bachmann turnouts

[jonjdurkin]

I've built an 8x8 double track layout. It's all ez track with Bachmann turnouts. Problem-Many of my locomotives tend to derail on the turnouts. This is particularly true of steamers with pilot trucks. I have standard remote turnouts, #5 turnouts and a #6 crossover turnout. Why can't a copmpany as big as Bachmann build a turnout that doesn't require filing and fiddling? About half my "fleet"are Bachmann and the rest mostly Rivarossi and Mantua, but they will all derial on the turnouts.

[OldTimer]

I've been "playing with trains" for over 50 years now and I can tell you that this has always been a tinkerer's hobby.  It just sort of goes with working with lots of moving parts.  Did you ever own an MG?  Nobody asked why MG couldn't build a car that ran right.  Part of the mystique was spending Saturday afternoon tinkering with the carb and the ignition system so you could take your girl out for a spin on Sunday. 

Bachmann could make turnouts that would be derailment proof.  Years ago Tru-Scale made turnouts that had the points and frog fabricated as a solid piece...the whole thing moved very much like the old tinplate turnouts from Lionel.  They almost never caused a derailment, but they didn't look much like the real thing and they were very expensive.  Today, it seems like a lot of manufacturers are trying to be "good enough."  Excellent costs a lot more than good enough and may not perform much better.  I don't use EZ-Track for reasons that have nothing to do with quality, but from what I read, Bachmann has made a product that is good enough.

If you stay with model railroading, you will come to learn how to deal with these little annoyances and take some pleasure from making something that wasn't quite up to snuff work well. 
Just my two cents worth.
OldTimer

[Joe323]

From Experience most of the derailments I have seen at turnouts are caused by coupler trip pins being too low and snagging on the points.  As Old timer pointed out this is a tinkerers hobby.

[mabloodhound]

One of the lessons I have learned from reading other modeler's threads is that building your own turnouts is the best way to make them nearly foolproof.
The FastTrack jigs make this easy and the finished product is so much better than anything you can buy.

[atari]

I do not find these answers to be acceptable.

First, my remote turnout derails ~100% of the time.
Second, my manual turnout rarely fails so blaming it on turnouts in general seems to be an over generalization.

This is a product that should not be sold like this.

One thing that helps with the turnouts is to try to have them connected to leading straights. Do not have the track prior to the turnout be a curve. That seems to help.

[atari]

A little more on the topic. Posters at another forum are suggesting that you file the top of the points on your turnout. I haven't tried this but it is something to pursue.

[jward]

you don't file the top of the points. you file the inside edge of the points, to sharpen them. to file down the tops of the points would increase derailmants by encouraging the wheel flanges to ride the top of the point instead of the inside edge. what you want is a knife edge on the end of the point, and for the point to be held firmly against the stock rail.

[atari]

jward,

Thanks for the clarification. I should have been more clear myself that I was just passing along the report and that I don't know exactly what to do myself. Looking at my turnout, however, I wonder if I need to file the end of the point off. It looks like the point contacts the rail before the tip and then bows a bit away. I'm not sure sharpening it is going to do any good. This may be an example of individual issues over one size solutions.

Thanks for clarifying, though.

[jward]

atari, in your case, i'd try to carefully straighten the point so that the end touches the stock rail. there should be no gap between the point and stock rail. if there is that will probably cause derailments.

[Geno]

I think I agree with the OP and atari.  If My brand new Bachmann Spectrum locomotives won't run reliably on EZ track nickel silver turnouts, and I'm talking about even reliably going straight through , the product needs a little more development before it is released on the public.  None of these items are inexpensive when purchased and they ought to be reliable when properly set up right out of the box.

[jonjdurkin]

I agree with atari and geno-a product should be reliable and not require "tinkering" or "filing' or any other user activity if it is NEW. I have no problem fixing Ebay stuff
and other 2nd hand equipment, but a NEW product should function properly out of the box. No excuses.

[timhar47]

I had previously tried EZ, and then gave up for the same reasons given. The problem that I saw, and that has been discussed in other forums, is that the movable rails are way too wobbly, the engine hits them, they wobble out of line, the truck then slams into the solid rail and you are cooked.
I just got back into EZ, hoping this was a fixed deal by now. So far, all of the standard turnouts - yeah - I know- yucky full 18" r diverge - all seem to be working fine.
Also - much gratitude given for the newer(whenever that was) added line of smaller pieces of track. This has virtually eliminated all problems of previously needing to cut your own filler track.
Tim

[atari]

My manual turnout seems to work just fine as well. It's just the remote that has a 100% fail rate. In fact, it is so bad, I wonder if I just got a defective part.

[hawaiiho]

My manual turnout seems to work just fine as well. It's just the remote that has a 100% fail rate. In fact, it is so bad, I wonder if I just got a defective part.

My experience with Bachmann turnouts has been the same. The manual turnouts seem to work with no problems. However, the  same can't be said for the remote turnouts. I have had nearly a 50% faillure rate for them. Some could be fixed by "tinkering", several were so bad, they had to be returned to the hobby shop or to Bachmann.
That doesn't say much for Bachmann's qualitycontrol.
I have three of the DCC turnouts. The only problems that I have had with them is some "squirrelly" DCC behavior.

[atari]

I've read elsewhere about some odd DCC behavior with the turnouts (maybe here?). However, it is encouraging that they at least do not derail. Which ones do you use?