remote turnout switch troubles

[eddie3]

I am new to N scale and recently purchased a remote turnout switch #44861 to make a dead end spur track to store extra cars when not in use.....trouble is when i am backing into the spur through the switch,the switching mechanism is pushed towards the center of the track by the car wheels causing cars to derail.....I have snugged up the small screw to no avail...
Going forward through the switch is fine as is running through it on my oval track layout.....do I have the correct item to do this or would another type of switch work better?

[James in FL]

Hi eddie3,

Are you using the turnouts manually or are they powered?
These turnouts have been re-vamped recently.
Search this forum for 44861, there has been quite a few discussions from which one...to tune-up and most everything in between.

[eddie3]

I have the switch powered and it is in a position where i can manually operate it but it will not stay in place while backing cars through it as stated above.......are they supposed to stay locked to the position that is chosen?

[skipgear]

 just fixed two brand new turnouts at our shop today that may have been doing the same thing.

The gear with the eccentric pin that moves the turnout throw arm was 90 degrees out of time. When you threw the switch, it went from middle to straight route and then back to middle. If you are not confident in your ability to repair it, take it back to where you got it or send it in to Bachmann for replacement.

If you feel like you want to tackle fixing it, remove the back cover. There is a rack and pinion setup attached to the slide lever on the side of the turnout. Make sure when it is thrown all the way to one end of it's travel, the pin on the gear is 90 degrees to the main direction of the track. This should make the points of the turnout hold tight against the rail.

The fun part comes in testing it. Once you fix the gear, make sure that it is timed correctly with the switch that controls the frog polarity. The frog should have continuity with the rail directly next to the frog in the direction that the switch is thrown.

[eddie3]

Tony and James,
Thank you for your help in solving this troublesome switch,it was exactly as Tony described above and just that extra slight pressure by moving the gear to be 90 degrees in relation to the main track is all it took.. Switch seems to work fine now and I also took the advice of James and searched this part and noted others had reworked the switch point where it meets the main rail my smoothing it out with a file. It looked to be a bit rough but it is smooth now....Bachmann quality control should check into this!
As an aerospace machinist by trade for the past 33 years and having made parts for the international space station and all types of aviation devices,aircraft,military equipment,I take pride in doing things right the first time.....I am appalled what I see coming out of China and other Asian countries. By American when you can..
Thank you again for you help....I will " pay it forward" when able

[brokemoto]

How do you tell the difference between the old and new ones?

I have two that I am using on my pike that have the round lugs on the end of the exposed wiring.  The directions say that to power the frog, you connect those two on the outer screw hole.  This is a fairly easy powering and the directions are quite clear.

I have one other, that I am not currently using.  The directions on it to power the frog are different.  The directions are not clear and say that in some of them, the frog can not be powered.  It is not too clear how to tell the two apart.  It would appear to be difficult to power the frog from these directions.  Still, as the directions are poor, it is not too clear how to power the frog on the latter, as the directions are poorly written and illustrated

The two former are fine.  Cars and locomotives, diesel and steam, of various manufacturers, will operate over them. I have pushed up to twelve cars in both directions through the turnouts. The only problem locomotive is the  Life Like SW.  They like to pick the points.  I do not consider this a deal breaker on the turnouts, as LL SWs also like to pick the points and frogs of Atlas code 80 turnouts.

The largest steam locomotive that I have run through them is the Kato USRA heavy 2-8-2; the smallest, the Bachmann 4-4-0.   The largest diesel that I have run through them is the E-R Baldwin shark; the smallest, the Bachpersonn 44 tonner.

[James in FL]

The new ones have the exposed wiring, the old ones do not.
Also the new ones are packed in a yellow blister pack, the old ones in blue.
You can't tell from the item number as that has not changed.

Years ago I got an old version, new in the pack, and it was "one tooth off".
I posted photos here, somewhere, if you look far enough back and search "pinion" or "rack".
Like everything else, sometimes one may slip buy, but it's a quick easy fix < 5 minutes and, IMO, not worth sending back to the Bachmann.

Glad you got it working.

[Desertdweller]

I've got a whole bunch of the early ones on my model railroad.  In addition to the tips you have gotten, I have found one more thing that helps.

The wire that moves the switch points (the moveable rails) will hold them in position better if it is stiffened.  To do this, cut a sort piece of stiff plastic (I use a cut-down) swizzle stick) and super-glue it to the spring wire.

I am still fighting an ongoing battle with these to get locomotives through these when set for the divergent route.  The problem is worse with 6-axle Diesels than with 4-axle ones.  I have tried smoothing points and guardrails, shimming, etc.

The problem does not happen with all the turnouts, nor with all the locomotives.  I have not tried the new versions, but I have 28 of the older ones, and would hate to have to buy different ones.

Les

[mywhitedog]

I have been fighting a battle with the switches for a while now, intermittent derailments, then I picked up a nice Kato Amtrak set with DCC sound. The problem became worse, I first thought one of the switches was bad, I fiddled and fiddled, sometimes no problem, it was always the first car after the loco. This switch fed into a curve or was after the curve depending on the direction of travel. The derailment only occurred going into the curve from the switch a 44859 or 44860 one on either end. Anyway what I found was the tail of the loco swung out going into the curve, and causing the first car to derail. Remedy by adding a short section of straight track between the switch and the beginning of the curve solved the problem. I have done this on all my switches that switch to a curve from the curved part of the switch. No more derailments period, I can run through all the switches at any speed in any direction.   The short cars were hit and miss, the long cars 90% of the time would derail before making the change. I hope this helps someone in the future. All of my switches are the new style with the frogs powered.