atlas turnout mod

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DT&J

DT&J

Still plays with trains
I have a Bachman 2-8-0 that mostly derails on the Atlas turnouts. My bright idea was to solder a short section of track to the points which worked for a few passes before working loose. The process was long, slow, and melted plastic. Anyone have anybetter ideas to connect short section to the points?:confused::(:confused::(:confused::(
 
So are you saying the distance between the points and the normal rail (no clue what the proper term) is to wide? Instead of attaching something to the points I would put some solder in the gap and file it down, if that makes any sense at all:)
 
The main rail is "notched" to about 1/2 the width of the rail a little so the points sit flush and creates a wide spot. I guess I should mention that the extra pieces were set to the inside of the points.

And yes, you made perfect sense mike8693
 


The main rail is "notched" to about 1/2 the width of the rail a little so the points sit flush and creates a wide spot. I guess I should mention that the extra pieces were set to the inside of the points to slide with them.

And yes, you made perfect sense mike8693
 
My experience is that the points are too blunt, making the wheels, particularly pony trucks on steamers, pick the points. Take a piece of foam and place it betwen the points and the stock rail. Throw the switch so the points rest against the foam. Use a flat fine file to file the points until they are razor sharp. This will almost always solve the problem. The other thing to try is a a little more weight in the front of the engine, since the pony trucks carry almost no weight and are thus prone to derailing.
 
I agree with Jim. File down the points first. You can also tweak the point rails to get them to sit flush to the straight rails.
 
Sorry,my description is bad.If the pic shows up, yellow is direction of travel, red indicates the "guide rails" I mentioned, you can see where the stock rail is notched for the point to lay in. When the 2-8-0 hits the notch it derails. My son's Thomas, Annie and Clarabell, and the rest of my diesels dont have a problem through there.

Thanks for all the brainstorming so far.

problem1.png
 
Ah, I've got it now. The guide rails are correctly called the points. That notch is just too square but it's also an easy fix.Take that fine flat file and just bevel the edge of the notch. That will allow the lead truck slide over the notch without derailing. For some reason, that notch looks unusually deep and the the diverging route stock rail looks unusually thin. Did you buy the switch new? It almost looks like someone has filed the stock rail thinner to stop point picking when an engine is coming for the left, or facing point, direction.

Very good picture, BTW. If everyone who had a problem gave such a clear description of what was happening, we'd get a lot more time for BS'ing here. :)
 
yes good discription. I think Jim is on to something... It looks as if the upper rail is to thin and the locos RH wheels can fall into the center of the track? or the LH wheels are riding up on the LH point rail? try tweaking the point rail so that its vertical and not leaning. is it just the locos that derail or do cars do this also? you also might need to check the wheel guage to make sure you not chasing an issue thats limited just to the 2-8-0?
 
Filing the points to a sharp end may help, the problem you describe is one of gauge in the turnout.

Suggestion;

Get a NMRA gauge, and check the track gauge at the points. After finding that the points are OOG, (Out of Gauge), and which way, too tight, too wide, then we can tell you how to fix it, or if it is worth fixing.

ScaleRails, the NMRA's mag, did a rundown of how close all commercially available turnouts were to the NMRA Standard, a year or so ago. Every turnout available except for ME, and Fast Tracks had problems. (Don't remember if CV's were evaluated or not.) Some of Atlas's problems noted were being OOG almost everywhere it matters, too wide flangeways and high frogs.
 
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My limited experience with Atlas is enough for me to never buy another piece of track from them again. Cheap switches are just that. You get what you pay for and a few extra dollars in the upfront price is more then offset by trouble free use.
 
macjet said:
...You get what you pay for and a few extra dollars in the upfront price is more then offset by trouble free use.
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I never base track purchases on price alone. I didn't look just for quality in the few commercial turnouts I use. I looked at what the product's track record is regarding maintenance, length of service, and performance. This is why I chose their old code 100 Customline products for my hidden staging. Each one went through the gauge check prior installation, and all short comings were corrected. It wouldn't have mattered which product I had chosen. It would have been checked.

