My first video – fixing a frog

Some things are harder to explain in words than to show. So, I thought I would try shooting a video instead. Let me first tip my hat to people like Greg Amer, who have produced instructional videos on modeling topics. Even with the minimal editing I did, the work involved is tremendous compared to a simple blog post.

This video shows how I think frogs should work, and where to look for problems if they don’t work properly. As should be apparent, I am building up my frogs from rail. The prototype in Pembroke was most likely built this way, but also, while I’ve had good success with the Proto:87 Stores frogs in the past, I worry about a joint in the closure rail close to the frog.

So, to reiterate,

• The gauge at the throat of the frog is critical, and needs to be dead on.
• The gauge at the point of the frog needs to be dead on.
• The gauge just prior to the frog is important and should be very good.
• You should be able to push a test truck through the frog, trying to derail it, and it shouldn’t derail, even without guard rails.
• When you’re pushing your test truck through the frog, you should not be able to feel or hear the point of the frog.

I believe most of these are true, with the possible exception of working without guard rails in coarse HO; however, it’s been so long since I laid such track, that I don’t remember.