# How I scratchbuild turnouts



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

I am sending this as a PDF file because of its length. The frog options attachment embedded in the document may not work. I'll post it separately. I have sent this as a PDF, rather than a zip file because several members reported problems opening my last zip file.

View attachment How I scratch build turnouts new.pdf
.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

traction fan said:


> I am sending this as a PDF file because of its length. The frog options attachment embedded in the document may not work. I'll post it separately. I have sent this as a PDF, rather than a zip file because several members reported problems opening my last zip file.
> 
> View attachment 217714
> .
> ...


I've built a few turnouts myself, and I usually make a fixture to hold the frog rails in place for soldering. this can easily be done with a piece of hardwood and a table saw with the right width saw blade. Then it's just a matter of getting the angles right.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

very nice tutorial ... enjoyed reading it


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

In another thread you mentioned this one and where to find it. I spent a half hour looking for it,stopping along the way to read some others. After finding this thread I downloaded the PDF and skimmed through it--then I looked at the Atlas turnout I installed in my grandsons track this afternoon and see it is different than those you were talking about--it doesn't have the rivets ! I guess they changed their turnouts at some point.  I enjoyed reading about the process though and have it if I ever need it.


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## Nikola (Jun 11, 2012)

Nice write-up. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Mixed up posts?*



Ed.James said:


> In another thread you mentioned this one and where to find it. I spent a half hour looking for it,stopping along the way to read some others. After finding this thread I downloaded the PDF and skimmed through it--then I looked at the Atlas turnout I installed in my grandsons track this afternoon and see it is different than those you were talking about--it doesn't have the rivets ! I guess they changed their turnouts at some point.  I enjoyed reading about the process though and have it if I ever need it.


Ed.James;

I think you may have confused two of my old posts regarding turnouts; not that it really matters. The one you refer to here is about building turnouts from scratch. I don't think there are any references to Atlas turnouts and their rivets, in this one. However, another post, titled "Improving Atlas turnouts" does have text and photos about the rivets, the problems they can cause and how to eliminate the rivets. 
Not all Atlas brand turnouts have rivets. They are on the Atlas HO-scale "Snap switch and on some, not all, of their "Custom Line" turnouts. The purpose of the rivets is to allow very low friction movement of the weird points used on these turnouts.
If your turnouts don't have rivets, that's a good thing. If you should have any derailments or other problems with the Atlas turnouts you do have, then the "Improving Atlas Turnouts" post may help you solve them. Just out of curiosity, what do your Atlas turnouts have in place of rivets? Do they have rail joiners instead, or some other system?
I'm glad you found my post(s) interesting. Scratch building turnouts is not something most new model railroaders want to attempt. In general, most modelers, both new and experienced, prefer to buy them ready made. If you need to buy more turnouts in the future, I recommend Peco brand turnouts. They are very rugged, and reliable. They also have a built in spring which allows manual operation without a switch machine. 
I like the idea of you introducing your grandsons to model trains, I may do the same when my grandson gets a little older.

Have fun!

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

traction fan said:


> Scratch building turnouts is not something most new model railroaders want to attempt.


For what it's worth, I've only built a few turnouts so far, three of which are dual-gauge, but I absolutely love it! Yeah it is very time-consuming, and I need a bit more practice at keeping my rails within tolerance, but the ones I've built so far have been working great on my test track. I have some rather funky pieces in my layout plan such as a single-slip with one of the rails curved, and another single-slip with one of the straight routes in dual-gauge... and I'm really excited to tackle these pieces when I'm ready. In the meantime I'll keep cranking out the regular turnouts and getting more practice.

For me, it's the complexity of the piece. Even a 'plain' turnout is a relatively complex piece of engineering, and the fact that I can cut and solder a bunch of pieces together to make a functional piece just makes me happy.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

I could not agree more Shdwdrgn, I had never considered building my turnouts until I saw an article by Joe Fugate, which lead me to an article about using a 1" belt sander to make turnouts, and the links kept going until I had to try it. First 1 didn't work to well but I learned on each one. It was a great way to feel like you had really accomplished something!


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## 89Suburban (Jan 4, 2017)

Nice work on that write up sir.


