Early construction of a simple 00 garage layout

I did the same with the frog power. Got the tip off from someone else. I've never used Cobalt motors past the first generation that were awful: unreliable and noisy.

Can't beat a good solder joint.  :thumbs

Following with interest…….

I think I'll need to change an insulfrog double slip for an electro - without looking, do electros now come in Code 100 ?

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

unreliable and noisy.

On the reliability side I’ve never had an issue. They also come with lifetime warranties as well. 

They are a little bit on the noisy side when switching but I don’t think they are any louder than the Dapol signals for example!

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Following with interest…….

I think I'll need to change an insulfrog double slip for an electro - without looking, do electros now come in Code 100 ?

Pass. These are code75. I highly recommend the electro-frog though. Very smooth as there is no loss of power. 

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Following with interest…….

I think I'll need to change an insulfrog double slip for an electro - without looking, do electros now come in Code 100 ?

 

As far as I know they only come in Code 75 if you want electrofrog. No insurmountable problem though. You can get converter joiners (*you'll need four insulated and four live) and pack underneath to bring it up to the correct height. I also think you can get better looking converter joiners nowadays.

*I always use insulated joiners on all rails and wire the outer rails direct to the bus.

I wondered if they were Code 75……… :roll:

Unfortunately, because of other points in close proximity, I don't think I can use the converters here ……..pity because I don't really want to change a whole heap of adjacent points but I'll check again ……. :hmm

That is a shame you can’t get them in code 100. I’ve heard Peco are stopping production of electro-frog and insul-frog points with their focus turning to their new unifrogs. Gives them the ability to produce and sell a single type. 

I wonder where they'll pitch the price with unifrogs and how they'll work as either/or…… :hmm

It is a pity they only come in Code 75.  My other problem is that "equal" 3 way points are not available in Code 75 electrofrog - only the asymmetric version.  I have a 3 way straight off the double slip so, using an electrofrog slip would require a sizeable rebuild of the shed throat.

It does surprise me that there are different geometries for different codes. If I was developing them I’d have them the same but increasing in rail head size! I guess they were designed at different times but still… 

Finally got a Plux22 decoder for the Class47. Runs very nicely. 


Things are getting pretty smart as you can now independently control all the lights, which allows you to turn off break lights When running with coaches for example. 



I also added a stay alive which I now use as standard for all trains as it just makes everything run better. At least at Teasel anyway!!!

There are detractors of stay alives, but I use them because I'm incapable of laying perfectly flat track and my baseboards move with the heat to cool and humidity here. When I was working on cars and lorries everything was right, but this is a hobby not a chore.

Ps: Teasel bay looks good with it's 47.
 

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

There are detractors of stay alives,

What issues have you had with stay alive? I’ve had no issues with them. Trains run far better for me with them, I was pulling my hair out and giving up running trains before I found them! Lol. The only downside I see is the extra expense! Haha. 

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

There are detractors of stay alives,

What issues have you had with stay alive? I’ve had no issues with them. Trains run far better for me with them, I was pulling my hair out and giving up running trains before I found them! Lol. The only downside I see is the extra expense! Haha. 

I'm not one of those detractors. I use stay alives in a good many of my loco's and they turn a mediocre runner in to a faultless one.

Hi Guys,

Some info about PECO Code 100 Streamline and Code 75 Streamline Finescale ranges extracted from AnyRail where their track Libraries are AFAIK kept pretty well up to date.

In these the Elctrofrog offerings are shown by an E so

In Code 100
SL-87 is  Insulfrog, SL-E87 the Electrofrog version

In Code 75
SL-E187 is Electrofrog corresponding to the above geometry. There is no Insulfrog in this range,

I haven't checked for correspondence part by part but many appear in both libraries




 

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

That is a shame you can’t get them in code 100. I’ve heard Peco are stopping production of electro-frog and insul-frog points with their focus turning to their new unifrogs. Gives them the ability to produce and sell a single type.

Chris,

Yet!

It is unfortunate that information from PECO is sparse regarding what's happening with developments in their various Point ranges. I looked into this mid 2021 when planning my new layout and checking now very little has changed.
 
The only UNIFROG products currently listed for sale are

Code 75 Finescale Bullhead Track - Items SL-U1188 and 1189 (latter currently out of stock)

Other items listed on Hattons ("On Order", Release Date not available) so presumably advised by PECO as pending but hasn't changed for ages.

Code 100 Streamline Items SL-U76 and U77
Code 75 Finescale - none
Code 75 Finescale Bullhead - 5 items SL-U 1180, 90, 94. 95 and 96

What PECO's policy for rolling out their various ranges is anyone's guess and that situation is little changed over the last year. 

In part this situation sent me down the British Finescale route

Regarding costs of Unifrog, The only comparable units are SL-E88 £15 and SL-U1188 £29.50 (ex Hattons site)

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

I use stay alives in a good many of my loco's and they turn a mediocre runner in to a faultless one.

For me it’s the track to blame not the locos! 

[user=2170]Colin W[/user] wrote:

 

That’s a useful comparison Colin. I also forgot about the finescale range, it wasn’t around when I started Teasel 5 years ago, so I never considered it. 

Laying some more track this evening. Taking my time to get it right, drilling in the right places soldering the right thing! To make the entrance to Norcott station more exciting I decided to have two lines merge. You can see below the running line off to the left which travels around the back of Teasel Bay and the mainline straight into a brick wall o. The right. The wall will be hidden by a bridge with foam to cushion any accidental overruns! 

This setup will allow the illusion of the mainline running through the station. Having it powered will allow stock to pose and move for photos/videos. Maybe one day it’ll have catenary as well!

Another evening, another diamond! The Train-Tech track tester works really well to ensure I’ve got the frogs set correctly. 

Beautiful day here in the UK. Beach goers have been flocking to Teasel Bay to soak in the sun.