11-10-2010, 05:39 PM
I use Atlas Custom-Line 83. I bought a Fast Tracks set to try and make my own but I never seem to get acceptable (to me) frog points and point rail blades. At the rate it took me to get my first good one (which actually was the second one I made), it would take me years to make the 15 I need. After I made that good one I wasn;t able to duplicate it. So I gave up and went back and used Atlas which is all I used on my previous layout and I never had a problem.
Since the points are fairly floppy, the servos work great. The really tiny 4.5g ones would be sufficient, but the Motrak mounts are made for the 9g ones, which are more common and cheaper anyway. I mark the throwbar position and drill two holes and then hog out the middle - not good for the drill bits of course but once I'm done with the layout I will not need an 8" drill bit again. I'm just afraid one big hole will not give enough side play, seeing as how I have two layers of 2" foam, 1/4" plywood, and cork rtoadbed to go through.
The 9g servos will easily mode an all-rail turnout in HO, at least up to Code 83 and down to a #4. Heavier rail may require a larger servo. The 9g servo horns can't handle much larger than .032 wire. There are milliosn of other ways to mount these things, such as fromt he top down with the servo directly under the throwbar, or if there is a clearance issue you cna use airplane control rods and bellcranks to put the servo wherever you need. I orginally was goign to use a variation of the J shaped wire with a brass tube runnign throught he layout for operatig the points until Motrak came out with these mounts based off Craig Bisgeier's homemade ones, which makes the servo mount pretty much exactly like a Tortoise, only way smaller.
I ran wires to all my frogs, but nothign ever stalls on them in an unpowered state so I may hold off connecting the frog power relays. I didn;t have any problem on my previous layout, but I figured if I left out the frog wires I'd have issues this time. Nope, works fine with no power. The only time I see a problem with the Atlas turnouts is if a wheelset is out of gauge. 100% of the time - bumps or jumps or outright derailments are traced to bad wheelsets, not a problem with the turnout.
--Randy
Since the points are fairly floppy, the servos work great. The really tiny 4.5g ones would be sufficient, but the Motrak mounts are made for the 9g ones, which are more common and cheaper anyway. I mark the throwbar position and drill two holes and then hog out the middle - not good for the drill bits of course but once I'm done with the layout I will not need an 8" drill bit again. I'm just afraid one big hole will not give enough side play, seeing as how I have two layers of 2" foam, 1/4" plywood, and cork rtoadbed to go through.
The 9g servos will easily mode an all-rail turnout in HO, at least up to Code 83 and down to a #4. Heavier rail may require a larger servo. The 9g servo horns can't handle much larger than .032 wire. There are milliosn of other ways to mount these things, such as fromt he top down with the servo directly under the throwbar, or if there is a clearance issue you cna use airplane control rods and bellcranks to put the servo wherever you need. I orginally was goign to use a variation of the J shaped wire with a brass tube runnign throught he layout for operatig the points until Motrak came out with these mounts based off Craig Bisgeier's homemade ones, which makes the servo mount pretty much exactly like a Tortoise, only way smaller.
I ran wires to all my frogs, but nothign ever stalls on them in an unpowered state so I may hold off connecting the frog power relays. I didn;t have any problem on my previous layout, but I figured if I left out the frog wires I'd have issues this time. Nope, works fine with no power. The only time I see a problem with the Atlas turnouts is if a wheelset is out of gauge. 100% of the time - bumps or jumps or outright derailments are traced to bad wheelsets, not a problem with the turnout.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad of the 1950's in HO
Visit my web site to see layout progress and other information:
http://www.readingeastpenn.com
Visit my web site to see layout progress and other information:
http://www.readingeastpenn.com