I have a impereal railking sf northern.As it goes over a atlas switch it goes into shutdown mode.Now I have other railking locomotives that goes right through.No promblem but the northern stops.Now heres the weid thing.I moved the the locomotive a little bit it comes back on.Its still on the switch.Maybe the locomotive runs pretty good through gargaves switch.There seems to be a deadspot on that atlas switch.As always any help will be very greatful.
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Ive had some similar issues...try and run a hot wire to the dead spot,,,sometimes the thin wire tat atlas uses under the switch melts and burns through. i assume its stopping on the frog..give it a shot..john
Thank you for your reply.And I will give it a try.Again many thanks.
Seaboard,
This is a classic problem with switches. It's all about pickup roller spacing and the size of the switch. Generally, longer switches are more problematic (#5, O54/O72 curved, etc.) Measure your engine's roller spacing and compare it to the gap in the 3rd rail on the switch that gives you problems. Sometimes both rollers can actually not contact the third rail when rolling over the gap. Steamer roller spacing is typically shorter than diesels and can cause more problems. There is also the possibility that sections of the 3rd rail in the switch are not powered because a wire has come loose. You can test that with a voltmeter or an 18V bulb. Sometimes the tiny screws that Atlas uses are slightly loose, and can be carefully tightened. If you become really desperate, there is a way to power the closure rails (the unpowered rails in the gap) with the Atlas 6924.
Good Luck!
Gary F.
If it is one of the larger switches like the O-72/O-54 curve or the #5 or #7.5 they have a large 4-6 inch dead spot. Many steamers with only two roller pickups will stall. Atlas has an add on circuit board to solve the problem or you can run a tether from the pickup on the engine to the pickup on the tender to bridge the gap.
I've had the same problem. I finally figured out they my track configuration led to some of the problems. I had put a switch down and followed it with a crossover. They lined up perfectly to cause a dead spot that would cause the engine to go into shutdown. I used a multimeter to find the dead spots and then measured the distance between dead spots and compared it to the pickup rollers on the bottom of the engine. I wound up having to do some major reconfiguring to solve the problem.
Good luck in solving the problem.
Seaboard,
This is a classic problem with switches. It's all about pickup roller spacing and the size of the switch. Generally, longer switches are more problematic (#5, O54/O72 curved, etc.) Measure your engine's roller spacing and compare it to the gap in the 3rd rail on the switch that gives you problems. Sometimes both rollers can actually not contact the third rail when rolling over the gap. Steamer roller spacing is typically shorter than diesels and can cause more problems. There is also the possibility that sections of the 3rd rail in the switch are not powered because a wire has come loose. You can test that with a voltmeter or an 18V bulb. Sometimes the tiny screws that Atlas uses are slightly loose, and can be carefully tightened. If you become really desperate, there is a way to power the closure rails (the unpowered rails in the gap) with the Atlas 6924.
Good Luck!
Gary F.
Gary Thanks for the advise.I will get me a voltmeter and go from there.You know whats kind of odd.I got some atlas o54 switchs because I like to run fast freights.I also have a few gargreaves switchs.Went right over them no trouble at all.Oh well I gues in just one of things.Thanks again.
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