Walthers HO #6 3-Way DCC Friendly

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hello to all,

Does anyone have any experience with the DCC friendly version of the Walthers HO #6 3-Way turnout? I have read in forums that getting 3-ways to work with DCC is pretty hard and I was wondering if the DCC friendly version is any better than the origianl DC version.

Regards,

Rod

2

I have one. I wired all three routes beyond the frog, but I left small gaps between the turnout route ends and the ladder tracks with which they were mated. I also powered the throat leading up to the thin end of the turnout, with no gap. So, if the points are lined for the middle route, say, and you attempt to enter the turnout from one of the outside routes, crossing the gap, you will get a short. It is a convenient reminder to get with the program.

About the only niggling thing I would mention is that metal wheels tight on gauge (too close together) will cause shorts when they traverse the frogs because they’ll bridge two opposite rails. Most often, engines and cars alike will go through just fine, but I have a couple of cars that must go through a about 20 mph in order to not have everything come to a halt.

Nice turnout, reliable, and quite interesting. I am an unabashed fan of turnouts, with double slips ranking at the top for me, and the three-way is another joy to operate…when I get the points right.[:I]

3

I have one of the non dcc frienly walthers 3ways sitting in a box at the moment. How difficult is this to wire for dcc? Can it be done using instulated joiners and not having to cut caps and rewire the turnout?

4

If it is non-DCC friendly, it will need gapped frogs in all likelihood (this is a guess as I have never seen, nor used, this version). If it routes power down the lined route, it will probably have to have a gap to the that segment of track…again, not sure until I got my hands on it. Seriously, I would just leave a small gap between each of the three exits beyond the frogs and the next piece of track. It will save a lot of angst in the long run. I hope someone who has this version will help out, because I have no experience with it.