From Lance Mindheim blog Planning For Success in N Scale

[MichaelWinicki]

I'll tell you, the most stressful thing for me in this hobby is what to do about track.  I was running trains in and out of Enola Yard last night and it seems my powered Atlas code 55 frogs aren't all powered anymore.  Yet my code 80 track, nicely though it operates (Isulfrog problems not withstanding), looks OK in person but bad in photos.

Dave, is it the frog or the point that seems to have gone dead?

If it's the frog, soldering a wire directly to the frog would do the trick (if your hands cooperate).  If it's the point, simply apply a drop of solder where the point, the rail to the frog and the small copper plate meet.  I've done it a dozen times on my Atlas turnouts and it does the trick nicely!  If you get too much solder at the joint it files away easily enough.  I finish by painting the soldered joint a grimy black and you'd have to look closely to see it.

[MichaelWinicki]

The Atlas Code 55 turnouts have point rails and frogs that are plated, rather than full-on nickel-silver, and the plating has already worn off some of the switches. 

John C.

John, a possible fix for the plating issue on the Atlas code 55 switches is to hit the copper areas with gun bluing solution (I use Super Blue) which darkens the copper up nicely.

[chicken45]

I read the blog as:

"How to build an N scale layout for a senior citizen so he doesn't call you every other day.

First, use HO sized rail. Second, use HO size flanges.  Third, weight your cars as much as an HO scale car."


Jason

LOL.
Nice. After talking to @Ed Kapuscinski a bit yesterday, what Lance said makes sense for his business. But that bit about only running MTL stuff was a little wacky. I'm pretty sure everything ESM runs just fine.

[Dave V]

Yeah, the overall track discussion struck a chord with me but not the rolling stock bit.

Peco 55 is sounding pretty good these days.

[Dave V]

Dave, is it the frog or the point that seems to have gone dead?

If it's the frog, soldering a wire directly to the frog would do the trick (if your hands cooperate).  If it's the point, simply apply a drop of solder where the point, the rail to the frog and the small copper plate meet.  I've done it a dozen times on my Atlas turnouts and it does the trick nicely!  If you get too much solder at the joint it files away easily enough.  I finish by painting the soldered joint a grimy black and you'd have to look closely to see it.

It's the frogs, and oh by the way, it's not like the wiring is easy to get to.  It's all entombed in foam beneath the ground throws...I didn't count on the phosphor bronze wiring tabs to fail so easily.

[Missaberoad]

But that bit about only running MTL stuff was a little wacky. I'm pretty sure everything ESM runs just fine.

That's the part that sparked my "dated" comment... Avoid anything that doesn't say Kato, Atlas or Micro-trains was advice I was given when I joined the local N track club 20 years ago. While the big three are still quality manufacturers, I can't think of a quality HO manufacturer that makes crap in N.
In fact with most of the issues we have being prototype fidelity most everything made today in N would be fine for a beginner. Why limit your palate?

As far as Track goes I agree with what he has to say. (but would also add unitrack as an option for the beginer) Interesting and informative turn the thread took however...

[mmagliaro]

It's the frogs, and oh by the way, it's not like the wiring is easy to get to.  It's all entombed in foam beneath the ground throws...I didn't count on the phosphor bronze wiring tabs to fail so easily.

So the wire from the frog tab goes down inside the foam where it is connected to contacts on a switch or ground throw to power the frog?
So even if you were able to solder a fresh wire directly to the frog, you would have to dig something up out of the foam in order to get to where the other end needs to go?
Ugh.

Let me ponder this.  The faulty phosphor bronze strip runs directly under the frog.  I am thinking about a way to fix them without you having to tear everything up.  Maybe it would be possible to drill a hole with a pin vise, right through the frog all the way down to where that bronze strip sits underneath it, and then insert something right through the frog and that strip (right from the top) that would restore contact.
I think if the hole were just the right size and you stuffed a length of phosphor bronze wire through there, with a tapered point on it,
it might got through both the frog and the strip tightly enough to restore conductivity. 

I'm going to see if I have a spare Atlas c55 turnout lying around here to try this on. 

