HELP!!!! Atlas N scale remote turnouts

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi All,

I am having a lot of trouble with Atlas N scale remote turnouts. Sometime they work mechanically correct and next time won’t. They are wired correctly. I have removed the solenoid from the turnout and it works perfectly. Once I attach it back to the turnout it seems like some part of the turnout is preventing the rails from closing completely. This leaves a gap and derails the train. I am very careful when I attach them to cork roadbed. I pre-drill the tie though to the plywood base and carefully press the track nail in. Also I only place nails in the holes that exist on the turnouts.

Are these things temperamental or am breaking them when I nail them down to the roadbed? Any ideas? I am having a great time building, but get extremely frustrated when I install a new turnout any it derails the train.

I am fairly new to the hobby so please forgive my lack of or misuse of the proper terminology.

Thanks,

RAP213

2

Only a guess here…if they work fine until they are nailed down,it makes me believe that you might be pushing your nails in a bit too deep,thus putting some stress on your turnouts.I suggest that you “float” your turnouts,having them held in place by the rail joiners alone at both ends to see what happens.I never nail nor glue turnouts so that they are easy to replace should any fail and don’t have problems.However I must say that I use Peco turnouts.

3

You may need to ‘carve’ a slot in the cork roadbed under the throwbar. That may be where your ‘binding’ is taking place. Also, your power pack may not have enough power to reliably throw the points every time. Any small bits of cork or ballast lodged in that area can cause the problem you are describing(why I always cut a ‘slot’ in the roadbed befor I lay the turnout).

Jim

4

I assume these are code 80… I have had at least 1/2 of mine fail because of the cheapo switches that come with them. For some reason the contacts inside are missaligned. I took one apart so far and fixed it.

5

Thanks, all very good ideas and I will try each one tonight. I’m very grateful for the help, a very frustrating problem!