Hey again..I have installed a $56.00 3 way Walthers code 83 switch in RR. My Bach 2-6-0 , not even a Spectrum, goes EVERYWHERE on road flawlessly..My Spectrum Ten Wheeler, aside from sometimes stalling at Atlas All-live TOs ( frogs just need powering)..now gets snagged in the 3 way. I think it's rear wheel is hitting an angle in/near frog and lifting up a smidge causing a stall out..I do not want to take a chance and destroy the 3 way by filing corner a smidge where I think I see lift..What would you do ? Maybe over time it will wear in..Or am I possibly wearing tire side on loco ? I'm going home from library now..I'm going to try a tiny drop of Labelle oil at frog...Maybe graphite from pencil led...
These walthers turnouts are Shinohara products that have been rebranded. Look between the points and the rail, see that little bronze thing? that will power the frog with the correct polarity. One little test is when the engine stalls on the layout, take your finger and give the throwbar a little push in the direction the switch is supposed to be thrown. If the engine starts moving, then you need to install a ground throw or something to hold the bronze conductor over a little better. We have a bunch of these at the club layout, and majority of the time that is the problem. On the off chance, is this one of those "DCC-Friendly" Walthers turnouts? If so, the above fix is invalid. If the frog is isolated, than the problem may be that the engine is sitting on two frogs at once, both of which are under the power pickups for one side (had this happen before....).
Can't locate your name but, thanks...If I had a nickle for every time I have squeezed Walthers TO points against stock rails I'd be rich !! I savvy exactly what you mean ( copper tab under points/loose contact at stock rail. This is true about their old school power-routing type, of which I have several of in layout and work perfectly after adding inactive Caboose ground throws ( ususally 220s or that tall, harp-like one with the horizontal arm). But it worked, so they had to fix it.! This is not the problem...In fact since yesterday I found it's not even wheel getting stuck nor your explaination..The new Code 83s are now all-live with frog isolated ..This is supposed to be DCC Friendly.... Yet engines start moving when, using a 5" piece of rail aligator clipped to a jumper wire, other end clipped to correct main line rail and I touch it to frog .This energizes frog...BUT Walthers, now All-Live, have no place to attach a feeder ( of changing polarities) from an active ground throw wire or, say, a Hex Frog Juicer to frog like Atlas has ....So what do I do now, melt the ties trying to solder wires to two frogs of a $56.00 3-way switch?? An earlier, power-routing type would have been a sinch ! All I'd had to do was gap all the rails of the diverging tracks and add two 220s's to the head blocks..DCC Friendly, my eye !! ....Honestly, what do I do now ?.....I'm thinking strongly of removing 3 way,sell it and try to reconfigure trackage..OR rip it all out and go all code 70....Yeah, right! Don't hold your breath !!
That's exactly the reason when I was looking for additional C-83 #6 switches for creating a new industrial switching area on my layout, I searched eBay for the "non-DCC friendly" switches, which are the good old reliable "power-routing" types. They come up from time to time there. BTW I'm still on analog DC and have no plans go go DCC. John
Josta, if you do not care for independency of locos, nor sound ,whistle,bell, lighting ,others, then I will say this: I went digital and wil never go back...But I will say analog is/was a simpler, somewhat easier to live with..There are sort of bizarre occurances in DCC (usually our own fault via wrong menuing/scrolling/entering/deleting,etc. )which can be frustrating. So, stay where you are if that's your bag.. Still do, if you haven't, check out dcc at a club or such...You never know......
I just installed a #6 Code 70 Shinohara curved switch. I isolated the frog by cutting the rails behind the frog (if you are facing the diverging approach). I soldered feeders and installed it. Haven't given it a try yet I hope it works out, I'm glad I found this thread.
I know that all the turnouts that carry the Walthers name on them for the past few yrs, have been all DCC friendly. I purchased my 3way turnouts several years ago before I ever decided to go DCC. Now I would like to take them up and run feeders all over them to eliminate any power issues but do not see that happening. Have run my 4 axels over them and over them and not had an issue with stalling. Hopefully, I will never have an issue and have to go to all that work.
