Wire Clips for Connecting point and closure rails?
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Brian Eiland
I'm thinking if I subsequently have a problem in the long term, perhaps the simply solution is to just drop in some wire clips like this between the closure rails and the main track, OR perhaps configure that wire clip such that it touches both the closure rail and the point rail with its free arm.
https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/37935?page=3#comment-440945
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Brian Eiland
I was doing a little re-analyzing this morning about my 'wire clip' idea. Yes, it does do the job of extra energizing those point and closure rails, BUT it also defeats the idea of providing that insulafrog of its total non-shorting potential. Alan's 'Option One' also defeats the frog shorting problem that might occur with wide flat wheels on the frog, as the two tracks are opposite polarity when wired that way. The whole idea of either insulating (or cutting gaps in) both of those inner rails leaving the frog is to let the frog joint ONLY assume one track polarity at any one time. The act of isolating those existing frog tracks from the subsequent follow-on trackage means they can only get power from the proceeding closure rails. And ideally we only want a single polarity at any one time. And that takes us back to those damn little connecting tabs on the point rails. How do we make these more reliable over a long period of time?? Could there be a third option? ********************************************************
I'm thinking if I subsequently have a problem in the long term, perhaps the simply solution is to just drop in some wire clips like this between the closure rails and the main track, OR perhaps configure that wire clip such that it touches both the closure rail and the point rail with its free arm.
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Brian Eiland
Accidents, Turnouts thrown against Us
John Garaty has addressed this issue before, and if i recall properly has suggested that these insulated lengths could be quite a bit longer RATHER than up close to the frog of the turnout,...maybe a loco length away. At first I was asking myself why? But I think I now have a reason to give this higher considerations. One problem that most all of us have had is accidentally entering a turnout that is thrown against us !! And this could be more problematic with DCC tracks as the shorts can be more devastating. If we had the single polarity frog tracks recommended by the twin insulators suggested by the Insulfrog solution,.... then our train would encounter a dead track situation about a foot away from that turnout that was thrown against us.
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