07-14-2011, 07:31 AM
At the NMRA convention in Sacramento, Joe Fugate did a clinic on making our trains run reliably. The first thing he discussed were turnouts, and the first thing he mentioned is that there is no r-t-r manufactured turnout that meets NMRA standards! The only turnouts that have been certified to meet the standards are the jig built turnouts from FastTracks, & Proto-87 Stores.
Having the track gauge set at the widest point at the frog is a problem because for reliable operation, you really want to be at the narrow end of the tolerance at that point on the turnout. An easy way to fix such turnouts is to glue styrene shims into the guard rails across from the frog. This way the guard rail pulls the wheel set over onto the stock rail. Jim Fuhrman in the modular club found that Peco switches require a .010 shim when he checked them. Turnouts made by other manufacturers may require a different size. An NMRA gauge has nibs for measuring every thing found on a turnout, so you can check any turnout and install the shims as needed.
Having the track gauge set at the widest point at the frog is a problem because for reliable operation, you really want to be at the narrow end of the tolerance at that point on the turnout. An easy way to fix such turnouts is to glue styrene shims into the guard rails across from the frog. This way the guard rail pulls the wheel set over onto the stock rail. Jim Fuhrman in the modular club found that Peco switches require a .010 shim when he checked them. Turnouts made by other manufacturers may require a different size. An NMRA gauge has nibs for measuring every thing found on a turnout, so you can check any turnout and install the shims as needed.