67 Collectable Model Trains: Track Laying: My loco stalls at the far end of my loop of track.
Description
This article is from the Model Trains FAQ, by Christopher D Coleman with numerous contributions by others.
67 Collectable Model Trains: Track Laying: My loco stalls at the far end of my loop of track.
Dirty track is the first culprit. To remove light dust, oil and
grease, most track cleaning solutions are adequate with a clean cloth,
either those provided by train makers or other products like "Rail
Zip". Wet the cloth and rub the track as if you were polishing it. As
the cloth becomes soiled, refold it and proceed. When you no longer
soil the cloth the track is clean. For more serious dirt use an
eraser. Ordinary erasers work, but a slightly abrasive one is best. A
commercially available one is called "Bright Boy" which seems to work
well, like those included in track cleaning kits. If surface rust has
set in use fine or very fine sandpaper. NEVER EVER use steel wool or
ANYTHING else that will leave metal bits on the track. Locomotive
motors will suck them in and destroy themselves! If rust has reached
the state of pitting don't bother. It is not worth your time to fix
severely rusted track. Remember when using any abrasive to clean your
track, new track is nickel plated and is often smooth enough to remove
dirt without abrasives. Once you remove that coating with an abrasive,
your track is exposed to oxidation and will need cleaned much more
often and will be more likely to collect dirt.
If this fails, the easiest solution is to add more power connections
to your track. This is only a band-aid solution, though, since more
than bad connections may be present. Nine of ten times a corroded
track pin is the cause. You should clean all your track pins before
assembling your layout. Pull them and clean the end in the track
section too if necessary. Clean them the same way you clean the track.
If your track section is corroded on the inside of the tube, throw it
in the recycling bin, it's not worth the trouble.
If you need track down a faulty track section, first disconnect all
power leads and remove all trains from the track. Here a light or
continuity tester is helpful, but a multimeter is best. Disconnect one
track connection and test the continuity of the center rail around the
loop. The outer rails are almost never a problem since they have a
double conductor, but if you rule out everything else, you might check
them too. A resistance less than 5 Ohms is pretty good, more and you
should trace the problem. Also check the continuity between the center
and outer rails. It should be infinite resistance (no current). If
current flows you have a bad center rail insulator.
To track down a bad connection, test the continuity between each track
connection. Any reading over around 10 Ohms means trouble. One or the
other sections around the joint will need replaced. The easiest way to
find a center rail insulator short is to connect a transformer WITH A
CIRCUIT BREAKER and crank it up to around 3/4 power. Listen to the
track and you can usually hear the sparks in the bad insulator and it
will get hot too, so be careful. Alternatively you may be able to
track it down with the meter. Track Cleaner #1415
Track Brite #1440
Life-Like Industries
Phone: 1-800-638-1470
URL: http://www.lifelikeproducts.com/
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