Unfortunately there are issues as well. I've recently purchased a new loco - pretty long BR52 steam engine from Fleischmann - just to find out that it cannot pass the Kato turnouts #4 most of the time. And the problem is not a derailment but a simple short circuit that occurs depending on the turnout unit and the loco's speed.
After looking at the issue closely, I've discovered the problem to be located in this part of the switch:
Seems that depending on the wheel profile (and the BR52 has definitely different wheels than my previous locos) it can - for a very short moment - touch both rails at the same time and cause a short circuit. How close that is to happening for a regular wheel, can be seen in this picture:
This very short malfunction is long enough for my Z21 to detect it (good!) and shut down the layout for good (bad...). It does break the fun...
Unfortunately I could not find a non-intrusive solution for the issue. I tried bending the rails slightly and it did help but only for a while. Seems the rails do come back to their original shape pretty quickly, as the problem is coming back, too.
So I ended up grinding the rails. I treated the first switch with a very small manual file. It worked. So I bought a diamond coated bit for my multi-tool and fixed the other turnouts as well. The effect is the following:
Does not really look that nice, does it? Especially up-close... And I'm also worried that I removed a significant portion of the outer layer of the metal. It does work however very well. My BR52 passes all the switches flawlessly now and the fun can continue...
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The issue seems to apply only to turnouts #4. Turnouts #6 offer a much wider gap between those two rails and I don't think any locomotive could have a problem on those.
I know your post is two years old but, I am encountering the same issue with a Bachmann S4 locomotive. It appears the tire tread may be wider than that of my Kato E8s, which do not have this problem. The short occurs on Kato single crossovers, which are #4 turnouts.
ReplyDeleteBefore I grind the frog, did you try painting the rail there to insulate the gap? If so, why did you abandon that approach for grinding the rail?
Thanks
I did not try painting. If you try it and it works for you, please share your experience.
DeleteI did grind all my turnouts in the end. They all work fine now with every single locomotive. And the damage to the rails does not seem critical. One and a half year later it's still all good :)
After considering the difficulty of maintaining an insulating liquid vis a vis track cleaning abrasion as well as normal wear and tear from operations, I decided to file away the gap, as you did. Easy and permanent. I used a diamond coated needle file as I didn't trust myself with a multi-tool on this project.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my issues were only on Kato 20-230/231 double track single crossovers--both left and right hand. Two were set to power routing and frog on and two were set to non-power routing and frog off. The problem only manifested itself when on the straight section while backing toward the frog. No issues were encountered when traveling forward from the point either through or diverging and no issues where encountered when approaching the frog from the diverging portion of the crossover (that is, during the crossover).
Thank you for posting your experience or I might still be trying to fix a locomotive that wasn't broken.
Regards,
Bill Fuller
Georgetown, Texas, USA