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2e0dtoeric

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Posts posted by 2e0dtoeric

  1. Then the fault is in the power car.

    There are loads of posts in here, and other places, on how to track down a fault, using a PP3 battery and a bit of thought.

    Unplug the decoder first!

  2. Swap the two decoders over. Does the fault change ends?

    Yes - duff decoder.

    No, fault is in that car.

    Perhaps you have pulled a wire off, somewhere, or dislodged the wheel pickups while you were fiddling.

  3. This unit, (and similar ones) do not really provide realistic smoke, it is merely an oil mist 'fog' that is heavier than air, so falls onto the layout, leaving oil splats everywhere.

    Also, if allowed to run dry, the coil will burn out.

    If used in a plastic-bodied loco, it can get hot enough to melt the plastic - (and burn little fingers!)

  4. I also use mixed track components, mostly Peco points and flexi, but with Hornby set-track here and there, (to use up odd bits of straights!)

    Track centres isn't that critical, unless you have really tight curves - which isn't ideal with flexi-track. Larger sweeping curves are better.

    Hornby centres are aimed at little pudgy clumsy fingers, which also fits for us older folk who's eyesight can be deteriorating, too!

  5. Early loco -

    does it have traction tyres - are they worn/lumpy/missing?

    Not sure which bit you mean by the combination lever. If a connecting rod (between all the driving wheels) is bent, then possibly the quartering has slipped. I recall reading that the insulating plastic bush in the wheel centre can split, or just wear away, so the wheel can rotate on the axle.

    Back to no power - are the driving wheels turning but the loco won't move - or is the motor stopping? If the first - see traction tyres - if the second -  might be worn brushes, muck in the works, or the magnet has faded.

    All these can be fixed, with time and patience.

  6. As I understand the problem, Three-rail wheels were NOT insulated (no need!) so to place them onto a two-rail system would merely present an instant short-circuit that will 'trip-out' the controller.

    Trix Twin stock may work, as I think those wheels were insulated, to allow a centre common negative, and two separate positives ( from two controllers) on the running rails.

    Whether Trix and Hornby couplers woujld connect is another matter!

  7. If you solder a rail to a pin that is fixed to the baseboard, the rail cannot move as the temperature changes.

    Eventually, in extremes - it will buckle in between soldered pins, or tear the pin out.

    If you pin a sleeper to the board, the rail can slide in the 'chair'  and won't buckle.

    -

    I always use flexi-track, and arrange for a gentle 'wiggle' on long straights - which can act as an extra expansion joint, because the whole section can adjust the radius of the slight curve, as needed. On a curve, I pin the ends (by the sleepers) so the curve can move slightly in the middle, if needed. (We're talking of a couple of millimeters per metre length).

  8. LC+DR - looking at the state of that white wagon - top pic, on the right!  😛

    Another 'mixed traffic' type of line is the Preston Dock steam railway.

    During the week, it serves an oil works, with the usual big diesels and bogie tanks linking up with the WCML at Preston station, but at weekend they run small 'shunter' type steam loco's on the same track, with a few old mk 1's - often double-ended, so there is a loco leading in either direction.

  9. IPA (switch cleaner!) is good for cleaning motors, and removing old grease from gear trains. Be careful with it, as it is volatile. Don't forget to re-lube afterwards, and NOT with WD40 or 3 in 1!

    Cotton buds are good for cleaning fiddly corners.

    I think you are aware that you cannot run clockwork and electric at the same time on the same track. Clockworks don't have insulated wheels.

  10. The o/p included the comment - plus also the (steel?) track.

    That could be some of the problem! Steel track corrodes, and maybe the fishplates are equally poor, so no power will be getting to the track anyway.

    Try a simple length of new nickel-silver track, and see if anything moves then.

    Be wary that if the loco's and stock are as old as you say - 40+ years - the wheels will be the old coarse ones, and the flanges are a lot bigger, and may 'bump' over the plastic mouldings of the modern track.

    I assume you have stripped down, cleaned, and lubricated all the motors and gears? Old oil and grease can set like concrete!

    Also - the motors are probably Ringfields, and the magnets may have faded. They can be revived - at a cost - there are many threads on this around this forum.

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