Points and other trackwork.

When it comes to points and other special pieces such as crossovers, slips etc., it is important to note that these are usually fixed in length and radius and can only be altered if you really know what you are doing. These can be purchased in generally two forms, insulated or electrofrog. It is vitally important to note the type when you purchase these as it will effect the method you use to join them to neighbouring pieces of track.

Insulfrog or insulated (dead frog).

These are points where the track parts that cross at the middle are made from plastic and therefore carry no electricity through them. Usually these come pre-wired underneath to carry the electricity across the frog and are easy to wire up as you only need to remember to feed the toe of the point with power and it will feed the two exits automatically depending on which way you set the point. The one for which the point is set gets opposite power supplies, a plus and a minus, the other route gets one of the supplies and nothing hence making the un-set route dead to electricity.

Electrofrog or electrically live (live frog).

These are points where the frog is made of metal. The advantage of these is that they do not give the dead spot on the point, this will improve running over these. These work slightly different than dead frogs because the frog is permanently powered, but the power is dependent on the route set. The route for which the point set will get opposite power supplies, a plus and a minus, the other route gets two of the same, either two plus or two minus, hence making the un-set route unusable but not dead. The problem arrives however if another power supply comes into the point from the exit direction because this will create a short. So another rule is required for these points as well as the always feed the point from the toe end. The other rule is should a power feed be capable of feeding the frog directly you must isolate the frog, this simply means that when you join track to the two exit routes from a point you connect with isolated joiners to both rails to prevent this possibility.

Laying special pieces.

It is very important when laying these special pieces of track to take into consideration how you intend to operate them and if they need any special power supply requirements. Please pay attention to any instructions that come with the piece as they will contain most instructions. You especially need to think about where a motor will be fitted if you are going to use them to operate the piece. If you intend to fit these underneath you may need to pre-drill holes to locate them, it is very easy to put a point right on top of a cross member of your framework meaning you cannot fit a motor underneath it, so a little fore thought will benefit you.