Inspecting Turnouts Before Installing

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I’m adding three Walthers-Shinohara code 83 turnouts, rearranging some track to colsolidate my loco facilities.

While getting cork roadbed in place and checking how level a 3-way turnout would be, I discovered a freight car bumps over one part of the turnout. On closer workbench inspection, I see that a thin piece of plastic that extends past one of the frogs, to be against the guardrail (so it stays behind a wheel flange passing through) is loose, hanging out away from the guardrail where a flange has to bump over it. It seems to have no function other than appearance, so I will first see if I can super-glue it against the guardrail, otherwise trim it off.

Just thought I’d reinforce the wisdom of checking (mechanically, gaging and electrical continuity where applicable) a turnout to the extent one can before installing. I failed to do so on initial construction, and had one with a bad jumper, which I could have returned instead of having to rectify in place with an additional feeder wire.

2

I hear ya.

I failed to closely examine a Walthers Shinohara double crossover and later had to wire a jumper wire to the underside of the double crossover.

Rich

3

I have about forty Walthers T/Os. On a few the file or dremal has come out for a little fine tuning. I had one where right after I installed a Frog Juicer, the wheel of the 4-4-0 was just being lifted enough at the frog that contact was lost. A very light pass with a disc on the Dremal fixed that. I should have been a Surgeon.[(-D]