The 022 switches have a strip of metal going through the frog. Does anyone have any idea what function this strip of metal performs. I have removed some of them because they were damaged and made the train derail. The switches seem to work just fine without them. In fact, I think the switches work better without them as the engines go through the switch more smoothly.
Bruce Baker
I think it is to reduce wear on the switch casting from the wheel flanges. At this point in the switch, the wheels are held to the other side by the guard rails keeping the flange out against the rail, and the flanges on the frog side actually ride across the frog on the metal strip. If you look carefully, they are ramped to carry the tread over the rails.
1:1 trains have long enough frogs that the wheel tread transitions off one rail as the next is coming in to the frog.
Rob
I found that metal strip is to help automatic throw of the switch. It provides contact to the outside rail as the flange of the wheel rolls over it to the axle to the wheel on the other side that is making contact with the control rail. This it needed more for trucks with plastic in them were continuity is a problem from one axle to another. The all metal equipment will work fine without it.
JT
j.t.I found that metal strip is to help automatic throw of the switch...
If it hasn't thrown by that point, it probably isn't at all.
The only thing I could come up with is that the strip prevents wear of the frog. These switches were designed before WWII, and at that time, everything was metal, so maintaining a ground through the switch for a single axle probably was not a concern. I have one in the layout without the metal strip, and I am going to watch it for wear.
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