I just purchased some Atlas code 100 #6 turnouts and I have some issues with them already. When I run my Athearn GP9 over the turnouts I see and hear a horrible “speed bump”, for lack of a better term, when the wheels go over where the points meet the cutout in the adjacent rail. The loco doesn’t derail, but I would like to have a smooth running train. Can I file down the cutout in the adjacent rail to make a smooth transition?
Another issue I have with these turnouts is that they will lose power intermintanly when I run a loco over the turnout or even when I run a loco over the adjacent track. What the heck? Do I have to put power to every stinking piece of track on my layout?
Just about every comercially made turnout may need some ‘tune up’ work. The problem you are seeing is where the stamped point assembly meets the ‘stock’ rail. A few swipes with a small file on the point rail should clear up the problem. The point rail should fit snug into the ‘cutout’ in the ‘stock’ rail.
You also mentioned electrical pickup issues:
Do you have a ground throw or a switch machine attached to the turnout? Do not expect good performance with the points flopping loose. If you are looing power even on an adjacent track, you may have loose rail joiners. Get a pack of fresh rail joiners and only use ones that fit tight on the rail. This brings up putting power to every section of track. This is a very good idea. Rail joiners will get loose over time and the connection is not ‘gas tight’ - they will corrode. Every section of track on my layout has a set of feeders running to a ‘bus’ wire under the layout. I do not trust rail joiners to maintain good electrical contact!
You might want to get a NMRA track gauge and check both the turnout and that Athearn GP9. Athearn wheels are ‘press fit’ and sometimes are out of gauge.
I have run into the same problem with some of my atlas turn outs. I’ve not been able to correct the problem by working on the trun out it self. What I have done is run a little jumper wire from one side of the turn out to the other. Along with my feeder wires placed around every 6 ft. I seem to have corrected the problem. I also have all my joints soldered to insure a good connection between every piece of track and now other than the track needing occasional cleaning along with cleaning the loco wheels everything seems to work great
To answer your second question first, for best reliability, yes. Any time you depend on the rail joiners to supply the power from one section of track to the next you’re asking for trouble. And the older the layout gets, the more they will work loose and lose conduction.
Back to the first question, I’ve found this same problem on the bunch of #6 Atlas Custom Line Mark IV turnouts I recently bought for my yard. I’ve been doing a bit of experimenting on this and the solution that shows the most promise is gluing a shim into the notch in the stock rail, then filing the point to a sharper edge.
Some of my failed experiments that may help you avoid the same mistakes: 1. Filing the “bump” in the stock rail will make the gauge too wide at this point. 2. Filing the point and stock rail at the same time for smooth alignment, same problem as #1. 3. Rebending the points to a different shape.
When I finalize the best dimensions, I’ll post them in the forum.
The problem is the “gap” in between the points and the frog. If you run your engine over the switch slowly, you’ll see the wheels “drop” down into this long g
[#ditto] Filing the top of the frog will help, but it’s really your wheels dipping into the gap that makes all the noise. I’ve heard about adding the .010 styrene strips too, but haven’t tried it yet.
Yes, It’s a good idea to run power lines to all your sidings and about every 6’ on your main lines. These are called “feeders” and will make your layout more reliable.
I have filled the frogs with JB weld and let it harden then taken a hacksaw blade and cut out a flangeway similar to a handbuilt turnout where you fill the frog with solder and file out the flangeway.
The problem I’m addressing is on the Custom Line mark IV turnouts, the stock rail is notched too deeply where the points come into it, making some rolling stock “hop” when they run through in the trailing point direction.
I’ve finalized my experiments and this seems to be the easiest and most effective way to cure this problem:
You need strip styrene .01 x .06 inch
Cut a piece of the strip 3/8 inch long. Bevel one end on the thickness (.01") to match the bevel at the end of the notch in the stock rail. Bevel the other end on the width (.06") 1/8 inch long and tapering from half the width to the edge. Super glue this into place. When the glue is dry, file the point to match the alignment of the stock rail. A picture may help:
Note in the picture, the styrene is white, the bevel on the thickness is to the left and the the bevel on the width is to the right.
Holy Cow! I am glad to see I am not the only one with this problem. I will try the shimming solution. Funny thing is, when I was a kid about 30 years ago, I don’t remember Atlas putting notches in their rails. I believe that they just had very thin points and I don’t remember having any problems with this method. Then again that was is in the days of brass rail!
