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How To Prevent Locomotive Wheel Slippage
Gary asks readers:
“I have an HO Athearn GP-40 (non-DCC, RTR) that went from running GREAT to running poorly basically overnight. It runs, but there’s a significant loss of pulling power. At first I thought it was the loco, but when I put another perfectly-running loco on the same track, it has the same problem. Then I thought the problem was in the electrical power to the track (such as reduced voltage?), but I can’t find any problem there either. I also tested the power pack; no problem there. The loco runs perfectly fine until I’ve added about 4 cars; then I start to notice it’s having trouble pulling them. But I still can’t figure out how a loco went from running GREAT to running poorly just like that (in other words, there was no gradual decline in performance). Have also cleaned the track and checked the wire connections; so that’s not the issue. Any thoughts?”
14 Responses to How To Prevent Locomotive Wheel Slippage
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If all you checked seems to be OK, I think the problem should be with one or more of the cars you add to the train (unless the track is greasy…)
Your sentence “… but when I put another perfectly-running loco on the same track, it has the same problem…” seems to fully support my idea… Let us know, since I’m quite intrigued!
Carl
Hi, It sounds like “dirty Tracks” I had the same problem,then I purchased Micro Scale,a track cleaner. The cleaner is a small block of abrasive material. I place the block in my fingers and run it along all the tracks placing a small amount of pressure,with a each up and down stroke.I then take a small rag,and wipe off the track until it is clean,very simple.I hope this helps you !! Ken
Hi Gary. Why dont try with another power pack ? As they are electronic, perhaps change its develop with more electric load. On the other hand, as Cary says perhaps yours car wheels have isolation problems. Yours. Guillermo
Thanks, Guillermo. Before I posted the blog, I tried switching the power pack, just as you suggested. I was a bit surprised when that didn’t make any difference. Thanks, anyway!
I would look for a short in one of the cars – this happened to me awhile back and it turned out there was a short created through the chassis of one piece of rolling stock.
To isolate/eliminate that, you can try putting different cars on the train (all plastic, or at the least plastic couplers, and/or plastic wheels.
Best of luck! Ken
I had a problem with one of my Bachmann diesels and found that the front drive shaft cup was slipping on the motor connection stem, so I put a dab of glue on the stem and the cup holds up and I have had no problems since, but if that was the problem, you would notice and hear a noise from the wheels not running and jamming up. Just a thought.
Check the voltage under load as it may drop when the cars and engine are being pulled. This can be from a voltage regulator in a power pack as I had years ago. Good luck.
i had some trouble like this before and i found a way to reduce the slippage . put ceiling fan weights (they range from 1gram to 1. oz i belive) in your loco over the wheels to weigh it down . these “toys” are light ,so when you want it to tow some cars slipping can occur. i also found putting loco weights into your cars helps a great deal in keeping your train on the tracks . i can run a 4 loco 8 car train on my layout at full speed ahead and it wont derail . take out all the weights and it just wont run well it derails easy and i have to use 4 locos just to pull all the cars . i ever catch the punk buttering up my tracks……………………………………
I would check the wheels on the cars to see if they roll freely. Also place one car at a time and run the engine to see which car is causing the problem.
one thing you have not looked at / was your track dirty / because you used two loco and both had same issue check the wheels on both clean them retry units if this does not work look into power pack you may have good voltage but you currant drops on a load this could be because regulator gone bad you power pack should have overload built into it if it was a short . ask your self if you run it before and it run good but your track was dirty your wheels picked it up and next time you run it your wheels can,t pickup power like before.
Check your wheels for dirt and grime. Probably just need cleaning. Dirt will cause your symptums.
Athearn Locos are prone to split axle gears.A six axle loco might only have three that are actually driving.
I run American Flyer post war trains. when running my 4-8-4 northern loco I got a lot of wheel slippage with a long string of cars,
a friend of mine recommended Bullfrog Snot, end of problem. If you want a demo of how it works
google Bullfrog Snot and select the you tube video, you will be amazed how well it works
Thanks so much, everyone, for your comments. An update: I cleaned the loco wheels; no improvement. Then, looking closer at the track, I noticed a thin blackish film on the top of the rail (along MOST of the track, not just here and there). Cleaned all this off with emery cloth, problem solved! Loco running normal again. HOWEVER, after running the train for only about 10-15 minutes, I noticed the blackish film starting to appear on the track again. Only thing I can think now is that I must have a “leaking loco.” Anybody ever experienced a locomotive leaking something? I did put a few drops of Labelle 108 light oil on the axles of a few cars recently, but not much. I guess I can call this update “2 steps forward, and 1 step back.” :>)