You didn't say which loco.
The first thing to look at when a loco struggles, unless it's spinning wheels, is track continuity. Is the track clean, wheels clean, joints tight?
Thanks for all the replies everyone.
My grade may be 3% to 4% . I am going to decrease it and see if this will help. I do have some brass track on the way it just hasn't arrived yet. Yeah I can tell that Bachmann doesn't really concentrate on making good track, the loco is nice though.
Rick
What do you call a small grade? Most garden railways have a maximum grade of 2 to 3 % which is only a 2 to 3 inch rise over a length of 8 feet.
-Brian
jetboy wrote: It appears that my train struggles some what on a small grade. Is this normal and can this rectified with a bigger power pack? Is it possible to add a power pack to big? I would certainly hate to burn the motor up in my loco.
It appears that my train struggles some what on a small grade. Is this normal and can this rectified with a bigger power pack? Is it possible to add a power pack to big? I would certainly hate to burn the motor up in my loco.
When you say struggles, do the wheels slip or does the loco just not go very well? If a loco slips it's lack of adhesion and you can add more weight to solve this, but don't add so much it won't slip when the load is too heavy as this will burn out the motor. The standard Bachmann power pack is probably putting out less than an amp so it's most likely just lack of amps if the loco just isn't going.
Try an LGB 1 amp controller ,(they do put out an amp), or if you have bigger ambitions for big locos and trains go for something that puts out 5 amps. This will be fine with your loco and handle all single locos and all but big multi motor diesels in double heading.
If you are going to lay it outdoors go for Aristocraft or LGB track as it is weather and sunlight proof.
First, don't leave Bachmann track outdoors because it is not weatherproof or sunproof, and it will rust away within a couple of months if it gets wet, and the crossties will disintegrate from exposure to sunlight.
A better power pack than the one provided by Bachmann would probably be a good choice, even one made by Model Rectifier for use with a smaller scale such as HO. For only one engine, you should not need anything more than around 5 Amps output.
A higher Amperage output is not going to harm your locomotive unless you have one with so much output, say 20 Amps, that there is a risk of welding a wheel to the track in event of a derailment; however, any good power pack should have a built-in circuit breaker to prevent this from happening.
P.S.: Why don't you delete your other post entitled "Still a Newbie" since it seems to be unnecessary.
Geez my computer is kinda silly, sorry everyone. First time posting here and boy do I have some learning to do with so many questions, if that is ok. I just bought a very basic Bachmann train to kinda get the feel of running a train outside. It appears that my train struggles some what on a small grade. Is this normal and can this rectified with a bigger power pack? Is it possible to add a power pack to big? I would certainly hate to burn the motor up in my loco. Any help with these questions would be so helpful from you all.
Thanks a bunch
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