Do I have to check the turnout switch if I am travelling backwards? Normally I think of going forward along the track and coming up to the turnout then deciding to go ahead or turn off. I check the switch setting and move the turnout track rail accordingly. If I then take the train off and reverse the train and drive it back through turnout everything should be fine. What happens if I put the on the other track and I do not change the turnout switch. Will I have a problem? Will it cause me to de-rail?
Waggy
I have done this by accident a number of times. Sometimes the loco will push through the points without derailing, but not always. The lighter-weight rolling stock is much more likely to derail.
Some stuff may derail, but at least on my layout, running through points set against the train causes a short in the DCC system, so everything comes to a halt anyway.
I now have LED indicator lights on a control panel to show me which way turnouts are thrown.
I now have LED indicator lights on a control panel to show me which way turnouts are thrown.
There is also a good deal of difference between turnout springs that
hold the points to the rails. And some, like Peco 'lock' in a position
and seldom 'give' when a loco runs thru it when set against.
When you are running your trains you just have to keep an eye
on the switchman. They have been know to get in their cups from
time to time and fail to do their job. They also have a good union
and you can seldom fire them. Especially if you are married to them.
Don
hold the points to the rails. And some, like Peco 'lock' in a position
and seldom 'give' when a loco runs thru it when set against.
When you are running your trains you just have to keep an eye
on the switchman. They have been know to get in their cups from
time to time and fail to do their job. They also have a good union
and you can seldom fire them. Especially if you are married to them.
Don
I know HO and N one can run it backwards on atlas tracks. Lionel O and O27 if ran backwards it will automatically align. (YES I KNOW were talking HO
)
)
Running "backwards" through turnouts
Waggy;
Running through a turnout that is set the wrong way is a bad practice, on model railroads and
the prototype(full sized, real railroads)
The trains, of any size, are more likely to derail when they hit a switch set the wrong way.
This has caused many a train wreck on the prototype. The only reason we modelers can sometimes get away with it is that some of our switch motors(particularly Atlas) have springs in them with enough slack to allow a locomotive to force the points over to the proper position.
The only prototype example of this was a "spring switch" which, with suitably larger components, did the same thing. Spring switches were rare on the prototype, and were most commonly used on trolley and streetcar lines.
Traction Fan
Waggy;
Running through a turnout that is set the wrong way is a bad practice, on model railroads and
the prototype(full sized, real railroads)
The trains, of any size, are more likely to derail when they hit a switch set the wrong way.
This has caused many a train wreck on the prototype. The only reason we modelers can sometimes get away with it is that some of our switch motors(particularly Atlas) have springs in them with enough slack to allow a locomotive to force the points over to the proper position.
The only prototype example of this was a "spring switch" which, with suitably larger components, did the same thing. Spring switches were rare on the prototype, and were most commonly used on trolley and streetcar lines.
Traction Fan
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