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## 1905dave (Sep 18, 2016)

I learned to build turnouts about 40 years ago and have been building them ever since, I've done both HO and N scale in codes 55, 70 and 83. I've used PC board ties, built them on the workbench, built them in place, used paper templates underneath, made my own paper templates, built parts and then assembled "kits". Every method I've tried has worked. About the only way I haven't built them is with the commercial jigs or using commercial frog and point castings.

My current layout is about 1/3 finished and has about 60 turnouts on it.

I have included the handout on building switches for the clinic I gave at the 2016 NMRA MCoR convention in Council Bluffs, IA.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

I think the first one of *anything* turns out pretty poorly. 

Another thing I forgot to mention, and can't be stressed enough -- you do NOT need any fancy tools to make turnouts! (But a few fancy tools don't hurt.) To build mine, I have the NMRA track gauge, a pair of track cutters, a soldering iron, various files, and occasionally used the dremmel. I don't even have a jig for the frogs, I just eyeball them for filing, then hold them at the right angle and let the solder fill in the rest.

To get started, I take a full-size printout of the appropriate turnout from my layout plan (which I learned the lines for the rails corresponds to the inside of the rail head). Once you have your stock rails in place and know where your points are going to end, everything else is just measured from the rails you already added.

Of course you do need steady hands, or the ability to make jigs to hold pieces in position during soldering. And patience... lots of patience...


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Watching someone, or a few youtube tutorials, and having some implements and supplies, is about all one needs to do this, aside from an interest. Indispensable is the track gauge tool to ensure the distance between points and opposite stock is reliable along the length of the points, and at the frog. Also, the flange gauge is necessary near the frog, between any of the four guards and their adjacent rails. Apart from those critical aspects, it's just a matter of getting close to the ideal geometry one needs at the point the turnout is placed. On my last two layouts, I have had to construct unique, curved two-way turnouts using the Fast Tracks method. Both work very well, even at breakneck passenger speeds.

Thankfully.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Yes, if I had to invest in Fasttrack jigs, I would never have started. I use this as the jig for the frogs, and then is only for the exiting frog.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Almost all of my turnouts are going to be similar to an Atlas snap-switch style, in that the diverging track is generally part of a curve and doesn't use regular angles. Even so, I should get some jigs made for those because probably 75% of what I need to build is based on three specific radii.


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## MikeB (Feb 11, 2016)

Sure am glad for this thread , as my son and I were thinking about making our own turnouts. Saved all the links for future reference 

Thanks!!!!


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## 1905dave (Sep 18, 2016)

The two critical dimensions on a switch are the guage (distance between the running surfaces of opposite rails) and the "check guage" (distance between the rubbing surface of a guard rail and the opposite running rail).

One trick I have used for making a template for a "custom" or curved switch is to tack a piece of flex track over one route (thumbtacks), lay a big piece of paper over the location and tack/tape down one side, trace over the rails (and ties). Then fold back the paper and reposition the flex track along the other route. Fold the paper back over the flex track, trace the rails and ties of the flex track in the new position. 

What you end up with is a template that easily allows you to find where the points go and where the frog is. That can be placed on the layout or on the workbench to lay the switch.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

That's probably one of the easiest non-technical methods I've seen, Dave.

My method is certainly more complicated. I use XTrkCad for designing my layout, so I lay down two tracks corresponding to the location. Then I take measurements off the results and build a turnout piece within the software. It takes time and accuracy, but I have a template I can make printouts from.

Oh that also reminds me... I've noticed that because of the diverging angles, it's tough to accurately eyeball the locations for the guard rails. I roll a truck on the turnout, let a wheel on one side fall into the gap at the frog or crossing, then mark the opposite rail at the center of the wheel, and that's where you center your guard rail at.


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## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

1905dave said:


> One trick I have used for making a template for a "custom" or curved switch is to tack a piece of flex track over one route (thumbtacks), lay a big piece of paper over the location and tack/tape down one side, trace over the rails (and ties).


are templates necessary?

I've used Tony Koester's methods to build 9 turnouts.

the key for me is to get the straight non-diverging rail down straight (using a straight edge) and locating the point of the frog and points which essentially defines the frog number. Everything else is relative to them using a track gauge.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

@gregc -- The link you posted doesn't seem to allow access to any of the articles. I registered for the free account, but I can't actually see anything except search results.


