Hello, I recently purchased several Atlas n-scale custom line turnouts that are giving me trouble. My problem is when my locos go in to turnout the wheels create a short circuit shutting my dcc system down. I have figured out the problem which is the loco wheels are touching the opposing rail in the turn. The rails seem to be too close just prior to the frog. The wheels of the locos can not be spread apart to illiminate this. Has anyone run into this problem and if so how can I fix this.
Thanks dillco4
Hey, welcome to the forum!
Do you have an NMRA guage? If so, you can quickly determine if it's the track thats at fault or the wheel spacing. If not, you might want to pick one up as you're going to need it sooner or later.
To find out if it's the track, just slide the proper part of the guage along the rails and take note of whether the rails are too snug for the guage or if the guage fits in there too sloppy. If this looks like the problem then it might be best to look at replacing the track as it's not real easy to fix out of guage track. Maybe someone here has a way that I'm not aware of, but I just replace it. If this isn't the problem and the guage fits comfortably, then your wheels are out of guage. This is more likely the problem. Find the side of the guage that has the slots for the wheel flanges to fit into. If the flanges don't just drop right in, then you're out of guage. It's easy to fix though. The axles are a press-fit deal, so all you need are your fingers to squeeze with if the wheels are too wide, or if they're too narrow a small flathead screwdriver does the trick. Just slip it between the fraame and the wheel and, placing the tip of the screwdriver nearest the axle, gently pry it outwards. Be careful to keep the tip nearest the center and pry a little on both sides of the axle. You want to make sure the wheel stays centered on the axle so it isn't wobbly when you run it. It's not as hard as it sounds.
Hope this helps.........