Common running problems
Nothing is ever as straight forward as you hope it to be. There are a
few problems that you
will
encounter before very long, but luckily there
are some simple fixes. As you can see, dirt is a common cause of
problems. This can be less of a problem if you cover the
layout with a sheet when not in use or, better still, keep running
trains so it doesn't get a chance to get dusty.
Dirty track
You turn the power on but
the train doesn't go. You give it a nudge, it jerks a bit and
stops again. Quite commonly, this happens on one section of track more
than others. The most likely cause is dirty track. This can be
dust settled on the track or a fine layer of oxidation on the rail. I
learned from my days with BHP that they didn't get rust on their steel
products, they had oxidation. Use a track cleaning rubber, a bit like
an old fashioned ink rubber, readily available from train hobby shops.
Rub over the top surface of the rail and bingo, your trains run again.
Once cleaned, you can rub a small amount of Wahl oil, used by
hairdressers, over a few centimetres of track. Trains running
over it will spread it around.
Dirty wheels
This comes hand-in-hand with dirty track. Some of the gunge on the
rail attaches to the wheels and the same result - poor electrical
connection between rail and wheel. The easiest solution is
to get a Minitrix Wheel Cleaner. Sit this on a piece of
track, turn the throttle up to normal spead, hold the loco with the
wheels on the metal brushes and let them do their work.
Dirty points
The easiest method of wiring train layouts is to power branches and
sidings by switching the points and getting the power flowing from the
leading track, through the point blade to the frog of the points and
then to the trailing track. Switch the points and the current
flows to the other branch. A problem can arise if the point
blade doesn't sit hard up against the rail, most likely due to dirt or a stray piece of ballast. Even the smallest
of gaps means the electricity won't flow through. This may be hard at
times to detect visually. You can test by using a screw driver, key or
any other
metal object. Put this at the tip of the blade to make contact with the
blade and the rail to make connection. To fix the problem,
scrape the side of the rail and blade to clean them up and you
should be back in business.
This problem can be avoided by more complex electrical wiring, using a
mircroswitch attached to the points to switch power to track feeders
attached to the rails so that power to the frog and blade is not
dependent on the electrical contact of the blade and rail.
Nothing works
No electricity. Check it is plugged in and switch it on.