Diesel Mad Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi All, Spent the last couple of weeks ballasting most of my layout. A horrible time consuming job but I will say that the finished effect is well worth it. However - I haven't run a lot of my loco's since starting scenic biulding and ballast, so it's about 6 months for the majority of my loco's.... The upto date/recent loco's run fine after a few minutes on the rolling road, down on the track they perform brilliantly, however, my older models refuse to run properly, even after a spell in the rolling road where they performed as they should. I've changed several loco's to see if it's just an error with a couple of the older models, but it's not.... Just so everyone is on the same wave length, it's a fully DCC layout, and I have re-programmed each loco today, just in case some of the info was lost during storage, and they ALL work fine on the rolling road, which is also DCC compatible. Has anyone got any idea of what's going on?? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I would try giving the track a really good clean. It could be that the older locos have less pickups on the wheels and aren't getting a continuous electrical contact with the track.--------------------------------------------------------------------Rog :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Mad Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi Rog.... Done that ! spent the morning cleaning the track with the good old Hornby Track Rubber then spent an hour of so with the CMX clean Machine doing it's work ! Pads coming off the cleaner are spotless! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VESPA Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 DM, Tracks clean but check all the locos wheels and pickups. I bet they have a film of muck on them. This is another major problem with running model railways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Also check every power connection to the track. You say you have just finished ballasting the layout. It's poosible that some glue has found it's way between the rail joiners. Do you use a DCC bus with lots of droppers?-----------------------------Get off the line Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Not sure how old your 'older' loco's are DM, but it could be that they have larger flanges on the wheels. The flanges might be fowling the ballast causing the wheels to lift slightly off the track causing a bad connection. WTD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Mad Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Poliss and Vespa, Glad to hear from you. I've been away from the hobby for a while due to work, nice to see the 'old reliables' (Don't take that up the wrong way) are still offering the usual sound advice. Lots of droppers, got some way to resolving the problem by removing cleaning and replacing those point clips hornby have, so some power restored, dead spot on one siding so I'll get at that tomorrow as poliss suggested glue must have got into the dropper on that line.... walkingthedog, I think you are also onto something, as the older Mainline/Dalpol 56's I have run fine on the unballested section of track, but I can actually hear the gravel sound coming from the loco when it's on the ballast section, the Hornby 56 doesn't give the same gravel noise. I have a lot of scraping with a flat screwdriver to do, to get the ballast right, but I ran the CMX around on all three lines for the last hour and it's improved considerably, annoying really as I spent ages getting the depth of the ballast right, so I wouldn't have this problem..... Like I said great effect - but work involved and keeping the spades on all the points ends clean can be a nightmare, next time I build a layout I'll try that double sided black bitumen tape, one side sticks to the baseboard and the other holds the track down, just drop ballast on it as you go ! Thanks again guys - I'll come back tomorrow and let you know how things are getting on.... Diesel Mad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Split plastic straws down the middle and place them on the rails when ballasting. This stops glue getting on the rails and also means you don't have to clean the rail tops afterwards.-----------------------------Get off the line Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Prat Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi, Poliss. What a great idea - it's true that you're more than a pretty face, then? Seriously, does this idea work with the various 'ballast spreader' devices available such as that available from Green Scene, or home made ones as per TheCentralStation forum?? poliss said: Split plastic straws down the middle and place them on the rails when ballasting. This stops glue getting on the rails and also means you don't have to clean the rail tops afterwards. ----------------------------- Get off the line Bobby. The light at the end of the tunnel is probably a train !PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I don't have ideas. I pinch them from other people. :-) You put the straws on after laying the ballast but before gluing. You can also cut the 'zips' off ziplock bags and use them if you have N scale track. (Another idea I pinched). The light at the end of the tunnel is the train coming the other way.-----------------------------Get off the line Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Prat Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I believe it re the theft. You've even tried to pinch my signature!! poliss said: I don't have ideas. I pinch them from other people. :-) You put the straws on after laying the ballast but before gluing. You can also cut the 'zips' off ziplock bags and use them if you have N scale track. (Another idea I pinched). The light at the end of the tunnel is the train coming the other way. ----------------------------- Get off the line Bobby. The light at the end of the tunnel is probably a train coming towards you !PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Mad Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Poliss, That's a brill idea about the split straws, I fully intended to airbrush my ballast/track, but with the running problems from the glue, I was going to give it a miss, and just spread diluted coffee and tea soultion around to darken down the 'new' ballast look, but I'll be more confident now using the split straw idea, and won't undo the five hours of cleaning I had to do today to get some stock moving..... Again, great tip ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Next time you go shopping, look for the ziplock bags grapes sometimes come in. Might be more flexible for doing curves.-----------------------------Get off the line Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I meant to say 'fouling' not 'fowling. Gives the impression the flanges are being attacked by a chicken! WTD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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