Can anyone tell me if you have to cut gaps in order to use electrofrog turnouts and if you have used Peco Turnouts in N scale would you choose electrofrog or insulfrog Peco turnouts
I don’t know what others are doing but around here many model rails use the Electrofrog Peco’s with no problems, even on DCC.
Out of habit I use gaps with insulated rail joiners but I don’t think you necessarily have to. It’s been many years since I laid track so I’m curious what others are saying. Maybe it’ll jock my old grey matter cells!
Electrofrog turnouts require gaps/insulated joints beyond the frog if there will be power coming down the track from beyond the frog.
If you power a siding and turn the turnout against the siding, you will get a short. A single turnout in an oval of track requires a gap. A passing siding will require 2 gaps (at least).
I like electrofrog turnouts, but I have both types in my layout. I cut the same gaps for all of them.
Thanks for the information, I guess I am electrically challenged! Would you only cut gaps in one of the rails beyond the frog or both rails???
Eric,
Insulate / cut gaps in both rails coming from the frog. You don’t necessarily have to cut a gap in the stock rails (the outside ones that do not pass through the frog) although you should if they connect directly to the frog of another turnout. But then, you would have done that if you followed the first statement all the time.
Drop a feeder wire from between the two short rails on the routes from the frog and connect it to a SPDT switch (center / common post). Connect the outer posts of the switch to the corresponding power bus / rail. Don’t rely on the power-routing capability of the point rails, especially if you intend to ballast the track.
Good luck.
Mark C.
If the rail past the frog goes to a dead-end siding, you don’t need to cut a gap. You can then use the siding to store locomotives.
Many DCC users like to have their sidings live, so they would gap and put a feeder in the siding.
If you have a series of turnouts, you can often reduce the gaps to just one or two.
Live frogs give better contact as the loco goes through the turnout.
Mark C.
What would the purpose of the SPDT switch be?
Eric,
The SPDT switch is to send the correct polarity to the frog depending on which rail the point rail is contacting. If you throw the turnout by hand, use the Caboose Industries ground throw with the built-in switch. If you throw the turnout with a switch machine, use one with built-in SPDT contacts, like aTortoise. If you throw it by hand with the manual tabs on the turnout, you probably should not use the SPDT switch at all, since you would need to coordinate throwing the turnout AND the SPDT switch at the same time, otherwise you would get a short.
Mark C.
Thanks for the clarification Mark C… I was planning on throwing the switch manually. I recently tore down my first N scale layout, it never did get finished but I learned a lot and it actually turned out really well considering the learning process. I am preparing to start on my second N scale layout and I am planning on using Peco turnouts instead of Atlas turnouts. I was not too impressed with the functioning of the Atlas turnouts. Thanks Again for all your feedback and expertise.