I have an DC Shinohara three way turnout, it has three frogs. I need to cut gaps to make it DCC compatible. Not sure where to make the cuts. Thank you for any help you may provide.
banjobenne1 I have an DC Shinohara three way turnout, it has three frogs. I need to cut gaps to make it DCC compatible. Not sure where to make the cuts. Thank you for any help you may provide.
This website had a wealth of information. Check it out.
http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches.htm
I've read that some have operated DC Shinohara turnouts work on DCC systems with no gap cutting - for what it's worth.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
You could go the traditional route by not cutting gaps but use insulated rail joiners instead as long as there's no undue side stress on them. Cutting gaps in the tight confines of those three-way turnouts can be tricky.
I have two 3-ways on my layout. One is used at an engine terminal so the three tracks are stub-ended, no gaps needed at all. On the other I simply epoxied a thin piece of styrene at the rail joint and filed it to the contour of the rail.
Hope that helps, Ed
I agree, cutting gaps can be a bit tricky in confined spaces. INsulated joiners shouldn't be stressful to install.
You should be aware there is another shorting problem having nothing to do with gaps on these 3 way turnouts. Unfortunuately the search function of this forum has gone from poor to totally useless. Photobucket has lost the relevant photo, but this thread discusses it.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You do not need to cut any gaps.
.
Install insulated rail joiners on both rails of all three of the diverging tracks and wire them to the bus as normal.
You will still have power routing and live rails in the turnout itself, but as long as locomotives move past the insulated joiners before you change the turnout alignment, you should have no problems.
You will also need to be sure the turnout is aligned with the correct path before entering the turnout from the side with the three paths.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I agree, no cut gaps necessary inside the confines of the appliance itself. The reason is that only one locomotive can reasonably be expected to occupy any part of the turnout at any one time. So, the phase/polarity isn't going to be an issue between the three routes.
What could be the issue is what the phase/polarity beyond any of the three frogs is at the time of passage. And, since it's likely that at least one other (power-routing?) turnout will be at the end of any of the three routes beyond the frogs, and that one or more might inadvertently be left lined out of phase, you'll want to avoid shorts and shut-downs by simply leaving a thin gap between the six rails out of the threeway and the rails beyond. I won't use insulated joiners. Just gaps for me, and I like the way it looks.
BigDaddy Unfortunuately the search function of this forum has gone from poor to totally useless.
Unfortunuately the search function of this forum has gone from poor to totally useless.
Rich
Alton Junction
BigDaddy You should be aware there is another shorting problem having nothing to do with gaps on these 3 way turnouts. Unfortunuately the search function of this forum has gone from poor to totally useless. Photobucket has lost the relevant photo, but this thread discusses it.
This is a photo of the shorting spot on my Walthers-Shinohara DCC friendly code 83 three-way. A wheel can too easily bridge the two rail pieces and thus cause a short. A bit of nail polish, as insulation, did the trick. I don't know if the Shinohara DC version has the same geometry.
IMG_7604 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
(I replaced the photo in the other thread mentioned with the current Flickr photo).
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I agree with Paul on the location of the converging points of opposite polarity on the Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnout.
The following photo is one that I took on my own Walthers Shinohara Code 83 3-way turnout back in 2014. Although the application of clear nail polish is an effective technique to prevent a short, you can see from the photo that I used small strips of masking tape on a temporary basis to prevent the short, and that temporary workaround was an effective solution.
In 2016, I modified that photo to illustrate the opposite polarities of the rails in red and blue. You can see my masking tape solution in this photo as well.
Hopes this helps.
richhotrainSo noted. Over the past several days, I have experienced a complete failure of the search function on this forum. What's up with that? Has anyone started a thread on this issue? It totally escapes me how something like the search function can suddenly and completely break down.
The thread will be locked and with the message: call customer service.