HO Flexible Track and
Insulfrog Turnouts
Laying Flexible Track
Flexible track can be
used straight or curved –
recommended minimum
radius 500mm (18”). To
curve the track, place on
the baseboard, bend to the
radius required and cut off
Laying Turnouts and Crossings
These products are ready
to use, but sometimes in
order to maintain desired
track spacing it may be
necessary to trim the ends
of some sleepers/ties (Fig.1).
Extreme care should be
Wiring your layout for Standard
12v. DC Systems
Peco Streamline Insulfrog
Turnouts and Crossings
are electrically self-isolating
and ready for use. This
means that electricity will
pass through the turnout
only in the direction the
blades/switch rails are set.
Therefore the other route
will be isolated. The golden
rule for two-rail electrification
is to ensure that current is
fed to the track from the toe
end of any turnout, see fig.
2 below.
MAX
0.71 mm
0.028 in
MIN
MAX
2.1 mm.
0.083 in.
the track. Alternatively track
can be glued down using
a contact adhesive. Check
that the glue does not
adversely affect the plastic.
For further instructions see
Peco Publications booklet
“Laying the Track”.
(visible from the underside)
which should be pierced
through with a small drill.
Turnouts can be secured to
the baseboard using Pins
(SL‑8314) or using a contact
adhesive. Again check that
the glue does not adversely
affect the plastic. If using an
adhesive, take care not to
glue the area around the tiebar and spring.
Fig. 1 Trim sleepers to fit
taken when cutting the
plastic. The sleepers/ties at
the rail ends are undercut
to permit fitting the rail
joiners without the need to
remove the rail fixing spikes.
All turnouts and crossings
have blind fixing holes
is collected and ideally on
a six-coupled locomotive,
pick-up should be on all
wheels. Always check
that your locomotives are
collecting current correctly.
If your locomotive does not
perform faultlessly off the
track, it cannot be expected
to do so on the track. The
Peco Lectrics range includes
useful aids to simplify
wheel cleaning and other
maintenance. If derailments
occur at the frog area it
will be due to incorrect
assembly of the wheels.
Check that all your wheels
conform to the standards
(Figure 5).
Main
Electrical
feed
+
-
Avoiding short circuits caused
by overscale metal wheels
The use of insulated joiners
at frogs will prevent short
circuits due to oversized
wheel treads. Figure 4
illustrates a continuous
oval layout with our
recommendations for
electrical feeds and breaks
to ensure you do not get any
Over-centre Spring
WARNING: Eye protection
should be used when
working with springs.
If the turnout blades no
longer snap positively into
place it could be that the
spring at the tie bar has
become dislodged from its
slot. If so it can be easily
pushed back into place
using a small screwdriver.
Outdoor use
Peco Streamline with Nickel
Silver rail is suitable for use
out of doors in temperate
climatic conditions. It cannot
be expected to withstand
extreme temperatures as
Power
from main
electrical
feeds
PL-15 Twin
Microswitch
to switch
crossing
short circuits. The electrical
connections numbered
(1) and (2) are unswitched
feeds which will power this
track design correctly. With
Insulfrog diamond crossings
a switch is required to
ensure that only one route
on the crossing is live at a
time.­Figure 4 depicts these
two routes as (A) and (B).
Where a crossing is located
next to a turnout, a PL‑15
Twin Microswitch can be
used to electrically switch
the crossing. If there is no
conveniently located turnout,
a separate hand operated
double-pole double-throw
switch will be required.
Whichever type of switch
is used, connect the feeds
marked (A) and (B) to their
respective switch terminals.
in some hotter climates or
concentrated direct sun
rays. The over-centre spring
should be lubricated with
Power-Lube or similar.
WARNING
Some glues, paints, oils
and wood preservatives
etc. can attack plastic and
their use could damage
this unit. Test all fixing or
colouring agents before use.
It will be appreciated that
we are unable to accept
responsibility for damage
resulting from neglect of this
simple precaution.
Further advice
Should you require more
information on how to use
Peco Streamline track
contact:Peco Technical
Advice Bureau, Beer, Devon
EX12 3NA, England
e-mail:
tabadvice@btconnect.com
03.11
Smooth operation
For smooth operation of
locomotives it is important
that pickups on the wheels
are kept perfectly clean. It is
equally important that there
are at least two pairs of
wheels from which current
Peco Fixing Pins (SL‑8314)
directly through the
sleepers/ties using needle
nosed pliers, otherwise drill
holes 0.8mm (1/32”). The
use of a hammer to drive the
pins is not recommended
as it may damage or distort
Wiring Your Layout for Digital
Command Control (DCC)
As with conventional
12v. DC wiring the PECO
Insulfrog Turnout can
be used without any
modification. However again
as with conventional DC
wiring, overscale wheels
will create short circuits
between adjacent frog rails.
The difference is that the
effect of this problem is
more significant when using
DCC. On a conventionally
wired layout a loco can often
travel through a temporary
short with little more than a
spark and a hesitation but
on a DCC system even a
momentary short circuit will
cause the whole layout to
shut down. For advice on
avoiding short circuits see
the following section.
MIN
NMRA RP-25 S4
– the recommended wheel standard
for PECO HO Code 83 track
achieve uniform sleeper/tie
spacing it may be necessary
to cut the rail fixing spikes
off­the end sleepers/ties
so that the joiner can slide
easily onto the rail. Track
can be secured to the
baseboard by inserting
Fig. 3
2.74 mm
0.108 in
15.4 mm
0.605 in
surplus inner rail using a
razor saw or “Xuron” rail
cutters. Smooth rail ends
with a file. Join tracks
together using Metal
Rail Joiners (SL‑8310)
or Insulating Rail Joiners
(SL‑8311) as required. To
SL-8311
Insulating Rail Joiner
This arrangement will work
well as long as all your
metal wheels are to current
HO standards (RP‑25/
NEM). However, figure 3
illustrates how overscale
metal wheels can cause
short circuits in continuous
loops by bridging the two
frog rails, which will be of
opposite polarities. If your
rolling stock suffers from this
problem, we recommend
that you read the section on
avoiding short circuits.
Fig. 5
1.72 mm.
0.068 in.
Fig. 4
Power Feeds and Insulating Breaks
Fig. 2
14.4 mm
0.566 in
1.46 mm.
0.057 in.
The PECO “83 Line” track system is based on A.R.E.A. prototype designs in HO scale
(1:87), to NMRA track standards. Every effort has been made to ensure details such as tie
spacing and rail fixing spikes are as close to the North American prototype as possible.
0.79 mm.
0.031 in.
© PRITCHARD PATENT PRODUCT CO. LTD, Beer, Devon EX12 3NA, England Tel. 44 (0)1297 21542 Fax. 44 (0)1297 20229 Website. www.peco-uk.com