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Engine Jerky
Wayne writes:
“I received as a Christmas present a Paragon Rolling Thunder EMD E9 Sou #198 (5810). The engine does not seem to run properly on the layout. The speed is very unsteady and time the RPMs sounds are extremely high for the very slow speeds on a flat surface. The engine is very jerky and unsteady with speeds. No other engine on the layout has this problem, which makes me think it is a problem with the Paragon Unit. Any help/advice will be appreciated.”
Please add your comments to assist Wayne.
Wiring Turntable with DCC
A reader writes:
“Our club is replacing our HO turntable with the Walthers 130′ one. We have arrival and departure and 39 stall tracks. Our trouble is the auto polarity reverser built into the pit. Being that the built-in reverser is set 180 deg. in the pit, only half of the tracks work as needed but the other half end up being reverse polarity. My question is, can we wire a Digitrax AR1 into the feed to the bridge and let it do its thing?”
Add your thoughts below.
Stuttering Bachmann
Jeremy asks:
“My new (2nd hand) Union Pacific Bachmann SD40 stutters a bit when running slow, but runs smoother when I crank up the speed. I am thinking some lube might fix the problem. Is Labelle 107 suitable, and where are the lube points? Thanks in anticipation.”
Track Spacing Questions
Larry a hesitant newbie to the hobby has these three questions to ask:
“I don’t think I’ll ever be a serious model railroader, but my son wants us both to work on a project together. For some reason, he thinks I need a new interest to keep me mentally and physically active. He’s probably right as usual so I’ll give it a good go.
My (our) HO layout will consist of two 4ft x 8ft panels joined with a 4ft x 4ft panel to form a U shape. This will give me (us) space to move around.
My questions – 1. How close to the base edge can the closest track be? 2. What is the recommended separation between parallel tracks from the outside rail of the first track to the inside rail of the track running parallel with it? 3. Should I (we) allow extra separation on the curves, and if so, how much?”
Comments below.
Best Adhesive For Sticking Grass To MDF
Ken is working on an OO layout with his great-nephew and posted this question:
“I want to roll and stick a sheet of grass to my MDF base. I expect to cut away a couple of sections after it’s laid. Will Elmer’s glue (which I already have) work, or should I use another adhesive?”
Comments under this post please.
Ballasting Ralph’s Way
Ralph Hammond writes:
“I was prompted to scribble this short piece after I showed a mate of mine how I go about ballasting. I appreciate that many of your readers will already know this stuff, but I’m sure there will be others who don’t. My railroading mate who I thought knew everything said he learned a few tips. Please share it with your contacts if you think it will be helpful to them.”
Ralph’s ballasting methods –
The first point to make is I used a medium-grade ballast on my main line and a finer ballast on the yards and sidings.
I start by spraying the ballast with Isopropyl Alcohol mixed with 30% iso and 70% water. I let it seep deep through the ballast. After waiting a while I apply the glue. Instead of using the more expensive Woodlands Scenic Cement, I use diluted PVA white glue to hold down my ballast. I use a pipette syringe to suck up the glue/alcohol, then squeeze it so it flows out slowly as I move over the track. I apply quite a lot of glue, except around moving points (turnouts) where I’m extra careful.
To make it look real I mixed in some darker ballast to simulate the grease where my locomotives might stand for long periods of time and depict oil and grime dripped from the cars.
Readers might like to add their own suggestions and thoughts in the comments area below.
Tightest Radius Curve for 85′ Cars
Paul models HO and asks:
“I want to extend my shelf layout along the sidewall. I will need a 90-degree turn. I have a long a passenger train with Walther 85′ cars, so was wondering what would be the smallest radius I would need to avoid derailments?”
Add or view comments below.
Track Current
Ed asks:
“Hi everyone, I have been building my ho scale city for 8 years and finally I have my trains running however for two days for some reason I have no current running through my tracks. I have checked all connections (soldered my droppers with main), rail joiners. I have a DCS 100 with a Dt 602. Any input would be helpful?”
Contribute your thoughts below.
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Lionel ZW Transformer Issue
Steven writes:
“Hello, I just purchased a ZW transformer over Christmas and got it running. It worked great on all 4 throttles. Then there was a derailment and now D-U doesn’t work but A-U, B-U & C-U still work fine. I took off the cover and everything looks in good shape however I did smell a slight odor; not sure that is normal or associated with the short (train derailment). I measured the resistance on A-U and I get 236 ohms while I get OL on B-U, C-U and D-U however D-U is the only throttle that doesn’t work. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.”
You can add your thoughts below.
Foamboard on Plywood
Nigel W asks:
“I have been watching videos on laying foam board, onto the plywood, Please can you let me know why?
Is this better than laying railway tracks straight onto the plywood? I will be setting up a DCC layout soon. If I do lay down foam board onto the 3/4 inch plywood and then lay ‘Woodlands-track bed underlay’ on top, then lay the track; will this be the correct thing to do?”
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