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Train Stops On Turnouts
Don would like help from a knowledgeable reader and asks:
“Every once in awhile the train will stop at turnouts. Why is this and how do I solve the problem?”
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The two most common reasons;
1. The electrical pickup in your locomotive is narrower than the electrical gap found in some turnouts, impeding the flow of power to the motor. This can usually be fixed by adding more wipers or pickups to the wheelsets, something easy to learn if you’ve not done it before.
2. The drivers are actually causing a short circuit at the frog, the place where the two tracks converge. The wheel is connecting the positive side of one track with the negative side of the other, right at the point where the wheel crosses over the diverging point.
Check that when the turnout is thrown that the railguide sits firmly against the main rail. Depending on the type of turnout there could be a small lug under the swithch rail which helps with connection. Check this is actually touching the main rail. Also clean the inside of the main rail so that there is no foreign matter stopping firm contact.