3/06/09  

#6 Switch and removing the power from the frog:

In some cases you may find it desirable to just remove the power polarity reversing switch and wires from your #6 switch. 

 

 

- If you run in below freezing weather the polarity switch on the turnout and stick and not correctly reverse the polarity of the frog even though it's switched correctly.

- In time the polarity switch can malfunction

- You sometimes forget to switch the switch correctly

 

 

The result of any of these cases results in a short when the engine wheels make contact with the frog.  The switches are equipped with a small auto resetting poly fuse (the small yellow component on the bottom of the switch) to limit the current and duration of the short. 

 

In my case, don't run small engines (which is why I run #6 switches to begin with) and decided this was too much of a headache and just removed the polarity micro-switches from all my turnouts.  I also wanted to ensure that I didn't damage any power traces in my engines because of these shorts. (particularly the larger articulateds)   The elimination of the powered frog has no negative consequences for me as my engines are large enough and have enough power pickups to make it through the switch with no problems.

 

 

Now I have peace of mind knowing that I will never have any type of short on my layout as a result of an incorrectly polarized switch frog. 

 

 

 

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