Peco code 100 electro frog rail misalignment

[380John]

Hi guys, 

 

I have just laid a brand new turnout. However stock immediately derailed crossing it.  On inspection I found one of the rails out of alignment by about 1mm and this is the cause of the said derailment. I laid it as carefully as I could and will be amazed if I have damaged the rail. However I'm not saying it wasn't me, just wondered if anybody else has had this issue? As the chairs are still attached to the rail. In addition does anyone have any suggestions on how to rectify, as I don't have another and will have to wait weeks for a replacement. 

 

Many thanks, 

John 

[Dagworth]

 

Warm the soldered joint at the position of the blue arrow with a soldering iron while holding the two rail ends in alignment with a large pair of pliers until the rail cools again.

 

Andi

[ikcdab]

3 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

 

Warm the soldered joint at the position of the blue arrow with a soldering iron while holding the two rail ends in alignment with a large pair of pliers until the rail cools again.

 

Andi

How's that going to help if the rails are held by the plastic rail clips? Just return to the retailer.

[Dagworth]

4 minutes ago, ikcdab said:

How's that going to help if the rails are held by the plastic rail clips? Just return to the retailer.

How did the plastic clips get melted in the first place? Almost certainly while the bridge wire was being soldered.

 

I'd be very surprised if a retailer would accept the return.

 

Andi

[ikcdab]

17 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

How did the plastic clips get melted in the first place? Almost certainly while the bridge wire was being soldered.

 

I'd be very surprised if a retailer would accept the return.

 

Andi

Ah I hadn't realised the OP had already melted it....

[DCB]

That's almost as bad as most of my soldering.  Some thing needs to change in soldering technique I fear, different iron a smaller tip?   Better solder with a lower melting point ?  Even a nicely tinned sliver of flat copper instead of a piece of  round wire.  Anything to speed up the soldering and reduce the amount of residual heat put into the plastic rail clips.

You probably need to solder the wires further away from the rail ends and or clamp the rail ends into alignment before soldering.  A bulldog clip with some card against the rail to act as an insulator has worked for me, with no insulator it acts as a hear sink and the rail needs even more heat making the problem worse.

To be honest I can't see the need to alter the wiring, unless you want to run 1970s Hornby Silver seal stock on DCC.  

[4901]

Send it back to Peco.  They have repaired or replaced several of my turnouts, at no cost.

[Jeff Smith]

The dropper/link wire is much too thick, use the same sort of size that Peco use under the points.  It only requires a quick touch with a medium iron, once to tin the rail and again to attach a tinned wire.

[kevinlms]

2 hours ago, DavidCBroad said:

  Better solder with a lower melting point ? 

 

Electrical work should always be done with standard 60/40 solder, preferably not lead free.

 

As for low temperature solder for electrical work - no way.

[Il Grifone]

It looks like the curvature of the switch rail is slightly excessive. Gentle correction to tweak the rails in line with a pair of (preferably flat nosed) pliers should fix it. A second pair to hold the rail further along would help, but you are going to need three hands. Take great care to not damage the rail fixings.

[380John]

Hi guys, 

 

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. Just goes to show that even in this day in age, you can read the magazines, leaflets, watch YouTube videos etc etc and still be caught out with something you didn't expect or hadn't seen before. I'll try a repair, however reliable running is a must and if its not quite right I think it will have to be replaced. 

 

Many thanks for your ideas, I'll have a go at some of the suggested methods. 

 

Many thanks, 

John 

[Pete the Elaner]

13 hours ago, Dagworth said:

How did the plastic clips get melted in the first place? Almost certainly while the bridge wire was being soldered.

 

I'd be very surprised if a retailer would accept the return.

 

Andi

 

I have loads of curved points on my layout & did the lot in 1 go, then found a couple like this. Like most projects I guess my soldering got neater the more I did. The curved points (code 75 in my case) felt a little more prone to this. I heve never had an issue with straight points. Is there a difference or have I been lucky?

 

My solution was to put a little araldite on the fixing then wedged a piece of card between the rails to hold it in place while the resin cured. I thought this may have caused an issue with expansion, but it has been ok for a few years now. My layout is in the bedroom though, so not subject to huge variations in temperature like a loft layout.

[Il Grifone]

The expansion is not going to be  a lot on pointwork. (I could work if out but, can't be....) it would only push the point blade a bit father out anyway.

 

As a last ditch repair, a piece of suitably gaped PCB sleeper can replace the plastic ones.

 

Many years ago (I forget where and whose), I read some good advice which I have always followed. Run your fingertip across the joint. If you can feel the joint, it's not good enough.

 

EDIT

 

For 100mm of nickel silver and 20°C temperature change the difference is 0.0032mm

It's slightly different for steel or brass, but not a lot.

 

Assuming my rusty maths is correct. ( α  = 16 m/m.K x 10⁻⁶)

Edited September 25, 2020 by Il Grifone