Brian-1209034

No Mac, in fact the opposite. I have those very small springs fitted (correctly) between the points rails. My reasoning being, that with DCC I wouldn't need to isolate sidings. A quick experiment with a weight (C type battery) Blue tacked to the loco roof improved this problem slightly. I will experiment with a heavier weight when I can find a way to fix it temporarily, although it might be a wast of time as I don't know how much room there is under the loco shell. I think it would have to be lead.

Hi Flashbang, I wouldn't know how to tell the difference. All I can say is that the other loco will still run at the same time, further down the track. When the loco stalls, even a gentle prod with the finger will not start it. I need to push it clear of the points. It does not have any problem with the points when approached with some speed.

Thanks Chris, I'm starting to get the picture. I can see that the lifting of the wheel would only need to be microscopic to break contact. I'll go away and think about that. I'm slowly climbing the learning curve, with your help of course. Thanks for that. Cheers BB

Thank you both for the information. @Chris. I'm still a little confused. Obviously, the locos are not picking up something, either current or code, and I'm not sure which. I originally discounted lack of current because a multi meter showed a reading all the way through the points. The fixes you mention are way beyond my skill and knowledge levels, so I would have to employ a Hornby service agent to fit the stay awake capacitor or complete new decoder; someone like Southern Model Supplies. One thing is for certain, that the problem exists with Hornby and Peco points, so it must be the locos, which you confirmed. @Howbi. I had come across this "running in" advice mentioned somewhere, but the reason I have not tried this yet, is until I build a baseboard, I have nowhere to lay out an oval. All my floors with a 6 x 4 foot space, are carpeted. I'll see if I can find a nice smooth and level piece of concrete out the back. Once again, thank you both for the information. Cheers BB

Hi everyone, Just getting back into the hobby after many years, and therefore DCC and other improvements are a bit of a learning curve for me. I started out this time with the Mixed Traffic set (R1236) which from what I see, is a good way to restart. I have not connected the full layout yet because I have not sorted out a baseboard. I have however had a little play with a few sections of track laid out on the kitchen counter top. (Could not wait to try it out.) I noticed immediately that both locos do not like driving over the points, stalling at anything other than very high speed. I've checked all the track connections which are all solid, and also checked the current integrity with a multi meter. I've run my thumb over all the joints to see that no connection is standing proud. I read somewhere that the Peco equivalent points are much better because the flange ways are deeper, but when I bought and tried one, there was no difference. The set is brand new and shouldn't really need cleaning, but a cursory check of the wheels and track seem ok. I may be wrong, but now I'm starting to think that the problem lies in the locos. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated, as if I can't fix this problem, then I see now point of going any further, building a baseboard and expanding the layout etc. Cheers BB