Is there anyone with personal experience, say in actually taking one apart, who would take the time to compose a reply describing how these turnouts work, and what the various components are/look like that are in and around the throwbar/spring mechanism?
I ask this because we seem to get questions about them, but few answers that stand out as , “Ahah!” ones.
Crandell
This probably won’t be an haha moment, but I’ve repaired several of them and so I know how they work.
Peco has two components/areas that hold the points.
The center spring acts as all centering springs work. It is a wire shaped as a V as viewed from the top. When the points are on either side, the V expands and holds the points to the stock rails. When the points are moved to the other side, the V compresses until the points are at the center (where the spring is at max compression/the V is the narrowest) and then as the points move past center, the V expands again. And again holds the points against the stock rails.
They also have the tabs near the throw bar which serve to conduct power and hold the points in place. These tabs are attached to the point rails and deflect to go under the stock rails. They act like leaf springs in a way. If these get bent or dirty, then the turnout doesn’t power route as well as designed. Sometimes these tabs can be bent up not allowing the point rails to close agains the stock rails. Sometimes these tabs get bent down and don’t conduct power nor hold the points tight to the stock rails.
Richard
Thanks, Richard, I appreciate it. Maybe a photo or two will turn up in time.
Crandell