You'd be doing it "blind", meaning that you would push the wire through from the top and not really see how tight it was in the bronze strip underneath.  And you just push it in until it is flush with the bottom of the frog so it wouldn't get in the way of the wheels.

too bad things are so tight in there on clearance.  If the hole were tapped, a long piece of threaded brass rod could be screwed through there and that would really do it.

[Dave V]

So the wire from the frog tab goes down inside the foam where it is connected to contacts on a switch or ground throw to power the frog?
So even if you were able to solder a fresh wire directly to the frog, you would have to dig something up out of the foam in order to get to where the other end needs to go?
Ugh.

Let me ponder this.  The faulty phosphor bronze strip runs directly under the frog.  I am thinking about a way to fix them without you having to tear everything up.  Maybe it would be possible to drill a hole with a pin vise, right through the frog all the way down to where that bronze strip sits underneath it, and then insert something right through the frog and that strip (right from the top) that would restore contact.
I think if the hole were just the right size and you stuffed a length of phosphor bronze wire through there, with a tapered point on it,
it might got through both the frog and the strip tightly enough to restore conductivity. 

I'm going to see if I have a spare Atlas c55 turnout lying around here to try this on. 

You'd be doing it "blind", meaning that you would push the wire through from the top and not really see how tight it was in the bronze strip underneath.  And you just push it in until it is flush with the bottom of the frog so it wouldn't get in the way of the wheels.

too bad things are so tight in there on clearance.  If the hole were tapped, a long piece of threaded brass rod could be screwed through there and that would really do it.

Yeah, don't worry about it.  Enola doesn't really do anything for me anyway besides display freight cars.  It's too short for staging and not functional for classification.

[davefoxx]

Yeah, don't worry about it.  Enola doesn't really do anything for me anyway besides display freight cars.  It's too short for staging and not functional for classification.

Not far from the experience I had with Hamlet Yard on my layout.  I finally gave up with the compromises and tore it down.  I'm an HCD guy again!   

DFF

[Dave V]

Not far from the experience I had with Hamlet Yard on my layout.  I finally gave up with the compromises and tore it down.  I'm an HCD guy again!   

DFF

I'm the quintessential 'roundy-rounder.  What I really need is a $hit-ton of run-through staging.   

[Scottl]

I'm the quintessential 'roundy-rounder.  What I really need is a $hit-ton of run-through staging.   

Ditto.  You can never have enough.

[wcfn100]

Ditto.  You can never have enough.

LOL, too bad most of you guys weren't here for that thread.


Jason

[Loren Perry]

Maybe because I haven't chime in?   No track-bashing unless you have personal experience with it! 

My home layout uses mostly Peco c55 flex track with a lot of Micro Engineering c55 flex track and bridge track mixed in. Almost all turnouts are Peco c55 Electrofrogs with the frogs wired for power. This includes straight turnouts, curved turnouts, single crossovers, double crossovers, and both double and single slip switches. My engine terminal is Atlas c80 so it will play nicely with the rails on the Walthers turntable. Most of my curves are superelevated and have easements.

None of this track has ever caused me any problems. If laid properly and with care, anyone should get the same results.

[Loren Perry]

Well, here is my reaction.

For rolling stock, MT is fine, but so is Atlas, Bluford Shops, BLMA, Intermountain, Rapido Trains, etc. etc.  Rolling stock has improved tremendously in the past 10 years and anything from a major manufacturer not named ConCor or Bachmann or Model Power should be fine. 

John C.

Exception: Con-Cor's Budd-type passenger cars are of very good quality. In scale appearance, they rival Kato's best. I have quite a few in my collection and run them regularly. Their couplers are of their own design and, out-of-the-box, the cars couple up closer than anything else out there and run extremely well despite this. The couplers are truck-mounted which brings me to one of only two beefs I have about these cars: the truck frames are molded facing the opposite way they should. Correcting this would mean going to body-mounted couplers on all cars. The second beef: there is no provision for track-powered interior lighting. Other than these points, these are very fine passenger car models.

[Dave V]

LOL, too bad most of you guys weren't here for that thread.


Jason

Linky?

I imagine the problem is that no matter how much staging we have, we buy more stuff to fill it such that it can never be enough.  I remember Tony Koester saying something like take the amount of staging you think you need, then double it and add more.