William wants to hear from anyone who can help with his model railroading problem and asks:

“Dear One and All; I have asked this question elsewhere but not received imformation that I can make good use of. I have two identical “HO” IHC Southern Pacific style 2-6-0’s to convert. In attempting to install a Kadee compatible knuckle style operating coupler on the Moguls tender I let the truck become disconnected from its usual attachment spot on the underframe of this tender.

Both the tenders have snap on oil bunkers which are easily removable. I want to reattach the rear tender truck to its rightful spot on the tender under frame.

Since the tender wrapper is still attached to this underframe I have a problem in placing my full size fingers into the “HO” scale enclosed space left. Can someone please tell me how to safely separate the tender wrapper from the underframe?

The difficulty comes because two latches must be held aside simultaneously while the wrapper is rotated away from the underframe. I have thoroughly looked for and can only find three screws which go into the tender underframe. Two of those screws are used both to make connections with electrical wires inside the tender and to hold their respective tender trucks against the underframe of said tender. The last screw (a self tapping type) merely holds its end of the drawbar from the engine to the tender underframe.

I plan to install knuckle style couplers on both the engine fronts and tender backends and to add DCC decoders to each engine. Until I get a solution to this problem; I admit I am stuck.”

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Would some like to help this reader?

“I have a Bachmann Northern Steam Engine, 4-8-4 that can’t seem to make it through my EZ switches without derailing. I have tried adjusting the space between the 4 by carriage and the body. Does anyone know a trick to solve this problem?”

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A readers wants to hear from anyone who can help with his switch problem:

“I am having switch trouble, especially with my 4-8-4 steam engine, the front wheels don’t want to stay on the track.”

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Norman wants to hear from anyone who can help him with his HO DCC problem:

“I am wanting to get instructions and drawings to install DCC in a Bowser Challenger and Big Boy. I understand the metal frame is one side of the motor so I will need to insulate the motor from the frame. As I understand it, the decoder should be mounted in the tender, which I do not have. Am I correct – can anyone suggest anything?”

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Mark is having lots of problems with his GP40 Santa Fe and wants to hear readers ideas on where he should start:

“I have a problem with my GP40 santa fe. The hand rails are snapped, the wheels need cleaning, the coulpers are broken and I havent got it lubricated, so how do I fix all of there problems?”

Use the green comments link below to add your feedback and help Mark.

Shane is experiencing a common problem with his new loco. If you have had the same problem you might like to explain what you did to fix it:

“Hi, I have just been to a train show and bought a santa fe engine bachmann is the brand. I have done what the instructions said but it is very jumpy when it runs. It just stop starts all the time.”

For lots of helpful tips on the smooth running of locomotives refer to the section in the Model Train Help Ebook.

Dave has been spending money on his O layout and is having problems with locomotives at switches:

“I recently purchased a Lionel 4-6-2 Pacific U.P. Traditional Steam Locomotive. I also purchase the FasTrack Outer Passing Loop pack. Things were splendid for 2 days, then the locomotive started stopping at one of the switches. The head light remains on. I put an old locomotive on the track and it runs fine through the switch. I put the new one back on, and it stops. Does someone have any idea what’s going on?”

Help Dave by adding your thoughts using the green comments link below this posting.

George is having problems with his Atlas switch machines and would like to here your feedback:

“I have a large HO layout and many switch machines which I have never had problems with. Last year I put together an n gauge layout and 4 of the 5 above table Atlas switch machines have malfunctioned. It appears the arm attached to the armature slips out of the groove of the slotted piece that moves the track points. Once they’re apart there is no way to reassemble them without a jig. I haven’t got enough room to install the under the table type. I have used one on the layout and it functions perfectly. Does anyone know if there are any other makes of switch motors that are more reliable?”

To help George click on the green comments link and add your feedback.

Sherry is having problems with track on a z scale layout and wants help:

“After working with all the other scales over the years, I have been trying to get started with a little z scale lay-out and finding the resources are limited. I am having a lot of trouble with the track (Marklin). Before I go any further with purchases, I wonder if I would like the Micro-track better? Dpes anyone know are the two compatible?”