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## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

the link was to the trains index which simply lists where articles appear 

Build a turnout from scratch
by Koester, Tony 
from Trackwork and Lineside Detail for Your Model Railroad p. 22


MR Workshop: Laying out curved turnouts
by Koester, Tony 
from Model Railroader November 1998 p. 37


MR Workshop: Laying out curved turnouts
by Koester, Tony 
from Model Railroader November 1998 p. 37


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Using CV ties makes it easier, as the ties make a nice template. For curved turnouts I tape or tack the tie turnout in place then tape it so it won't straighten out and tack to my work surface. Put PC ties in strategic places an put the stock rails on. I then make the diverging frog using my home made jig (I'll curve them after iv'e soldered them.) Getting the stock rails straight ( or curved right is key. Then with the track gauge in hand i position the diverging frog. The rest all follows from that. I use points form the proto87 store so I don't have to file the stock rails!


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

traction fan said:


> Ed.James;
> 
> I think you may have confused two of my old posts regarding turnouts; not that it really matters. The one you refer to here is about building turnouts from scratch. I don't think there are any references to Atlas turnouts and their rivets, in this one. However, another post, titled "Improving Atlas turnouts" does have text and photos about the rivets, the problems they can cause and how to eliminate the rivets.
> Not all Atlas brand turnouts have rivets. They are on the Atlas HO-scale "Snap switch and on some, not all, of their "Custom Line" turnouts. The purpose of the rivets is to allow very low friction movement of the weird points used on these turnouts.
> ...


Yep, I did confuse the two posts you made. I am easily confused in my old age !  
Hopefully you can see in these photos how the Atlas turnouts are constructed. The movable part of the track seems to pivot on pins . I think I will follow your suggestion to buy Peco turnouts. The control boxes for these Atlas turnouts seem to be poorly constructed or I am doing something wrong-- and I believe I followed the directions exactly. 
The way I understand it you move the button on the control box left or right then depress it to actuate the switch. The directions say to depress the button for only a second or so. I take that to mean than the switch should only actuate when the button is depressed. I tried two different controls and the switch will actuate simply by moving the button on the control left or right--without depressing the button. Also the little solenoid doo-hickey gets very hot with both controls.


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## 1905dave (Sep 18, 2016)

Shdwdrgn said:


> Oh that also reminds me... I've noticed that because of the diverging angles, it's tough to accurately eyeball the locations for the guard rails. I roll a truck on the turnout, let a wheel on one side fall into the gap at the frog or crossing, then mark the opposite rail at the center of the wheel, and that's where you center your guard rail at.


Its even easier than that. Do it the way the prototype does. They have consistent sizes of frogs and guardrails. Locate the point of the frog. The wing rails are a consistent distance beyond that. Then the guardrail is a fixed length and lines up with the ends of the wing rail.

My switches are built off of prototype switch plans, so regardless of whether its a #4 or a #8 switch, the wing rails extend about 5 ft past the point of frog. Regardless of whether its a #4 or a #8 switch, the guardrail is 16 ft long and is even with the end of the wing rail. Really simple. Really prototypical.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Wired wrong*



Ed.James said:


> Yep, I did confuse the two posts you made. I am easily confused in my old age !
> Hopefully you can see in these photos how the Atlas turnouts are constructed. The movable part of the track seems to pivot on pins . I think I will follow your suggestion to buy Peco turnouts. The control boxes for these Atlas turnouts seem to be poorly constructed or I am doing something wrong-- and I believe I followed the directions exactly.
> The way I understand it you move the button on the control box left or right then depress it to actuate the switch. The directions say to depress the button for only a second or so. I take that to mean than the switch should only actuate when the button is depressed. I tried two different controls and the switch will actuate simply by moving the button on the control left or right--without depressing the button. Also the little solenoid doo-hickey gets very hot with both controls.


