I have noticed that a few of my turnouts don't operate as smoothly as I would like.I am assuming that something,perhaps glue from when I was ballasting the track got under the moveable part of the turnout(I use Peco turnouts). Is there a safe way to free up the turnout? I have thought about putting alchol on them but wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do.
Any solutions would be appreciated.
Bob

Don't know if alcohol will do you any good or not. Are you using switch machines, ground trough's, or something else. Maybe the through bar is sticking to the ballast. If so can you trace around and under the bar with a hobby knife to free it up. Just a thought.

I am just throwing them by hand.Peco switches have a small post on either side of switch.
Your suggestion is worth me looking into.
Thanks-Bob

It's almost guaranteed you will stick a turnout or two while ballasting. My course of action is to first take a hobby knife and try and mechanically scrape away any glue or ballast near the throwbar. Next, vacuum up any loose debris near the turnout. If the switch is still sticking, then I try soaking the moving parts using alcohol applied with a small paintbrush or eyedropper. Once it is loosened up with alcohol, throwh the turnout back and forth a few times, and then again once or twice every 5-10 minutes for about an hour so that the dissolved glue will not simply reseal the mechanism. What kind of glue did you use? If you used white glue, you can substitute the alcohol with warm water. Matte medium will need alcohol to re-dissolve, and wil take much longer. Just don't use laquer thinner or acetone to free the stuck parts, because those chemicals dissolve plastic.

Thanks Kevin-sounds like a plan.Sounds like you might be right.The Peco switches have springs in them and if there is glue or ballast in the way that may well be the problem because on the switches involved,the switch points don't always make full contact with the stock rail.
Thanks again
Bob

After you free it up, you can go to the key and lock section at the hardware store and get a tupe of powdered graphite (made to "puff" into locks to lube them) and try some of that under the throw bars. Works for my handlaid switches with tortoise machines.

A trick I always use when ballasting is to put tiny drops of plastic compatible oil on all of the moving parts of the turnout and any ties that the points slide across, but only in the area where the points actually go over. I do this before ballasting and then the glue won't stick the points. Be careful not to let the oil go anywhere that you want the glue to glue down ballast. I've never had a turnout stick when I used this method.

Thanks Russ.I'll keep that tip in mind.

Russ Bellinis Wrote:A trick I always use when ballasting is to put tiny drops of plastic compatible oil on all of the moving parts of the turnout and any ties that the points slide across, but only in the area where the points actually go over. I do this before ballasting and then the glue won't stick the points. Be careful not to let the oil go anywhere that you want the glue to glue down ballast. I've never had a turnout stick when I used this method.

Russ, that's the best tip I've come across in ages, a 'why didn't I think of that before' kind of tip! :-) You should submit that to hobby magazines, and get some credit for it. This sticking turnout after ballasting is plagueing/has plagued most of us here at one point or another I'm certain, but never have I read about using a drop of oil, so simple, so effective, and indeed, 'why didn't I think of that before'! :-)

Cheers!

Koos

I don't remember for sure, but I think I first read about using oil to control ballast on turnouts in Model Railroader back in the early 1980's. I tried it, and liked it, so I pass it on when ever someone mentions having difficulty with sticking turnouts or asks about any tips for ballasting.

Yeah, I've always used the "oil on the ties" method mentioned by Russ, and I certainly wasn't the originator. I does work (I've always included it my pre-written Word document on "how to ballast" - very useful to have, as the question arises regularly.) It also helps to manually position the points at the mid-point of their throw - this prevents them from becoming stuck to the stock rail.
Another way to prevent problems with turnouts when ballasting is to use less ballast where the points are located (just like the prototype) and to use no ballast between the two ties which surround the throw bar.

Wayne

Perfect time for the reminder - I've heard about the oil method but had forgotten about it until reading these posts. Seeing as how I just picked up a couple of large containers of balalst and am about to start doing mine, as soon as I get back to the craft store for the MATTE instead of gloss medium... still don't know how I did that, I KNOW I picked up the jar that said FLAT Oh well, the gloss came in handy for fixng my labels to my storage drawers.

--Randy

Wayne-what kind of oil did you use?

I'm not Wayne, but I use Labelle plastic compatible (I think it was #102). At the time I bought it, Labelle was the only manufacturer of plastic compatible oils for model railroading, but I think there are other companies making it now.

Like Russ, I also used LaBelle 102, although any brand of plastic-compatible oil will work. If you have wooden ties, any light oil would be suitable.

Wayne