Loco reverses direction

[JSJ02]

have just built a track layout using a Hornby Select controller. On a couple of sections of the track the engine goes into the other direction for a couple of feet, then stops and carries on as normal. It does not happen every time the train hits these points, but often enough. I first thought it might be dirty track or wheels but was told dirty tracks should not cause this. Has anyone else had this problem and how can it be rectified

[Rog RJ]

This problem can happen when the decoder inside the loco gets a scrambled DCC signal, often caused by dirty track and wheels. Also check for loose fishplates (track joiners) and poor electrical connections of the power feed from the controller to the track.  Dirty track and wheels are the main cause of problems with DCC, analogue (dc) controlled layouts are affected much less by dirty track.