Ed James;

I hear you and understand about the old age memory! Instead of "Been there, done that" Its more like "Am there, doing that!"
You definitely have something seriously wrong with your turnout control system! If one of the twin-coil switch machines ("solenoid do-hickeys")
(shown in your photo) has not burned up yet, it soon will! You are correct about how the control (black box with blue button) SHOULD work. You should have to push down on the blue button for a second to have the switch machine do anything, It should not come on and stay on just because you slid the button to one side or the other. If the coils in the switch machine stay on much longer than a second, or two, they can overheat and burn out. Perhaps something is wired incorrectly, or maybe you have two defective controls, but that seems very unlikely.
You are also right about the poor construction of the Atlas twin-coil switch machines, and their HO "Snap switch" turnouts in general. Peco turnouts and their switch machine are booth a lot better quality than what you have now.
The basic wiring for any twin-coil switch machine(Atlas, Peco, Bachman, whoever) is the same. Three wires run from the control switch(s) on the panel, out to the three screws on the turnout's machine. In "Atlas land" The center(electrically common to both coils inside the switch machine) wire is black, and connects to the center screw at both the controller and turnout ends. The red and green wires connect to the two outside screws, again at both ends. I see in your photo that you have that turnout wired this way. The AC terminals of your power pack should be connected to the pair of screws on the left side of the control button. If you have any other arrangement, change it. There is a very useful gadget called a "capacitive discharge unit" that will protect you coils from burnout, but only after you find and correct whatever wiring/control button problem you have.
The point pivot system shown in your photo looks like what Atlas uses on their N-scale turnouts. Better than rivets, but not all that much. Peco and Walthers/Shinohara turnouts use rail joiners(better system) I build mine with solid, continuous, rail (best). 

Good luck;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

I dug out the other Atlas switch I bought and wired it up and it acts just like the other one. Unless I'm looking at the diagram on the package cock eyed I wired them just as it shows. The turnout on the near side of the layout he can operate manually but I want to put another on the far side and he will not be able to reach it.


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## gregc (Apr 25, 2015)

It's not real obvious to me how the commercial turnout pictured above joins the points and closure rails.

i use a solid rail (per Koester) for both points and closure rails

But I've seen hand laid turnouts that simply use a rail joiner.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Remote control turnouts*



Ed.James said:


> I dug out the other Atlas switch I bought and wired it up and it acts just like the other one. Unless I'm looking at the diagram on the package cock eyed I wired them just as it shows. The turnout on the near side of the layout he can operate manually but I want to put another on the far side and he will not be able to reach it.


 Ed.James;

Sorry to hear that you continue to have problems. In fairness to Atlas, the weird behavior you are experiencing, is not typical of their "snap switch" type; or their other turnouts. You said "you dug out the other Atlas switch" Do you mean a track switch (turnout) or the electrical switch (blue button control) that is used to throw the turnout? I doubt you have wired things incorrectly, three times. It's also hard for me to believe that two, or possibly three of the blue push button/ slide switches are all defective. If you can post a photo of the control buttons, and the power feed to them from your power pack, that would at least eliminate your wiring as a possible cause. I don't think I've ever heard of this particular problem before. It's very puzzling!

Some questions for you.

1) Does the control have a black plastic body and a blue button?

2) If so, when you push down on that blue button, does it move downward and then spring back up?

3) You said that the turnout was thrown when you just slid the blue button sideways, without pushing down on it. Can you confirm that with all the turnout controls?

4) Atlas makes several electrical switch devices. All had black cases, but different color buttons. I haven't seen one in years, that's why I keep referring to "the blue button." Unless Atlas has changed the color scheme on these electrical devices, only the turnout control had a blue button. The others ("selector", and "controller"?) used yellow, and green, if I remember correctly. 
The blue button on the turnout controller was both a "slide switch" (mechanically) and a push button (electrically). Sliding it sideways shouldn't do anything to the turnout, until you push down on the button for a second. The other two Atlas devices contained only true, electrical, slide switches. When you slid one, it closed a circuit without pushing it down, in fact they couldn't be pushed down. If Atlas gave you the wrong control, or accidentally made a turnout control with the wrong electric switch inside it, that would explain what's happening to you. This is why I'd like to see a photo of the control. 

If you're just fed up with electric turnouts, there is another way. Tube-and-rod mechanical linkages can do the same job, at a distance. The photos below show such linkages being used on my layout and with the $5 switch machine I posted.

