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Are Shinohara 3-Way Switches DCC Compatible? Track and electrical/DCC
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Active Member 46 posts dkingcdn Active Member 46 posts
dkingcdn

I just picked up a NCE PowerCab this past weekend to be able to use and start testing DCC equipped locos (one of them being a Rapido Turbo train so I'd like to get a longer run.) that I've got in my roster.

On my current DC layout, I've got a N scale Shinohara 3-Way switch with all 3 diverging tracks (6 rails) being isolated from the 3-Way switch. Power is fed to the switch via rail joiners on the main.

Am I going to run into any shorting issues with the way it is currently wired for use with DCC?

What, if any, modifications need to be made to the switch to make it DCC friendly?

Please note, I'm not about to modify this switch or add any power routing to it at this time as the layout it is current installed on will be dismantled in the coming months to make way for a finished basement and new layout that may or may not use this switch.

Thank you

Dave
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jimfitch Prolific poster 5,291 posts
jimfitch

What, if any, modifications

Quote:

What, if any, modifications need to be made to the switch to make it DCC friendly?

Please note, I'm not about to modify this switch or add any power routing to it at this time as the layout it is current installed on will be dismantled in the coming months to make way for a finished basement and new layout that may or may not use this switch.

Thank you

Dave

 

I imagine the same modifications we discussed about Walthers/Shinohara turnouts in the HO topic.  If I can find it I"ll link and it will save a lot of typing.

For what it's worth, I dismantled my 10x18' HO layout in 2017 and it had all old-style DC Walthers and Shinoharad turnouts with the metal tie bars on the points which power routed the power.  As it happens, at least for the Walthers code 83 line, they started manufacturing DCC friendly versions about 15 or so years ago.

I am in the process of finishing an unfinished basement in the home I moved to and want my next layout to have all DCC friendly turnouts.  Rather than do the mods to all my old Walthers turnouts, I sold most of the DC versions and am replacing them with Peco electrofrog or in a few cases, the newer Walthers DCC friendly versions, such as a couple of #8 curved turnouts.

Apparently Shinohara never did update their HO code 100 turnouts to DCC friendly so I may have to try the mods on a couple of curved turnouts I still have, but everything else will be Peco pretty much.

.

Jim Fitch
northern VA
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Logger01 Prolific poster 1,786 posts
Logger01

Not DCC Friendly

As with the old HO versions the N scale Shinohara 3-Way Switches with metal throw-bars are not DCC friendly. Allan Gartner has guidance on the HO version on the Walters Old Style page of his Wiring for DCC site. See Make a Walther's (Shinohara) 3-Way (Lapped) Turnout DCC Friendly. Wiring for Reliable DCC Operation  about 2/3 of the way down the page. You would have to make similar updates to the N scale turnout.

 

Ken K

gSkidder.GIF 
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dkingcdn Active Member 46 posts
dkingcdn

Thanks for the response and

Thanks for the response and suggestions.

Now I just need to decide if I'm going to use it on my next layout.

Cheers,

Dave
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