Sherry adds:

“I don’t have a train store near me to look at the items, so have to rely on catalogs and the internet. It looks like Micro-track has a built in road-bed which could be a little more stable. Any suggestions or comments from others doing z scale would be helpful?”

To add your comments or feedback use the green comments link below.

Thomas is having a problem with his Autopulse Transamp Twin controller and would like to hear from others in the hobby using similar units:

“All of my model train equipment is analog. I have an Autopulse Transamp Twin controller that operates two trains independently. It is rated at 12 volts dc. My trains don’t creep along, but do not go very fast at all.

The controllers that come with a standard Bachmann or Model Power starter sets with 16-18 V dc way out-perform this dual operation unit. For this particular unit is this common or did I purchase a failing unit?

Just so your readers know; the track is clean and there is no halting (start/stop) sudden speed, nor is there a drop in power around the layout. I considered the possibility of bad reostats but with even speed acceleration and decel eliminated that possibility. Does anyone know the answer to my question please?”

Suggestions from readers can be posted using the green comments link below.

If you have ever had a problem with your locomotives not running, you may want to help Mark who is having problems with his N scale Atlas engines:

“I have two Atlas N scale engines that were purchased not that long ago, maybe around June of this year. They ran perfectly fine up until I stopped running trains due to some major scenery work on the layout. I would say I did not run any trains for about 2 to 3 weeks. Before running any trains again I made sure to clean up the railroad throughly and I cleaned the track as well.

When I went to run both of the engines, one would not run at all, and the other would run only a short distance before stopping. Again the engines are pretty new and the track is clean.

There are not any shorts in the wiring, or track, because other engines run perfectly fine.

Does anyone have any clues on to what might have happened with these two engines? Any help from your knowledgeable readers would be greatly appreciated…Thanks!”

Steve is planning a 33ft x 14ft RR layout and would like your feedback regarding baseboard construction and train operation noise levels.

“I am currently planning a layout of 33ft x 14ft. As there will be a fair number of trains running at the same time, I want to keep the noise level of the track down as much as possible. Can you suggest what material I should build the base board out of. I was thinking of foam but will that keep the noise and vibration down compared to plywood or is there a better way. Thanks”

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Tim would like to hear from OO or HO enthusiasts and asks:

“How do I ensure carriages do not derail on gradients. My gradients are on curves and with bogie wagons. Sometimes a trailing wheel rises above the rail and then doesn’t come down in the right place. Does anyone know how I can prevent this type of derailment from happening?
To comment on Tim’s posting click on the green comments link below.

To comment on Tim’s posting click on the green comments link below.

Harsh is a model railroading enthusiast from India and asks:

“I want to buy a dcc controller to use with my n scale layout. What options do I have? I have a Bachmann power booster. Is it possible to use this Bachmann booster with a dcc controller of another make, or would I have to buy a new power booster which is the same make as the dcc controller? Here in India our power supply is 220v and 50 hz. I hope one of your readers can advise me.”

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Howard has an N guage layout based on John Allen’s original Gorre and Depheated layout and asks for readers help:

“I have a N guage layout based on John Allen’s original Gorre and Depheated layout. It is the same size as John Allen’s HO although the grades are less the John’s. The locomotives without cars can’t climb the grades. Is there some way I can increase the traction? I have considered scoring the rails, but am concerned about excessive wear on the driving wheels and am reluctant to take a chance of ruining a locomotive. Thoughts from your readers on the subject would be appreciated.”

To comment on Howard’s posting simply click on the green comments link below.

Zac is planning an HO layout and wants suggestions from readers.

Here is what Zac has to say about his planned Liberty Xpress HO Layout:

I’m in the essential planning phase of my HO layout. I have got 10’x7.5′ to work with. I am wanting to do a large mountain with 2 tunnels and a bridge on one side. I could go on and on with plans. I would be interested in getting feedback and ideas from your readers to help me plan my layout. Thanks Zac

Ken is having problems with his HO layout and wants to hear from others with the same problem:

“My train layout was shut down for about a month due to building a mountain which three trains and a trolley run through or over it. I cleaned the track, but on one line I can’t get the loco to run at all and on another line the loco goes in reverse only. I tried two different locos and both would only run in reverse on this line, but would run normal on a different set of track. Have your readers experienced this type of problem? Do they have any ideas on what the problem might be?”