I run my 3-truck Bachmann Shay over european Piko curved 17"/19" turnouts with zero problems.
Shay also goes smoothly through my minimum radius of 360mm (approx. 14.2"). So it may be that the problem is in your loco.
Blind Bruce wrote:Just unpacked my 80 ton 3 truck Bachmann HO shay. I know I have "iffy" trackwork especially the code 83 Walthers/Shinohara curved turnouts but all my other locos traverse the layout with minimum trouble. Not so the Shay. I cannot get it to run two feet without derailing or shorting the Digitrax Zephyr. Is this loco hard to please?
You need to...
Lubricate all the mechanics on the shay, give it a loop of track to test on and let it run and run and run and break in. Make sure the trucks move and flex around fine. Don't do any track alterations at this point.
A shay is made for rough track so should take any of your tough stuff.
I hate the turnout insulfrog issues aside from leaving a short stretch of rail without power.
A lot of engines today are made with better pickups than before, good for DCC and crossing over dead frogs.
But your smaller engines will have fewer pickup points and there are some lokies that are only 4 wheel pickup. No good on insulfrogs.
If you have insulfrogs be sure your equipment picks up power across many wheels.
Why I like all rail frogs, zero loss. The club I was in hand built all turnouts and did them right, long before DCC. The points stayed the same polaritty while changing direction. Relays changed the frog power. The DCC friendly deal gets around changing frog polarity but requires equipment to pick up power reliably.
:rantover:
I keep harping this, and have no Idea why, but some Shays, until they have a proper decoder, short DCC layouts. Mine shorts the Club without any movement. But it works fine on the Test Track DCC. I think It has something to do with the amount of power going to the layout in relation to size of layout. But I could be mistaken. You may have a layout that hits the middle ground.
-Morgan
My guess is that it is the shay.. I have three and they are very forgiving...
Guy
BTW ME doesn't make curved turnouts.....
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
TRY another make curved turnout such as Peco, Micro-Enbgineering, or BK code 83.
Since your other equipment goes trough, It's probably the Bachmann, but replacing the turnout changes the design Geometry, and it's cheaper.
MY experirce is no such thing as equality in 'similar' turnouts, and 'there is no engine made, that some turnout won't like'.
Yes, do those things.
Additionally, I find that the curved turnouts yield improved performance with respect to shorts by cutting one of the two frog rails with a cut-off disk so that any wheels that want to bridge both of them past their insulating spacer won't actaully get any contrary power from the newly cut section. I am talking about perhaps 1/2" at most, and ideally so that a couple of the spike heads still retain their purchase on the foot of the rail. This is in lieu of painting one or both rails for the same distance past the spacer using clear nail polish or varathane. In my case, I didn't like the black streaks the painting left over time, nor the requirement to be prodded into repairs when the first shorts began to return as the coating wears. Cutting is permanent and entirely effective.
First, though, check gauges, and also ensure nothing metal is touching the frame as the engine gets around tight turns.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
73
Bruce in the Peg