My sympathies go out to you!

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

traction fan said:


> Ed.James;
> 
> 
> Some questions for you.
> ...


1) Actually the buttons on all the controls I have are a light green color. Two of them came with the switches, a third ( the #56) I bought separately. 

2) yep,moves up and down.

3) Switches act the same with all three controls. I'm thinking I need to pitch these controls and buy some decent momentary contact toggle switches and make a small panel or box to mount them.
In the third pic,the control on the left is the one I bought separately,it appears to be identical to the two that came with the switches.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I have to agree with Traction fan -- something isn't right. I had more than a dozen of those Atlas turnouts and twin coil solenoid switch machines when I started out. They all work by sliding the switch side to side and pressing it down to send a momentary charge to one of the coils, which moves the switch machine, throwing the points. The twin solenoid machines are not designed to be solid state -- power should only be applied when the switch is to be thrown. Continuous application of power will burn them up in short order.

You may just be applying downward pressure as you slide the switch, in which case, no harm done. However, since you say they are warm, it sounds like you have a continuous supply of power. Try this: disconnect the black (common) wire to the switch machine. Slide the actuation switch to the opposite side. Touch the wire to the terminal. Do the points throw? If so, you have a hot switch. I agree that it's unlikely that you have all defective switches, but something's not right, obviously. Is it possible that the surface you're using them on could cause a short (if I remember right, those boxes are open at the back)

Unfortunately, I would have to say that you're investing a lot of time and effort in a poor product. My best recommendation would be to toss the Atlas machines and use something more reliable -- like a Peco, Circuitron , or Tam Valley Depot (my personal preference). IIRC, you're laying track directly on an old pool table, so it will take a little work to improvise and under-the-layout solution, but both the Tam Valley Depot and Peco machines are small enough that they could be embedded in a piece of extruded foam insulation panel.


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

CTValleyRR said:


> I have to agree with Traction fan -- something isn't right. I had more than a dozen of those Atlas turnouts and twin coil solenoid switch machines when I started out. They all work by sliding the switch side to side and pressing it down to send a momentary charge to one of the coils, which moves the switch machine, throwing the points. The twin solenoid machines are not designed to be solid state -- power should only be applied when the switch is to be thrown. Continuous application of power will burn them up in short order.
> 
> You may just be applying downward pressure as you slide the switch, in which case, no harm done. However, since you say they are warm, it sounds like you have a continuous supply of power. Try this: disconnect the black (common) wire to the switch machine. Slide the actuation switch to the opposite side. Touch the wire to the terminal. Do the points throw? If so, you have a hot switch. I agree that it's unlikely that you have all defective switches, but something's not right, obviously. Is it possible that the surface you're using them on could cause a short (if I remember right, those boxes are open at the back)
> 
> Unfortunately, I would have to say that you're investing a lot of time and effort in a poor product. My best recommendation would be to toss the Atlas machines and use something more reliable -- like a Peco, Circuitron , or Tam Valley Depot (my personal preference). IIRC, you're laying track directly on an old pool table, so it will take a little work to improvise and under-the-layout solution, but both the Tam Valley Depot and Peco machines are small enough that they could be embedded in a piece of extruded foam insulation panel.



I tried your suggestion and the switch would still actuate when the button on control was moved to opposite side. Funny thing is that after I messed with it for a while the &&*(*&^% thing started working as it should. All I did was slide the button back and forth several times,which made the switch click several times,then it stopped clicking and would only throw the points when the button was pushed down. Still, I don't trust these controls and will not be using them. The switches seem to work fine and haven't given me any problems. BTW, the bottoms of these controls are not open.

I will eventually put this track on plywood and foam panel on a 2X2" frame work and it will lay on a 30" X 80" table I built. I plan to run the wiring under the layout as much as possible but I will have to do some studying before I tackle under the layout switch machines,if that is even possible with the space I will have under the layout.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

If you want to continue with the Atlas turnouts and switch machines, get rid of the Atlas activation switches, all they are going to do is burn out the switch machines. I would use a capacitive discharge system and momentary toggles.


