Electro and Insulfrog turnouts

[jward]

my experiences with peco, from before i started handlaying all my switches

i preferred to electrofrog for their power routing feature. it greatly simplified yard wiring (i was using dc back then) by eliminating seperate blocks for each yard track. you have to use more insulated joints than with regular frog, and you have to be careful where you put your feeders so that things don't short when yopu throw the switch.

on either type, you need to be careful how you throw them using the "finger of god" method. pushing on the switchpoints will cause them to eventually loosen, and in the case of electrofrog, will also affect their ability to conduct power through the points. there is a little metal tab uunder the point rail which can be adjusted to restore contact, but throwing the switches using the plastic nubs on the end of the throwbar will minimize the need to adjust the points.

with the insulfrog ones, you have to watch. earlier versions did not conform to nmra specs, and the flangeways in the guard rails and frog were spaced too wide. you can use styrene glued to the plastic guardrails to minimize the flangeway width. the wide flangeways will cause wheels to pick the frog when backing. later versions seem to conform better to nmra specs, and will probably work much better.

i have never used peco on dcc, so i don't know if this problem affects them or not, but be aware of the potential for momentary shorts in the electrofrog versions when metal wheels run through them. these shorts are present with dc as well, but with the slower response of the circuit breakers in dc packs you won't notice them. what happens is that both point rails and the frog are the same polarity. which polarity is determined by which rail the points are snug against. if the point not touching a stock rail is too close to the adjacent stock rail, metal wheels can touch both causing a short. since the train is moving, on dc you won't notice anything except maybe a spark, but on dcc this can trip your circuit breaker and stop the train. this makes the insulfrog by far the better choice for dcc.

overall i liked the pecos. they were far more reliable than the atlas switches and i eventually replaced all my atlas with peco.

[CNE Runner]

Jeff - I probably should have been more specific about the 'Finger of God' method of throwing the points in a turnout. [To the reader: I sincerely hope I am not offending anyone with the use of my FOG terminology.] I do use the plastic 'nibs' and never push on the point rails themselves. One of the reasons Peco turnouts are so reliable (at least electrically) is that the little metal tabs that make contact with the stock rails have a small roll on them. The roll makes much better contact than, say, a Walthers/Shinohara turnout with uses flat metal strips...strips that eventually bend away from the stock rail and therefore degrade the electrical contact. If you can get past the 'sticker shock', Peco products are a great investment.

Regards,
Ray

[jward]

i agree that they are a great investment, and last time i checqued they were comparable in price to the shinoharas. i also liked the under the table switch motors. they are very robust, and i never burnt one out, something i couldn't say about atlas motors.

another thing i think pecos would be good for is use with the nj international switchstands, which don't have a locking feature.

[rogertra]

While Peco switches may be reliable, unless they are the latest "Code 83 North American Style" switches they are really unrealistic.

They are neither North American nor British in their design but are a Peco freelance idea of a compromise, sort of mid Atlantic freelance design at best.

[CNE Runner]

jward - You mentioned that you use Peco under the table switch machines. This is something I am contemplating for my new layout - so hence the question: Will these machines work if the accentuating rod has to extend from the bottom of the 'table' through 1/4" birch plywood and 1" Styrofoam? If I remember correctly, one has to make a cutout for the machine such that it snugs up against the bottom of the turnout. Are you using something different? [Inquiring minds and unsteady hands want to know.]

Rogerta - I guess you are correct in saying Peco turnouts are not prototypically realistic. From my experience (bad and good) I will take a little 'funky' look and reliability over realism and endless problems any day. My current layout (soon to be dismantled) has spent the last 3 years in our unheated/un-airconditioned garage. In all that time I have not had one problem with any Peco turnout, track, or crossing. Temperatures in the garage can easily get to 95F+ in the summer and 30F- in the winter...let's not even discuss the humidity! BTW: all the track components will be salvaged and used on my new (indoor) layout.

Ray

[jward]

ray,
i always used the clip on feature to attatch them directly to the bottom of the switch. i suspended them through a hole cut on the roadbed/subroadbed. at the time, i was laying my track on tru scale pine roadbed, which is no longer available. what a great loss for the hobby.......
i felt that any other method of mounting would need adjustment, but there were extension pins supplied with the switch motors. i prewired them before i installed them, and covered the holes in the roadbed with ballasted index cards.

i no longer use either the peco switches, or the motors. i build everything myself now, and on the current layout will use switchstands to throw them.

i was, and still am, willing to sacrifice realism for reliability. something that looks better than it works will not have a place on my layout.

[CNE Runner]

Jeff - I think I read somewhere (MR?) that someone made a 'filler' out of styrene sheet that goes between the Peco switch machine and the turnout itself. I assume he can then ballast over this 'filler' without fouling the switch machine. Additionally, if the machine requires maintenance or replacement, it is simple to remove...preserving the ballasted turnout. When I get home tonight, I will try to find the article. I appreciate your alacrity in replying. I guess I'd better order some Peco switch machines...so I can make a template for the 'filler' sheets I will need.

Thanks,
Ray

[CNE Runner]

I just viewed the latest issue of Cody's Office on the Model Railroader website. In this installment he told how to blacken metal frogs using a product called Neolube. All one has to do is: 1) clean the frog with alcohol and allow a couple of minutes drying time and 2) lightly brush on the Neolube product and allow to dry. From what I could see, the results were excellent.

Ray