Comments on: How To Prevent Locomotive Wheel Slippage

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 20:34:28 +0000

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.” :>)

By: wes delano

wes delano — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 23:52:54 +0000

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

By: Charlie

Charlie — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:50:19 +0000

Athearn Locos are prone to split axle gears.A six axle loco might only have three that are actually driving.

By: Ken Harvey

Ken Harvey — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:45:35 +0000

In reply to 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

By: Gerald Hyink

Gerald Hyink — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:23:43 +0000

Check your wheels for dirt and grime. Probably just need cleaning. Dirt will cause your symptums.

By: james

james — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:58:18 +0000

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.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:12:26 +0000

In reply to Guillermo, from Patagonia Argentina. 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!

By: Jerry

Jerry — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 13:52:55 +0000

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.

By: nathan

nathan — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 07:13:55 +0000

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……………………………………

By: Norman Chipps

Norman Chipps — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 02:53:57 +0000

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.

By: Phillip

Phillip — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 02:05:25 +0000

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.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:27:36 +0000

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