Z 4000 problem

[rogruth]

The fan does run.

If a board is "burnt out" what would be the most likely cause?
I'm wondering if it was something I did.
I am surprised that no breakers have popped.
And that everything was fine and three days later it is like this.

I have four other small transformers of various types that I use for lighting and powering the switches and they are all OK.
My uncle was a track man on the PRR for 45+ years and always called them switches. He never heard of turnouts.

[Norton]

I can't say I ever saw dim red and green lights. Usually the red light is either bright or off. One other thought, when the handles are all the way off do the voltmeters read zero or very close to it? If they read over say 1 volt it could be the gear on a handle has skipped a tooth on a potentiometer it turns. Unlike a Post War ZW which slides across a transformer coil, the Z4000 handles just move a pot. If the pot is off the zero setting, the red light stays on and you get no output.

Pete

[chuck]

Model railroader's use the term "turnouts" to differentiate between devices that route trains and "switches" that route electricity.

There is a touch of irony in that "turnouts" often have "switch" stands associated with them, not "turnout" stands .

[rogruth]

Model railroader's use the term "turnouts" to differentiate between devices that route trains and "switches" that route electricity.

There is a touch of irony in that "turnouts" often have "switch" stands associated with them, not "turnout" stands .

I think I first heard the term from some HO guys that were putting down Lionel, "They don't know the difference".
Maybe a railroader calls them turnouts today, I don't think I have heard that by a working switchman, but I don't ever remember hearing
turnout when I was young. I make this reference only to bug a few.

[chuck]

I think 1:1 railroads also refer to them as "points".

We have switch stands, switch men (or women), switch rod, switch motor, and switch rails (aka points). Whole thing may be a "turnout" but it's kind of funny that almost everything associated with the device has the word switch in it and none of it has "turnout" as a prefix.

[E7]

Considering locomotives, I've heard of a "switcher", but never a "turnouter".

[rogruth]

The only reason I mentioned this was because i was given a "lesson" about it on a different forum and I just like to bug some a little
because I know that they do read MTJ. However they won't admit it.

[bluelinec4]

Roger I may have an extra board at the club I have to check We had a z4K that we cannabalized for parts. There were very rarely any parts for them available from MTH. I have never seen the symptom you are having We have 18 of them in use at the club

[chuck]

Pete may be onto something regarding the mechanical alignment. Here is a post from another forum on a Z-4000 acting up.

https://www.modeltrainforum.com/threads/mth-z4000-transformer-problem.61170/

[J. S. Bach]

Model railroader's use the term "turnouts" to differentiate between devices that route trains and "switches" that route electricity.
There is a touch of irony in that "turnouts" often have "switch" stands associated with them, not "turnout" stands .

There is a small town just up the road from me called "Lewis Turnout". The current NS "R" line runs through it.

[rogruth]

Model railroader's use the term "turnouts" to differentiate between devices that route trains and "switches" that route electricity.
There is a touch of irony in that "turnouts" often have "switch" stands associated with them, not "turnout" stands .

There is a small town just up the road from me called "Lewis Turnout". The current NS "R" line runs through it.

Do,you think there is a connection or this just an aside?

[chuck]

Do you think there is a connection or this just an aside?

The community was renamed along the way because of a railroad siding. It was originally called Walkers.

The "history" is outlined in a form nominating the inn located in the community for registration in the National Register of Historical Places. Scroll down to page 3.

http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/chester/S10817712003/S10817712003.pdf

[rogruth]

Interesting.

[ScaleCraft]

I have worked with 1:1 railroads. You'll get thrown off the engine if you use a FRN term like "turnout". Points is what the track maintainers refer to on ONE portion. Guard rails, frogs, head ties, switch machine or stand.....but they call them a "switch". Sorta like Clambake did with Trains, many moons ago, decided to go back and eliminate the Whyte classification system, and call, oh, a "Big Boy" a 4-8+8-4.

Resist!

[rogruth]

Yeah. And PRR had 4-4-4-4, 4-4-6-4, 4-6-4-4, 6-4-4-6 and 6-8-6.I probably missed something but most don't care whether it is a + or a -.
It didn't really help with identification for most people. Almost like trying to exactly define PRRs DGLE.