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

I always though capacitive discharge was for electronic ignition systems of car engines ! I googled them and there is a lot of info on using and wiring them.Will need to research more. My electrical/electronic skills are sadly lacking.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Its the same principle, just really simple for switch machines. I think if you search the forum you'll find something really simple.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Ask DonR*



Ed.James said:


> I always though capacitive discharge was for electronic ignition systems of car engines ! I googled them and there is a lot of info on using and wiring them.Will need to research more. My electrical/electronic skills are sadly lacking.


EdJames;

We have a member DonR who has built his own simple capacitive discharge circuit and used it to operate his turnouts successfully for years. He can give you the info on how to make one.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Good news for a change*

EdJames;

I started on the most recent posts by Lemonhawk and worked back to your post saying that you were able to get the Atlas Control button to work, at least temporarily. I agree with you, and CValley, Lemonhawk, et. al. Considering all the stuff you've been put through, Those Atlas controllers belong in the trash. Your idea of momentary toggles is good. Another popular system is to use conventional S.P.D.T. toggle switches AND a common(in the common, black, wire) momentary push button. The advantage being that if your toggle switches are mounted in a track diagram on your control panel, the toggle's lever position will indicate which way the turnout is thrown. With typical momentary toggle switch the lever is spring-loaded to the center position. It wont indicate the turnouts status.
While I'm glad you are OK with the Atlas turnouts behavior thus far, for any additional turnouts you purchase, I still recommend Pecos. In time you may decide to replace the Atlas with Peco, as many others have, but that's strictly your decision. Many other forum members use, and like, Atlas turnouts. 
An option you might consider for your pool table layout would be to mount rod and tube mechanical linkages under your (thin) layout, and use them to operate the turnouts. This can be done with either simple push/pull knobs or levers; or with a switch motor. The Atlas twin coil machines are much too weak to operate this way. A Tortoise, Switchmaster, or the other machines CTValley recommended, would work.

Good luck with whatever you choose;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos: Sorry, when I realized these photos were some I'd already sent, I tried to delete them, but they wouldn't delete.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Ed.James said:


> I tried your suggestion and the switch would still actuate when the button on control was moved to opposite side. Funny thing is that after I messed with it for a while the &&*(*&^% thing started working as it should. All I did was slide the button back and forth several times,which made the switch click several times,then it stopped clicking and would only throw the points when the button was pushed down. Still, I don't trust these controls and will not be using them. The switches seem to work fine and haven't given me any problems. BTW, the bottoms of these controls are not open.


Maybe just some crud up inside of them. Hitting them with some contact cleaner might help.



Ed.James said:


> I will eventually put this track on plywood and foam panel on a 2X2" frame work and it will lay on a 30" X 80" table I built. I plan to run the wiring under the layout as much as possible but I will have to do some studying before I tackle under the layout switch machines,if that is even possible with the space I will have under the layout.


It is definitely possible and not very hard, but may take a little old fashioned Yankee ingenuity. Remember the old adage: "Where there's a will, there's a way."


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

Did a little looking around yesterday for info on manual switch machines. Watched a few videos,read a few post and googled them. None I saw looked complicated or hard to make,one guy used paper clips and clothes pins ! Saw some made by "Fast Track" I like the looks of and thinking I will go that way. Quicker and easier than trying to fabricate something and the prices are reasonable. 

I appreciate all the help and advice y'all have offered !Thanks !


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*My own horn. Toot Toot*

:


Ed.James said:


> Did a little looking around yesterday for info on manual switch machines. Watched a few videos,read a few post and googled them. None I saw looked complicated or hard to make,one guy used paper clips and clothes pins ! Saw some made by "Fast Track" I like the looks of and thinking I will go that way. Quicker and easier than trying to fabricate something and the prices are reasonable.
> 
> I appreciate all the help and advice y'all have offered !Thanks !


Ed.James;

You may want to take a look at my "$5 switch machine" post in the beginner's Q&A section of this forum. It's a remote control, manually-operated, machine that duplicates many of the features of the popular, but expensive, "Tortoise" electric switch machine.

regards;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Ed.James (Apr 6, 2017)

traction fan said:


> :
> 
> Ed.James;
> 
> ...


Have that PDF and a few of your others downloaded. Thanks for putting those together !


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