Dead Atlas Frogs

[jscw1]

Hi Jack from Star, Idaho. I know everyone has complained about the dead spots on the Atlas switches. Especially the # 6 and #8. Every time you run a short wheel base locomotive it hesitates or stalls. Now I can see reversing the polarity if you are running DC but what can a guy do for a DCC system? I talked with Atlas Techs and they said use a small bus bar but really didn't explain how to hook that up. Is there anything that can be done to fix this problem? Still scratching my head

 

[Selector]

You can drill a small hole into the nether side of a metal frog, insert, a screw with a small wire soldered to it, and power the frog that way. Means a toggle switch to reverse the frog's polarity...which is a pain from my personal point of view. Many do it, though.

I have longish Fast Tracks #8's with dead frogs, and I don't have any stalling problems at all, not even with a small P2K SW8.

-Crandell

 

[diburning]

Well, you could replace the switches with ones that have powered frogs, then solder drops to the diverging route so that you'd always get power.

 

[Capndick]

Jack,
The only short wheelbase loco I own is an old MDC 0-6-0 saddle tank, it stalled on every switch which is why it sat for 30 years, I added 2 Tomar brass shoes to it, one ahead and one behind the wheels to lengthen it's wheelbase.

It improved, but still stalled a little and never at the same place, the interesting thing is this.
One shoe hung up and bent, so I removed it temporarily, the loco hasn't stalled once since...the operational shoe is screwed to the frame extending the pick up on that side...I run DCC BTW..you might give it a try, it'd be easy with any piece of springy brass.

Dick