Why is there no 24 inch radius EZ track curve to fit between the 22 and 26 inch curve?

The Spectrum Magnum Premier is the good one with meters and the momentum and brakes. It is rated at 2 amps but I have run mine over 2.5 amps and saw it peg the amp meter when a locomotive shorted out. I have run as many as 12 newer locomotives on that power supply. Some of the antique locos draw as much as half an amp so I can only run 4 of those. I have had two standard Spectrum Magnums die. Those are the smaller ones without meters or momentum and brakes. The last one that malfunctioned lost reverse. Those power supplies use special screws so I haven't been able to take it apart to replace the direction switch. I now have four of the Premiers, those are reliable and never have caused a problem. I have had nothing but problems with the standard Spectrum Magnums.

I had an FT-A that totally smoked the DCC board. I was running a 3 amp power supply so the board burned until it was an open circuit which then allowed the locomotive to run as a DC unit minus the headlight. I opened up the loco and connected the LED headlight directly to track power through a 1000 ohm resister.

Quality control seems very inconsistant. I had one out of six standard turnouts work good out of the box. Three of them worked after the points were filed and two of them were a major headache to get working properly.

I would like to add some number 5 turnouts to the EZ track layout. I have some 85' passenger cars that can't use the standard turnout. After I had problems with the standard turnouts, I have not been in any hurry to purchase more EZ track turnouts. How is the quality of the number 5 turnouts? What kind of problems if any, has anyone experienced?

Quote from: Doneldon on February 04, 2011, 01:21:32 AM
HH-

You can also file just the tiniest bit off of where the points touch the railheads. This will allow a knife thin edge to nestle flush with the railhead and eliminate any point picking in the future. The trick is to have exceedingly thin points to begin with and then remove a mere whisker of the stock rail. If you can see what you removed from more than a foot or so you took too much.

                                                                                    -- D

Atlas builds their turnouts like that and they work flawlessly right out of the box. I have an Atlas turnout like that without the roadbed form the old days when I used sectional track. I got an oval of EZ track with an ON30 train set a couple years ago and liked the convenience of it so I kept adding more track. Everything was good until I added the turnouts. BTW the Atlas turnout will not fit the Bachmann roadbed.

A basic EZ track figure 8 with a 60 degree crossing and 18" curves requires a total of 20 curves, 4 9" straight sections and the crossing. If you already have an oval with at least 4 straight sections you will have to add 8 more curved sections in addition to the crossing.

I finally fixed both turnouts. ...I wrapped 22 gauge stranded hookup wire around one of the springs and held the spring with needle nose pliers next to the plastic to act as a heat sink. I soldered it with silver solder. That stiffened up the spring. I could feel the difference when pulling the point against the spring with my finger. ...But there was still a problem, the point didn't seat properly every time. I got out a magnifying glass and did more failure analysis. I saw the point hit the base of the rail and bind. The point was too low. I could push it over the base of the rail with a small screwdriver and it snapped into place. The points are attached to a bar that slides in a slot in the roadbed. Both turnouts had the same problem. The mechanism that moves the points had a lot of play in it, they are very sloppy which allows the points to be out of position and not seat properly against the rail. I took them apart and bent the spring so that it would push the points up away from the roadbed and clear the bottom of the rail. that fixed one of them. The other one still hit the bottom of the rail. The spring couldn't push it up far enough to clear it every time. I put a shim under the bar that is attached to the points to raise them high enough to clear the base of the rail. I took the track off the roadbed and cut an end off of a Kadee coupler box cover and glued it into the slot on the side where the point was too low. After the plastic cement dried I then test fit the track and adjusted the thicknes of the plastic shim with a file until the points were at the right height to clear the bottom of the rail and moved freely. I tested it by pushing a freight car truck through the points with my finger. I then put both turnouts on a test track and shoved railcars backwards into the points as fast as the FT-A locomotive could push them. No derailments going into the siding or on the main line. I also ran the train through the turnout running in the wrong direction (forward) with the points set for the siding. I wanted to test the turnout with the stronger spring to see if it would allow the train to pass through the switch with the points set in the wrong direction without a derailment.. The train rolled through the turnout without a problem. I then reversed direction and backed into the siding. ...So all six of the turnouts are now working the way they should.

I have six standard turnouts that have never worked correctly. They are rough and cause derailments anytime a train heads into the points. Went to the hardware store and got a fine flat file with one edge smooth. I put the smooth edge of the file down on the cross ties and filed away on the points. It took a lot if filing but I got four of them to work smoothly. The two that still don't work have weak springs that won't hold the point against the rail which allows a wheel to slip between the point and the rail. Bending the spring to get one point to set against that rail just caused a problem on the oposite side. Bachmann needs to use stiffer springs to keep the points set against the rail. Is there any good way to stiffen the spring without destroying the plastic part that holds it? The spring looks like a very thin steel wire. I had thought about soldering a wire to the spring for about half it's length to reduce it's flexibility. Doesn't look like an easy soldering job but I may experiment since these two turnouts are of no use as they are now.

If the locomotives are driven through a single truck instead of both and have rubber traction tires they are pretty much junk. If they still look good use them as static displays. If the rolling stock has truck mounted couplers they are not worth using since they don't function very well and can't be backed up without derailing. they probably have the X2F couplers which are pretty much obsolete. I have been sorting that type of equipment out of my collection and if it still moves under it's own power it gets donated, along with the old brass track, to the 6 and 8 year old. They will race 'em around the track at full speed until they crash!

Had an FTA that fried the DCC board. It still runs on DC but the headlight is out. I donated that unit to the kids and bought a replacement.

Skip the steel, when it starts to rust you will have electrical contact problems.

I run 3 parallel tracks with three separate DC power supplies. Maybe someday I will go to DCC but for now I still have too many old DC locomtives I like to run. 

I have had nothing but problems with EZ track turnouts. I have removed them all from the layout for that reason. Atlas turnouts won't fit EZ track roadbed since the turnout radius is different so that is not an option. Atlas turnouts have a recess in the rail that the point fits into which gives a very smooth transition. The point doesn't catch a wheel and cause a derailment. Will probably go to Atlas or Kato track on the next layout. Don't like to file a turnout that should work right out of the box. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be for that kind of work.

The Forneys are my favorite ON30 locomotives, I have two of them. If there was a Forney style locomotive available in HO scale, standard gauge, I would have one.
I also would like to have a Mason bogey, like this one that belonged to the Nickel Plate Road, http://www.ironhorse129.com/prototype/MasonBogie/WLE_0-6-6.htm