Rich,
Was that just regular masking tape, or some sort of heavy-duty one?
Regular masking tape. Beige or tan in color.
What I did was to use an Exacto knife to cut small thin strips right on the roll of masking tape and then apply the small strips to the rail. It is the sides of the rails that come into contact with the wheels so you really don’t even need the tape on the top of the rails.
Rich
Rich,
Sounds like a plan [:)]. I could even paint it with the paint I used for the rails themselves. Thank-you.
Glad to be of help. Yes, even painting the sides of the rails will do it. You might need to cover the very ends of the tops of the rails where they converge, but it doesn’t take much.
Rich
No. I was assuming based on the photo posted that you had the insulfrog version. Since you have the electrofrog, their should already be the appropriate gaps to prevent shorting. Their may be some jumpers on the back that need to be cut. If you havent balasted yet, and your turnout is nailed down, this might be a more permanent solution.
My sugestion for filing was again based on the turnout being an insulfrog. With the older runs of these turnouts (insulfrogs) there is a tendancy for wide tread wheels to bridge the two rails at the frog just beyond the piece of plastic where the rails come together. This is not applicable to the electrofrog.
Code 88 wheels wont fix the problem you are having.
I’ve managed to get it working, with some nailpolish over the frogs. Thing is, when I was testing I was running the locomotive through forwards, and getting an occassional short. However, I realised this was incorrect - normally trains will back through that turnout. So I tested it with the loco running in reverse through the turnout, and it worked without any issues.
Yep, that is exactly how it works and that is exactly how the problem manifests itself.
The problem begins with a design flaw in the turnout where two rails of opposite polarity converge, and the tolerance is too tight. Most locomotives make it through because the wheels are precisely in gauge. But then you come across a locomotive with a wheelset slightly out of gauge or a wheel flange a bit too wide.
Nail polish will cover the flaw and permit the locomotive to pass through without a short. Even without the nail polish, if you run the locomotive in reverse or pick it up and turn it around and run it forward in that position, no short will occur because the tolerance from that position is acceptable.
Rich