whilst trying to keep things simple and the cost down have been trying to to get started on a plank i have a track plan where the points do the switching so i was good to go or so i thought. because money is tight i am using old stuff such as my triang jinty and a maroon 3f but these just will not run slowly over the points without losing power and mostly stopping all together you can clearly see when a wheel has stopped bang in the middle of the frog i have tried everything i can think of including Gormo's trick with the file because yes they all are higher in the frog area but to no avail. Frustration has set in so have walked away just in case i do something silly. i guess it will have to be a small oval layout if i want to use these loco's as i just cant afford any new ones at the moment, if you have any ideas how to overcome this problem i would be very grateful indeed
Depending on the age / vintage of the loco's, there may be a few issues. Older Triang Jinty's wheels may be a little too coarse for modern points, which may manifest it self by the wheels riding on the chairs, or at points the thickness of the flange may cause the loco to lift at one corner. As these loco only pick up on the outer axles as a corner lifts (or at the point V dips) its very easy to loose power. You could try coupling a wagon behind the loco with pick ups fitted to the wagon and the wires passed through to the loco. Paul
Maybe adding some morepick ups to your loco wheels could help if they dont already have them. That way when one set of wheels lose power on the insulated frog, the others will still pick up power elsewhere and keep the loco moving over the point. I don' know how easy this would be to do as I have never attempted it myself but I know others have. If you post pictures of the underside of your loco's, some of the more experienced members may be able to advise. I'm sure there will be a solution. Keep heart. Toto
