EZ Track Turnouts Power Routing Question

[Nickf]

So I'm new to Bachmann but not new to HO trains.

Doing some research I come to find out that Bachmann turnouts are powered all the time, regardless if i switch the points or not, power is running 100% through my entire layout.

I want to have some spurs that are unpowered to hold other locos.

Is there a way to modify the turnouts so they do route power when switching, or am I needing to set up block wiring with plastic rail joiners and external switches to turn power on/off to the spurs?

Right now I'm just in the beginning phase of my layout and my first line on my layout will be basically an oval with 2 spurs.


Thank in advance
NickF   

[BobZ]

I have 20 EZ Track turnouts, some go to sidings, some go to yard tracks. I don't know of way to modify the turnouts. There may be someone out there smarter then me that would know if it's possible. I simply isolate the siding and/or yard tracks using a Dremel tool and run power through an ON/OFF switch.

[jward]

I don't think any of them can be set up for power routing. Some of them you can power the frog but that's not what you are trying to do. You will need the insulating joiners to isolate your track, or you will need to cut gaps in your rails with a small saw or Dremel. Wiring your sidings to electrical switches is probably the most cost effective, but if you want to automate the process, you can wire an Atlas Snap Relay in parallel with your switch motor. The relay will throw at the same time as your switch motor, and you can use the contacts to route power to the siding when the switch is lined for it.

[Nickf]

Has anybody compared the older N scale turnouts wiring to the new HO turnouts?
Reading up on this subject, I see that the older N scale turnouts were power routing and just recently they changed the design to be 100% powered.
Maybe the clue is the wiring/connections in the old N scale turnouts.
Can someone tell me what turnouts do route power, I'm in the US if that matters. so something readily available and compatible (if possible) with the EZ Track

[jward]

The only ones I am aware of are Peco ELectrofrog. There may be others, and in the past many switches were power routing. We as a hobby have gotten away from power routing switches because of DCC. On a power routing switch, both point rails are the same polarity, and when metal wheels roll through them it causes an instantaneous short. We never noticed it on DC as the circuit breakers were relatively slow to react, but on DCC it can shut the system down for a second or so before it resets itself.


I ran into this problem with my handbuilt switches, which used a metal bar between the points for a very robust design. I had to modify the throwbars to use PC board ties in order to make the points electrically seperate from each other.


Are you aware that using even one power routing switch in a closed loop can cause a short if you don't have a gap or insulting joiner in the rail somewhere? These are best used on a layout set up for block control, and problematic anywhere else.