Hey rails, last night I was tackling a stallout problem on a large curved Shino 83 , old power routing switch..I first went and bought the teensiest wood screws to replace the spikes I'd been using to secure Caboose ground throws..The spikes tend to loosen , the ground throw starts getting wobby ,thus the points don't make enough contact with the running rails and trains continually stall..Well, I did this and got the throw real tight down and secure..But for some mysterious reason after thowing her many times the little copper contacts at bottom of the point tips where now getting snagged not sliding under rail but getting caught on them on both rails...Along with this when I DID get it to throw the DCC system kept getting shorted out ..I kept at it for hours trying to find the short..Now the stock rails were broken off the plastic ties and the whole switch( turnout ) was getting ruined and seemingly falling to pieces before my eyes ! Ties sliding this way and that , headblock ties angling, points slopping al around..Well, that did it ! If I have to buy a new TO for $30.00 I may as well experiment with what is before me ! The little copper tabs were causing the short outs as when I pushed one downward with a toothpick, NCE PowerCab rebooted up..They were really disfigured now..I kept the power off now and took a STRONG look at the tabs and said " Geez, if they were gone (tabs) what I'd have left is the same as the Shino, Code 70 power-routings I have in yards which, when ground throw is solidly in they work fine ,and have NO copper tabs !! So, instead of immediately slicing them off with the Exacto or such, I bent them up along side the point. They then stuck out above the railhead a smidge. So I both clipped this off with rail clippers and/or filed the rest...They are so thin they don't interfere with the point against the running rail..They wind up just enough back from the point blade to tuck in nicely...I now got the ties back in place under all the rails and poured white glue everywhere needed, funning my pinky along rail tops getting glue off..and making sure points didn't get glued..A while later glue had set up..The points now were operating perfectly as if switch were han-laid..No more shorting out, too...I ran a loco though switch's 2 routes and onlt had to hold the throw rod to keep contact ( sometimes not even needed !)...I put a block across entire area and clamped it down overnight to get all back to solidity and plumb...Tonight I will re-install a static groung throw and enjoy the fruits of my labor !!! COOL !!!
