I have had so much trouble and frustration with EZ track turnouts that I'm seriously considering taking up all the track and trading it in for Atlas. I have a 4X8 layout. It would be a major "switch" but very little of the EZ track is ballasted so far, so it could be worse. At least three of the turnouts derail every one of my three engines. Is this a good move? eagle37
Impossible to tell, eagle37. What engines, and are they correctly gauged? Is your trackwork straight and level? I would need at least that information, and perhaps a picture or two, to make any recommendation. EZ track is not any more prone to derailments than other track when carefully lain. If you are having trouble with it, I wouldn't suggest Atlas "normal" track (C80 or C55), but perhaps Kato Uni-Trak? In other words, EZ track is not inherently bad--and I have no Bachmann affiliation. So, tell us a little more, or show us a few pictures of your problems.
EZ Track The derailing problem is with the turnouts. They are flat and even. The engines derail, it seems, over the frogs. Two of the frogs are metal. One is black plastic. Doesn't seem to matter. The engines are (2) 4-4-0s and an 0-6-0. As I look back over my posts, I've been having trouble with these turnouts since I started months ago. I guess that's why I'm at the point of switching to Atlas. I want to be running my trains, not fiddling with turnouts. At my age, there's only so much time . eagle37
eagle37, I presume this is H0 scale. Maybe there will be more help in the H0 forum.. I will move it and leave a link here. A picture would be good if you can do one. I am not sure if I know enough to ask questions. The sectional track should work well when it is fastened or "locked" together properly.
When ALL your locos are having the same problem with one turnout it's a safe bet that the problem is with the turnout. When the problem occurs on multiple turnouts for seemingly no reason it's time to take a good close look at the locos. Do they derail going forward or backward? If they do it in one direction but not the other the problem almost always lies with the loco. All my track is EZ-Track, including the turnouts. I've had the same problems as you and in almost every case the cause was with the loco that was having problems. In most cases it was a wheelset that was out of gauge. In one case it was a wheelset in which the wheels weren't centered on the axle, causing it to dogleg and snag the point rail or the frog, depending on the direction of travel. Out of 12 turnouts only one gave me a problem and that was easily corrected by bending the point rail slightly so it had a more snug fit with the stock rail.
I started my current model railroading indulgence with EZ Track ... and gave it up after I had numerous problems with derailments at their turnouts. A good bit of my equipment of various manufacturers would pick the points and/or derail going through the frogs. I twiddled and tweaked the turnouts no end, but never could rely on them. I finally switched to Kato Unitrack and have had much happier experiences with it.
Eagle37: Is it just the locos having issues with the turnout frogs, or do cars also derail at the same spot? If it is just the locos, then Jeffrey-Wimberly's suggestion about checking loco wheel gauge issues is the best place to start. If it is also cars derailing, then consider these observations from my own layout: When I was new to N-scale, I had frequent problems with cars picking points or frogs on several yard turnouts (Not E-Z track turnouts, but turnout brand is irrelevant to this observation). It turns out that I had converted to Micro-Trains truck-mounted couplers and had NOT used the MT pins...just replaced the old trucks with the new MT ones and used the original bolster pin that came with the car. Apparently the diameters of many of the original bolster pins were different than the MT bolster pins, so there was lots of "wiggle" in the trucks that caused the derailments. I had just about given up on model RRing in frustration before I finally discovered what I was doing wrong. As soon as I started using the correct type of bolster pin, I stopped having so many derailments on turnouts. After installing the proper pins, I still had difficulty with some cars (long container cars and 30 foot beer can cars, and a few of my 2 bay covered hopper cars) because the cars were too light. They became much more reliable through the turnouts after I had them properly weighted to NMRA standards.
try sanding down the end of the thing that moves and touches the main rail sand the ends of it into a slope so the engines just climb right on to it and not skip it that is what i did and it seems to work very well
There are about six things that could be instrumental in what you are experiencing, and the only way to eliminate them is to observe and measure. First, the points on all commercial turnouts need attention of some kind, usually just filing them with a good needle file so that they are razor sharp and so that they lie tight and flush against the stock rail beside them. Next, with the points thrown one way or the other, use an NMRA gauge to check all along the points to the frog. Check the frog for gauge. Check the guard rails for gauge to ensure they conform to the NMRA standards for HO turnouts. Sometimes the guards are set too far away from their stock rails and they afford little or no guidance to the oute flange on a divergin route. That means the wheels traversing the frog run into the frog point and do not go through the channel as they are supposed to. Do the points rails wobble on their pivots on either end? They will be out of gauge by that much. Is the lands inside the frog filled too high, as it almost always is with most commercial turnouts? That fill is meant to keep the wheel from falling down into the gap between the closure rails and the frog rail points since that gap is horrendously oversized in most turnouts (but not handlaid ones). Instead, the flange is meant to ride on it to get the wheel across the gap. As Jeffrey suggests, are the individual wheels pairs centred on their axles? They should look like this from the side: <=)(=========)(=> That means the wheels are equidistant from their respective ends and spaced apart in gauge. What you don't want is this: <)(=========)(==> with one of the wheels much closer to one axle tip and the other still gauged correctly from it, but necessarily displaced toward it along he axle. Imagine all other wheels nicely aligned, but this one axle not lined up going through the guard rail gaps or through the frog when all others proceed safely. I hope that helps you to track it down. Oh, I forgot, the coupler trip pins may need to be bent more. Maybe one or more is snagging a bit over the frog or guards/wing rails. I happens, but it often results in a decoupling, not necessarily a derailment.
Friends: I appreciate the time and thought you have given to my derailing problem. Yesterday, tired of wasting time with derailments and fiddling with track, I bit the bullet, took up all the EZ track and turned it in today at the hobby shop for Atlas. Fortunately, I did not have much of the EZ track ballasted, since I'd been spending my time on what I consider to be poorly designed turnouts. So, I'm starting over. It's a little frustrating but it has been a good education (another #@$@#%# learning experience). It also gives me a chance to correct some layout mistakes I made the first time. Thanks again, eagle37
