Making DCC switches out of DC switches






My constantly sputtering efforts at model railroading
My constantly sputtering efforts at model railroading

I acquired a number of Walthers DCC-unfriendly switches (manufactured by Shinohara) and since I was planning to use them in a hidden staging
area, looks did not matter. I also wanted to avoid adding relays and extra wiring for power-routing. So, armed with my trusty Dremel and a low
wattage soldering pencil, I plowed right in and began tearing things apart:


 In the slight gaps between the movable and non-movable parts of the point rails are metal contacts--they're underneath the rails. These need to be cut with the Dremel cutting disk. On most of them, I did it from the top. It can also be done from beneath the switch--it looks better. I recommend using one of those cutting disks that has been worn down to about 2/3 or 1/2 of its original diameter.
The frog needs to be isolated by cutting gaps.
On the underside, on the outboard end of the Frog (away from the Points), cut two grooves (not too deep) in a pair of ties such that one groove goes from the Left Stock Rail to the Right Frog Rail and the other goes from the Right Stock Rail to the Left Frog Rail.
Also on the underside, on the inboard end of the Frog, cut two grooves in a tie such that one groove goes from the Left Stock Rail to the non-movable Left Point Rail and the other goes from the Right Stock Rail to the non-movable Right Point Rail.

Clean off the debris, then using the smallest grinding tip for the Dremel, remove the tie material down to the underside of the rail--even grind into the rail a little bit.


Apply solder flux. Apply heat from a low-wattage soldering pencil to add solder to the exposed rails. Cut small jumper wires to exactly fit between the solder points, then solder them to the rails, pressing the wires into the grooves. (Ignore the melted-off tie end--I do.)

The finished product.

I thought that I could get away with it, but...

I had to insert sheet styrene "plugs"in the frog gaps to prevent the stock rails from coming in contact with the frog. Keep them in place with ACC, then trim them to match the rail contour with an Xacto or other sharp implement-of-destruction of your choice.