I’m finally at the point of getting a little wiring done on my new HO retirement layout, and it’s going fairly well. I’ve used Micro Engineering track and an NCE PowerPro system. I only have two locos so far: the Walthers 0-8-0 and the Spectrum 4-4-0, both sound equipped. I’ve only messed around with CVs enough to allow my throttles to distinguish them by number; otherwise I’m content with factory settings for the time being.
As I’ve gotten a bit more track down and wired (about twelve feet is the longest run, with three ME turnouts along the way), I’ve noticed a good deal of stalling by the 4-4-0 at speed settings below about 4. I confess that I haven’t given the track a good cleaning, but I’m concerned, since the stalls always occur at the turnouts. I understand (more or less) that the ME frogs are “dead,” and I assume that it would be counterproductive to try to power the frog, but am I wrong about that?
A related problem: It never occurred to me to make a close visual inspection of the turnouts before installing them. I see now that one has material virtually filling the space between the guardrail and the stock rail on one side. Can I just take a small file to this–or perhaps a hacksaw blade–and carefully clean it out?
Any suggestions for improving/smoothing performance here will be most welcome. Thanks.
They are easy to install on those troublesome turnouts. I bought six and have only had to use four of them so far. Out of about forty turnouts I have only had trouble with four. I wanted a couple of spares just in case.[(-D]
I have had to file the plastic down between the frog and guard rail on a couple of T/Os as it lifted the engine up just enough to lose contact. These were Walthers T/Os.
The frogs are not long enough to lose power in the 4-4-0 unless it has a pick up problem. Does the loco stop on the frog or the tender? Check the plugs and make sure they are seated good. Does the tender have pickups that ride on the axle or the wheel? Make sure they are clean. Does the loco have those wheel wipers? Make sure those are clean too. They tend to pick up dust rapidly and lift the wiper from the wheel.
You do have the frogs set up as “hot” right? In other words, you are using something more than just the points to feed power to the frog, like the contacts on a switch machine? If not, that should solve your issue. Relying on the points to feed power with short, light engines can result in those symptoms.
As for the excess solder, yes, if you can get your file in and shape it correctly. If not, might want to return it for warranty. Altering the turnout so the erroneous factory work isn’t clear any more can sometimes cause issues with making a warranty claim.
Power the frog, then most of your issues should go away. While you are at it, check the gauge of your wheels and the turnout (NMRA gauge). Wheels that are out if gauge will either bind or cause one side of the trucks to lift from the rails when going through the frog/gaurd rails, eliminating power. Consider sourcing out proto tender trucks for your 4-4-0. Bachmann tender trucks use axle wipers that will get dirty over time. Bachmann trucks only deliver power from half the wheels. Proto tender wheels use axle end cups to get power from both sides…that’s why the 0-8-0 is better off on your unpowered frog turnouts. David B
I just got through powering all my W/S frogs that are driven by Tortoise machines. I had a few stalling problems that all went away. From now on, I will consider powering the frogs to be part of the installation, not something to be done later “if I need it.”
The ME turnouts with insulated frogs do not come with jumpers to power the rails past the frogs. You must supply power to those short sections of rail, either from their own feeders or through a rail joiner (preferable soldered) to the next piece of rail. If the power feed to one of these rails is intermittent or non-existent, you will experience stalling even on locos with all-wheel pickup.
Thanks to one and all; it’s rare to have a host of good suggestions that (for the most part) don’t conflict with one another. I appreciate the clarity and logic of the responses, too.
As for my problem with excess material in a turnout: a quick iPhoto of the spot fired off to Micro Engineering got a helpful response in an hour, suggesting it’s just flash from the ties that I could remove myself with a sharp blade if I felt up to it. I did, though after several minutes with the blade and not much movement, I put a cutoff disk in my Dremel and very carefully, at slow speed with frequent stops, excavated the plastic down to where I could prise out the rest with a blade. And it works; the little 4-4-0 sails through it now.