Comments on: Locos Halting at the Same Spot on the Layout – Why?

By: J. Mac

J. Mac — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 03:25:30 +0000

V=I R and too much resistance in the wires might be lowering the amps or the volts when you pull more cars, the magnets in the motors need to be strong and if the voltage drops it’s going to create like a short in the motor, as it’s getting hotter. The thin gauge copper wire that’s typically used is worthless. You want to take household extension cords and split the wires and use that to power the tracks in farther areas so plenty of copper and no voltage drop far away from the transformer. imo. Copper is only $3 a lb so it’s not the money, it’s the tradition of just using the workable minimum because hobby wire costs a lot. If you split some extension cords you see how thick the copper is and my layout is worthy of being over built in that area, imo.

By: Sheldon Clark

Sheldon Clark — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 01:59:45 +0000

In reply to Dale Ambos. Sounds fairly generous for H0 gauge; what minimum radius does the manufacturer of your 4-8-8-4 recommend?

By: Joe Lovell

Joe Lovell — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 02:51:11 +0000

If all else fails, and she runs fine every place else on the layout, replace that section of track. Try that and see if that helps. Hang in there.

By: Dale Ambos

Dale Ambos — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 18:48:17 +0000

In reply to Bob Schworm. Wow, Bob, what a great tip! I'll try that on my frogs. I'm running on 33" radius curves and I'm using both Atlas and Peco turnouts. I will eventually power the frogs with Tortoise machines. I have NCE CP6 circuit breakers which glow upon a short. I don't think I'm getting a short either on the curve or at the turnouts. The amps drop off to near zero. I'm wondering if, at the turnout, the wheels are being lifted up off the rails. The frustrating part is that the stoppages are intermittent, sometimes the engine just runs through perfectly. I noticed that the problem is worse when pulling a large train (26 cars). Could the weight of the load actually lift the tender wheels off the track? Did I mention that the track is not yet secure to the roadbed? Could the problems vanish when the track is solid?

By: Dale Ambos

Dale Ambos — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 18:34:54 +0000

In reply to Mike. "Thanks for your response, Mike. Because of all-wheel pickup (drivers) it would seem to me that other wheels would compensate if one set is lifted up. I would hope the electrical pickup is not so sensitive to very small track issues. I didn't mention that I'm running on 33" curves and that I have not yet secured the track to the roadbed. I'm beginning to think that when I glue the track down, that may solve my problem. Thoughts on that?

By: Dale Ambos

Dale Ambos — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 18:27:15 +0000

Thanks for your tip, David. I do have a gauge, hadn’t thought of using it on this problem. Will check the gauge of the curve. By the way, I didn’t mention that the track is not yet secure to the roadbed. I wonder if that could also be a problem.

By: Dale Ambos

Dale Ambos — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 18:25:06 +0000

In reply to Anthony Germagliotti. Thanks for your response, Anthony. I'm running on 33" radius curves.

By: Dale Ambos

Dale Ambos — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 18:21:00 +0000

In reply to Sheldon Clark. Thanks for your response, Sheldon. I'm running on 33" radius curves.

By: Gene Godbold

Gene Godbold — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 14:30:38 +0000

Run your engine slow in the dark.Small sparks will show up if you have a short. Nice for those hard to find shorts that drive you nuts.

By: David Stokes

David Stokes — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 07:27:24 +0000

Sounds like you’re pouring a gallon into a pint pot my friend. The longer the rigid wheel base the larger the track radius required on the layout. If making the radius bigger is not possible, then try and widen the track gauge on curves (that is what real railways do). Do not play with the back to back on your loco – you could stuff up a very expensive piece of kit. Do you have an NMRA track gauge, if not, get one; they are invaluable for situations such as yours. The National Model Railroad Association Inc is a world wide organisation for model railway (railroad) modelers and membership is a valuable thing. Check them out..

By: Anthony Germagliotti

Anthony Germagliotti — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 01:32:07 +0000

lt sounds like your track radius is to small try increasing the radius on your turns to so your big
boy runs through the curves easy and does not show any signs of binding.

By: Larry Young

Larry Young — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 00:43:10 +0000

Could it be that with the “HO” gauge track you are creating a short in that the positive and negative do not switch. I have “O” gauge were the center rail is hot all of the time and the outside rails are neutral meaning that I can run a long train changing over rails and the neutral is always constant and the hot is always in the center, thus, a short cannot ac cure as easily.