All my other turnouts are handlaid to fit each situation. They cost me about an hour each in time, and about $3.00 in materials. Can't get much cheaper than that.;)
 
Cjcrescent said:
All my other turnouts are handlaid to fit each situation. They cost me about an hour each in time, and about $3.00 in materials. Can't get much cheaper than that.;)
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I still have the curved one you did at the old house in Alabaster: The "Max Gray Mountain" turnout:D:D:D
 
I hate to say it but I agree the atlas switches are not that great in the long run. for 20 years I used atlas as its was all I could afford. After my layout was up and running I still had to tweak the switches every now and then so that all my locos can get thru them. finnaly I replaced the 2 realy bad ones with Peco and the issues were fixed without any tweaking. If I did it all over again (and one day I will) I would use Peco or try the fast track they you guys claim are excellent. same thing on the club layout. Some of those old non atlas switches are 20 years old and they will let you run your train thru them at 50MPH scale speeds without issues. everything needs maintance but some times the atlas switches are pretty bad right out of the box?

let us know what you find

Trent
 
Espeefan said:
I still have the curved one you did at the old house in Alabaster: The "Max Gray Mountain" turnout:D:D:D
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God, I forgot about that one! You know I've built so many for other folks over the years, I've forgotten what I did for who! I know that for Jim Mc and the Captain, I built some turnouts in N-scale, and HOn2.5. Larry S., I built some dual gaugers, HO/HOn3. My buddy in Mobile, O, On3, On2, On2/3 dual gaugers...... There were others.:D My Half-heimers is kickin' in. Can't remember all of them....
 
lmackattack said:
...Some of those old non atlas switches are 20 years old and they will let you run your train thru them at 50MPH scale speeds without issues. everything needs maintance but some times the atlas switches are pretty bad right out of the box?

Trent
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I've replaced all brands of commercial turnouts over the years, on different people's layouts, and I can guarantee that ALL turnout brands have their problems.

I needed a turnout brand, for 2 covered staging yards, that IF it goes bad, it won't cost me an arm and a leg to replace, or take six months or more to get one. Just about everyone carries Atlas, and if tuned correctly, it will last just as long and be just as dependable as any other commercial brand.
 
I now that it's a popular past time to bash Atlas turnouts but I think Atlas has become kind of synonymous with Snap Switches. Those, I will admit, are pretty bad, but mostly because they are trying to shoehorn a switch into the least space and with the tightest radius possible. I've used Custom-Line #6 and #8 turnouts for years. Except for occasionally touching up a blunt point or slightly out of gauge sections, they have performed exceptionally well. The club I belonged to in Southern California had well over 100 Custom-Line #6 and # 8 switches and they held up for years with us running trains 14 hours a day during fair time. I think I've used every brand of RTR switch made and there wasn't one that was always perfect out of the box. The Custom-Line code 83 switches look pretty darned good too. With the newer Fast Tracks switches available, I'd probably hand lay switches if I was starting over again but you just get to fix the same kind of problems as you build instead of as you lay them. For $15, it's hard to beat a Custom-Line switch for value and, as CJ said, I don't have to wait months to have them get back in stock.
 
A big issue with the Atlas Code 83 switch is the depth of the frog fill. Walthers' 28" wheels don't like this frog design. So you're stuck with either replacing wheels or trying to fix another switch problem.
 


Jacob, this is more an issue with a particular type of wheel than the frog. We have so many different wheel diameters, flange depths, and tread cross sections today that it's almost impossible not to find a wheel that doesn't have a problem with the frog of almost any switch. Atlas makes their switch to operate with as many different wheel types that are out there, including the old pizza cutter flanges. The fix for smaller wheels is to just super glue a strip of styrene into the frog to stop the wheel from dropping.
 
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