MTH SD-70 Engines Get Stuck on Atlas Switches

There was a post about the pick-up roller causing issues on certain switches. Do the rear trucks swing freely? Sometimes they make the wires too tight at the factory.

 The stalling is sometimes from the engines loosing ground in one direction. If the center pick-up rollers are lifting the engines slightly, it can cause this to happen. Make sure the batteries are fully charged and are not dying.

I've had several locomotives that drop a roller into certain Atlas switches and stop them cold.  Needless to say, they come off the rails!

Thank you both for your fast responses. The trucks swing freely because I tried running the engines over the switches in forward and reverse. Same problem. I replaced the batteries with the BCR capacitors so I don't have to worry about battery discharge or leakage. I suspected the center rollers. I just tried my Doodlebug, and same problem. I switched from Lionel tubular track to Atlas because I had steam engine (2-6-4) derailing problems with the Lionel switches. Is there a fix for the center roller problem?

Atlas makes great track but their turnouts leave a lot to be desired.   I agree with Engineer Joe.  Also, are all the wheels in gauge?  If you were getting a short, you would get a red light (on some transformers) and trip a circuit breaker. That does not seem to be the case here.  If your engines are Proto 2, switch to a BCR.   Proto 3 engines are much better equipped to handle a brief interruption of power, but does not solve the problem entirely.  Are all the outside rails properly grounded?  I run MTH engines exclusively and have gone batty trying to get them to creep through Atlas turnouts, even adding an extra roller to my steam engines.  

When you ask are all wheels in gauge do you mean alignment? I was getting a short and the red light on the Z4000. Circuit breaker didn't trip. I did switch to BCR thankfully. I'm running power supply to center rails and one outside rail, not both outside rails. The steam engines don't have a problem with the switches, which is why a friend recommended changing from Lionel to Atlas. All my engines are fairly new because they have been in storage for 15+ years, and I didn't run them that much before then. I've moved, and retired so I'm setting up a new layout with all new Atlas track and switches.

 I think you need to look very closely at exactly what is happening. Sometimes making a close up video will help you and others see what's wrong. I'm betting the engine's pick-up rollers are bouncing over the switches.

Good idea on the video. Will take one later today. I'm dealing with a sprinkler system water leak now.

The red light (short) is created when the roller contacts an outside rail.  This is common on Atlas turnouts because of the way they are engineered especially near the frog.  It can also be created because of you underlying problem with the pickup roller(s).  Proper gauge is the distance between the wheels on a particular axle.  This doesn't seem to be your problem.

There is a lot of atlas switches on the club layout where we applied insulation to part of the rail for that problem.  It's odd as I don't see that with the Gargraves or Ross switches that are on the layout.  Of course, the Gargraves have their own issues, that's another topic.

To GRJ:  I remember you mentioned this fix in a thread some time ago.  Can you explain what you did?  All I remember is that it had to reapplied every so often.  Thanks.

Look for the arc marks one any center rail section, apply a thin coat of CA Adhesive to insulate it.  It lasts for months, but eventually it does wear or flake off.  Use the gel CA, it stays where you want it better.

Thanks

Is it possible to send a picture of where you saw the arc marks and applied the CA. Since Atlas center rails are black, seeing arc marks might be hard, or did you sand the black paint off all track center rails? I've got thick CA for my model airplanes so no problem getting the gel.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Look for the arc marks one any center rail section, apply a thin coat of CA Adhesive to insulate it.  It lasts for months, but eventually it does wear or flake off.  Use the gel CA, it stays where you want it better.

Could you grind down that area to apply something thicker to last longer? Does something need to be cut or modified? Frog too long?

You probably could do more Joe, this was just the fix we used.

DanaL posted:

Is it possible to send a picture of where you saw the arc marks and applied the CA. Since Atlas center rails are black, seeing arc marks might be hard, or did you sand the black paint off all track center rails? I've got thick CA for my model airplanes so no problem getting the gel.

Not to worry, you'll see arc marks if they're there.

I'm thinking for troubleshooting purposes put electrical tape on the center rail at the arc area. Once proper area identified apply the gel CA. Thoughts?

Atlas switches are problems with various engines from Lionel also. I have contacted Atlas about the various problems, gaps that rollers get caught etc, easy fixes in my opinion, but Atlas seems to not be interested in fixing their switch problems. I made a big purchase of Atlas track/switches, love their track,  but not happy with their switches.  Personally, would not recommend Atlas switches, especially since person I contacted was only interested in putting blame on engine manufacturer, seemed to have no interest in trying to fix switch problem. 

Thanks. I bought the Atlas switches based upon a recommendation from a friend who has a large layout. My friend has had zero problems. Been running his layout for 10 years. Unfortunately he is outside of Milwaukee and I am 85 miles East of Las Vegas so I can't take one of my engines to his layout.

To DanaL:  you'll love The Villages.  everything accessible by golf cart.  Great community and organized activities.

To W&W:  your experience is exactly the one I had.  I also e-mailed them a number of times concerning their Calif Zephyr cars, never to hear back.