I have been following the Red Oak project railroad closely as it fits the design I want to follow for my own layout. One thing I am having trouble understanding is the DCC wiring. I know they are using Peco electro-frog turnouts. My understanding is they are dropping feeders on each section of flex track, and before and after each turnout. Is that it? Is there any need for any modification to the turnout (removing the little jumpers)? No wires to the frog? I am still new to dcc and I just want to make sure I have this correct. I don’t want to put something together only to find I must dismantle it because I left something out. Thanks for any help you may offer.
For Electrofrogs, they should be modified, one set of jumpers underneath cut and another set added, and the frog should be powered. On the frog side, you need gaps in the diverging rails. See the turnout modification video from the Olympia Logging series for how to do that.
If they are using Insulfrog - then there are no modifcations necessary, and applying feeders directly before and after each turnout will work fine - so I suspect they are using Insulfrog here.
In the February issue (2015) on page 64 they list Electrofrog turnouts. The picture shows the (modification turnout for Olympia Logging series.) Like Randy said.
Thanks for your replies. I know they are using electrofrogs for the Red Oak, but based on Randy’s response it seems like insulfrog would require less trouble and work appropriately. Is there some advantage in choosing electrofrogs over insulfrogs in this situation? I have not purchased turnouts yet and I want to make sure I am getting the correct ones. I prefer simple with less soldering, but I also want something that works reliably. Thanks guys.
A modified Electrofrog will be much more reliable, especially for N scale, as there will be no dead (power wise) track through the turnout. Yes, it’s more work and requires a control mechanism with contacts to power the frog, but with no dead spots you should have the ultimate in reliable operation. Insulfrogs have a fairly small insulated section, unlike Atlas, but offer their own issues where wider wheels can bridge the two rails in the frog past the insulation which will cause a short - this is where you see people talking about applying nail polish to make the dead section slightly longer. I would bite the bullet and make the extra effort now, for more reliable operation later.