How to Ballast an O-Scale Switch - Part 1 of 2

[Chessie9009]

hey eric. i have been using atlas track on my layout for about 5 years now and i was wondering if you have been having issues with the connectivity of the middle rail. there is a jumper wire underneath the switch that connects both ends of the middle rail. the problem is that the gauge of the wire is too small and cannot handle the 18v and burns out. i have had about 6 switches now that have had that problem. i just use jumper wires under the table to reconnect it. Common problem?

-Chris

[esiegel76]

@Chessie9009 I've never had that problem myself, no.

[Chessie9009]

@esiegel76 well you've been lucky=) i've had one burn out in a tunnel=/ im only using a lionel 180w powerhouse but i guess even thats enough to make them go (over time of course). well hopefully none of yours ever have that problem! haha

[97trainman]

I know a guy that uses a cheaper substitute than what you bought but looks exactly the same, he uses chicken feed, the feed that you give to the baby chickens, or chicks.

[esiegel76]

@97trainman You can use any material you want. I choose to use real ballast.

[megerbightex]

How do you keep your track so clean?

[esiegel76]

I use a track cleaning car filled with acetone to clean the rails. I did a video on it, so just check out my list of videos.

[pilotmanmax]

This helped!

[mecrazy5]

3 rail! thats ancient!

[esiegel76]

Apparently not. :)

[mecrazy5]

lol

[warlordx94]

this is pretty off-topic, but do atlas switches work good? im using atlas track now and i love it but i dont hav altlas switches yet

[esiegel76]

Yeah, they work fine. I've never had any major problems with them.

[warlordx94]

ok good. so far the track works fine, just was wondering about the switches :)

[ThEBoOgEyMaN666]

keep posting dude, im learning so much from your videos, now im using the classic 3 rail style so this stuff wont exactly work for my setup but keep posting i love your layout, and i love your videos.

[djzachispunk]

great tips looks good