Frustrated with Atlas-O Switches & Crossovers

You might be able to do a bit of filing on the switch track to taper the end.  What usually happens is a wheel picks the switch and flips it.  A bonus to tortoise switch machines is they have more tension on the switch track and tend to hold it better, the Atlas switch motors really don't.

Personally, I like the Ross solution.   I like Atlas track, but I'm not all that fond of their switches.

Thanks GunRunnerJohn.  I will call Ross tomorrow.  Tom

You can adjust the spring tension on the throw bar of the Atlas switch machines. If you take the switch machine apart you will see some different holes the throw bar spring can be put in to either tighten or loosen the spring. You can get the springs, throw bars and throw bar linkages from Atlas if you need to replace them. The adjustment holes might have been for the linkage (I forget without looking?), but pretty sure it was the spring you adjust. You will see it when you get in there.

I purchased some used Atlas switches that didn't work very well. Replaced which ever parts I thought were bad and they now work like new. Some of the used switches I got were pretty rough and didn't work well at all. I also ended up replacing a couple of the switch machines. A couple of the used switch machines seemed to have just lost their oomph and they would barely operate the switch. I thought that was kind of strange, but the new switch machines fixed them right up.

I have not experienced the problem GRJ mentions above, but my layout is all flat, no grades. That could have something to do with it I suppose? I really have not had any problems with any Atlas switches that I purchased new, only the used ones. The new ones I have were all purchased in the last 3-4 years or so. Between the new and used switches I only have 12 total so far.

I have one MTH Railking scale engine that one pick up roller makes a clunk and slight bump up on one switch in one direction, but none of my other engines have the problem. The pick up rollers on the problem engine seem to be a little smaller than the ones on my other engines. It has never derailed though, just bumps up slightly and goes on it's way. Number of cars in tow does not seem to make a difference.

Guns,

   Atlas does make some fine O Gauge Track, it's called Industrial Rail, Oops!

Just could not help myself.

PCRR/Dave

PCRR/Dave - didn't get your joke(?).  

Love the Atlas-O track, just not the turnouts and crossovers.  And, don't get me started on the relays that I had to install on the 7.5 turnouts to switch power to dummy rails to allow some locos to pass through with uninterrupted power.    Oy vey.  Tom

UPDATE:  as a reminder, I had a problem with one locomotive (out of 10) that passed through an Atlas-O (O-72R) switch at the top of a modest grade.  The problem locomotive was an MTH Q-2 that somehow caused the switch to partially move from straight to curve causing a derailment and short circuit.

Well, I replaced the Altas-O switch with the Ross (O72R) counterpart, and the problem went away.  As I said earlier, Atlas-O makes a great track system (ease of installation, look, available pieces), but the switches/turnouts and cross overs are not up to par. 

My recommendation to anyone that is building a 3-rail O-gauge layout is use Atlas-O track (curves & straights) and Ross Custom Switches and crossovers (www.rossswitches.com). I also like Ross track bed (Rossbed) spay-painted with Rust-0leum American Accents Stone textured finish.