I have an SW8 with stalling problems which caused me to do an ohms test on my Atlas turnouts with a lot of checking. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the movable blades on the turnout make a reliable electrical connection. For good current flow the pivot point and the tip have to make solid contact. I'm not convinced that they do. When checked with an ohm meter I show an erratic connection. If the tip of the blade is'nt solid against the rail then the pivot point has all the responsibility for current flow.Anyone care to comment?
Happy railroading.
Lee
yankee flyer If the tip of the blade is'nt solid against the rail then the pivot point has all the responsibility for current flow.
Yeah, I think I'm seeing the same problem with some of my Atlas Customline turnouts. I don't have any issues with the snap-switches, but the point rails are longer on the #6 Customlines, and that may be why it's only an issue with them.
As an experiment, I'm going to look into soldering a fine wire to the point rail and then jumpering it to the fixed rail at the frog end. This should give me a solid current path instead of relying on that loose rivet or making contact with the stock rail.
MisterBeasleyAs an experiment, I'm going to look into soldering a fine wire to the point rail and then jumpering it to the fixed rail at the frog end. This should give me a solid current path instead of relying on that loose rivet or making contact with the stock rail.
That was my thoughts exactly. I haven't gotten around to that yet but I have tried a little Rail Zip on the pivot and SW8 has been behaving.
Cheers