Shinohara Turnouts
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Summary: Shinohara was a Japanese manufacturer of track components, including turnouts. The company wound down operations in 2018 when the owners retired. Walthers distributed Shinohara track under the name Walthers/Shinohara for years.
Walthers and Shinohara Track
Walthers has taken over the Shinohara tooling, unfortunately, much of the tooling is worn out. Walthers is promising a new line of track, including turnouts. With new tooling, they should be compatible with Digital Command Control and the NMRA Standards.
Shinohara Turnouts
Pre-Digital Command Control Era
Prior to Digital Command Control, Shinohara made a non-isolated type of turnout.
Non-Isolated Turnout schematic
Non-routing Shinohara turnout top and bottom views
Shinohara Pre-DCC turnout
They can be identified easily: Metal bars connect the switch rails, no gap before the frog, and the point rails have no gaps at the frog either. On the underside, it will have the Shinohara name cast into the tie, code, and size of switch. There will be no wires bonding the closure and point rails to the stock rails.
For DCC operation, the point rails will need insulated joiners to prevent a short at the heel of the frog. Check wheel gauge too, as out of gauge wheel sets may cause a short between the stock and switch rails.
Later DCC Compatible Shinohara Turnouts
Early (top) and later (DCC Compatible on bottom) frogs found on Shinohara switches. Note the appearance of gaps before the toe and after the heel of the frog on the DCC version.
Bonding wires on the underside connecting the point and closure rails to the stock rails on the DCC compatible version.
Switch Points. Note the switch rails are not connected together. The small tab underneath makes the electrical connection to the stock rail. Older Shinohara turnouts often had a single strip (throwbar) of metal connecting both point rails and the throwbar beneath.
As shown in the picture above, the early turnouts have no gaps at the frog. Later production turnouts have gaps separating the frog from the closure rails at the toe and the point rails at the heel. Also, note is how the switch rails are fastened to the throwbar. Early designs often had both rails connected electrically and mechanically by a metal strip between them, with a rivet fastening the strip to the throwbar beneath.
The DCC Compatible ones will say that on the box. If you are not sure, look for the bonding wires under the turnout, the switch rails are not electrically connected, and gaps at the toe and heel of the frog.
Walthers Turnouts
Newly tooled turnouts under the Walthers brand have begun appearing in hobby shops.
Overview
Mechanically they are very similar to the Shinohara products, with a dead frog. Differences are the switch rails are one piece, not hinged, and the addition of a small ringlet to one side which connects to the frog. A wire can be soldered here to power the frog. The frog itself is very similar to the older Shinohara design. These turnouts are manufactured in China for Walthers.
Mechanical Features
The Walthers turnouts also feature a spring to lock the switch rails in position, which can be removed if necessary.
Electrical Features
Electrically they are very simple.
Switch
The stock rails supply power to the switch and closure rails, maintaining the correct phase relationship between the switch and closure rails. This prevents shorts while providing reliable power. A gap separates the closure rail from the wing rail.
Frog
- The frog is dead, but can be made live using a switch, Frog Juicer, or similar mechanism. There are gaps in the wing and point rails to electrically isolate the frog. A small ringlet is supplied to allow a connection to the frog to be made easily.
- The point rails[1] have a gap at the heel of the frog. Past the gap they are electrically connected to their appropriate stock rail, which maintains the correct phasing and provides reliable power.
See Also
- General Wiring Topics for DCC
- Types of Turnouts
- Methods of Operating Turnouts
- DCC Friendly Turnout
- Wiring Diamond Crossings, Slips, Scissor Crossings, etc.
- ↑ These rails come to a point at the toe of the frog, hence their naming. They form part of the frog assembly.