Why do companies (won’t mention any names) make plastic or whatever material they come from cheap frogs on turnouts ? My problem starts like this, I had an old nickel silver turnout, forgot what code. Anyway for a long while I was running trains in one particular direction, just a few days ago I was running my train in the opposite direction. I got a derailment, no big thing, reset the freight car back on the track. Came back for a second pass got another derailment, this time I inspected the track, nothing ! I went a little further back to were the turnout was and noticed that the frog looked pretty chewed up. WHAT CAUSES THIS ? Now I have to pull apart the turnout as well as the switch motor & replace it
You just answered your own question. They’re made like that for 2 reasons. #1 is cost to produce. It’s much cheaper to put in a plastic frog than a metal one. #2 is replacement frequency. If the turnouts lasted forever, the company makes no money on replacement sales.
Take it from a former businessman, that’s how it works.
The two most probable causes: 1. The flangeway at the guardrail is too wide allowing the wheel flange going through the frog to hit the point of it. Even on the prototype, the function of the guardrail is to pull the flange of the opposite wheel over so it doesn’t hit the point of the frog. 2. You have some wheelsets that are too wide of gauge.
And no, I don’t make a cut off the sale of NMRA check gauges.
I’ve had both plastic and metal frogs for over 30 years and I’ve never had any frogs get “chewed up” without something else causing it.
Get an NMRA Check Gauge and check all your wheelsets especially locomotives. You can also use the gauge to check the tolerances of your turnout.
The use of plastic frogs is not all about cost, they are also used for electrical reasons. The higher quality turnouts that do use plastic frogs, use a very tuff engineering plastic that is very hard to damage. You get what you pay for.