Hello,
Being stuck inside all summer (thanks Covid!) prompted me to dig out the old Nscale layout my dad made in the mid 90s and drag it to my apartment. Having messed around with it a while, a few questions:
1. After wiping the track with isopropyl alcohol I've cleaned most of it pretty good, but I still have some problem areas, notably near some ancient atlas switches. No matter how much I run over the switches with paper towels and isopropyl alcohol, the conductivity refuses to improve, especially for short wheelbase units, like the BLI NW2 switcher. What other steps can I take to improve conductivity on the switches, short of ripping them up?
1a. Related, the layout is in the bedroom and has all sorts of clothes/carpet fibers and dust from outside (I leave the window open a lot) so track is constantly getting dirty. What cleaners/manufacturers are recommended?
2. The layout never got beyond the "Plywood Pacific" stage and although the main loop is done, the sidings were left unfinished. What sort of tools are needed to lay flextrack? Presumably the electric wire snips aren't great for cutting through flextrack. Are there any other tools to help lay the track straight/anchor it while glue is drying?
2a. My hope was to use the "Plywood Pacific" as a place to practice scenery techniques, but I'm stymied on how to scenic it, as all the scenery tutorials I've seen on youtube and MR seem to have you start from a foam base first. As the layout is in my bedroom (and I'd like to get at least part of the deposit back), I'd like to avoid plaster cloth if possible. What methods for scenicing do you recommend?
3. When it comes to electrics, no matter how many times people explain it to me, I've never understood electrical wiring. Are there any good resources/books for wiring a layout you would recommend?
4. What does wheelslip sound like/look like in an engine? I recently got a DC Atlas SD9 off of Ebay and it has outstanding low speed performance through even the dirty switches, thanks to the scale-speed motor and long pickup base. That said, when I turn the speed up, the motor sounds like it it moving faster but the train does not increase at the same rate. However, I have a DCC Atlas U25 from the same era which, according to spookshow's Nscale locomotive database, has the same scale-speed motor, but in practice I do not see a similar power curve. I can't do a direct test between the two as the DCC one has a greater power drain thanks to the decoder (a cheap factory installed Lenz) and I haven't messed around with the speed settings. Also, the speed knob on the DCC console (Digitrax Zephyr) doesn't actually mean more juice is flowing through the rails.
I'm concerned that the wheels may be slipping on the SD9 due to a gear/wheel issue. There are no grades on the layout and I couldn't tell any meaningful difference between a 9 car train and a 15 car train (primarily Micro-Trains 40' boxcars). The dark wheels on dark trucks makes it hard to see the trucks. It's a beautiful Big Sky Blue model I got for a steal, and I'd rather not damage it. Is there a way to tell if the SD9 has a problem?
5. Related to engine performance, what sort of tools should I try and acquire for engine repair/maintenance? I have some older models (mid to late 90s) that got a lot of work on tracks on the carpet, and I'd like to see if I can clean them up/get them running better. Unfortunately, I don't know the first thing about engine repair beyond poking at stuff to see if it feels stuck or blowing on it like an old N64 cartridge. Any good resources out there?
Thanks for the help!
1. Alcohol is fairly mild as solvents go. I would try Goo Gone. It will cut thru corrosion and won't attach plastic. Or you can try things like acetone, lacquer thinner or MEK. They will cut thru any kind of organic crud. They will also attack plastic and some other things, so be careful, keep the stuff on the metal rails and off the plastic tie strip. A good straight edge helps laying straight sections straight. A BIG compass or a trammel bar helps getting curves smooth and uniform.
2. Laying Flex track. Long nose pliers to push the track nails into the roadbed. You can cut flextrack with a fine tooth saw, ordinary hacksaw, or an abrasive cutoff wheel in a Dremel, or Xuron rail nippers. The Xuron tool is pricey but it does a nice job. All of the cutting methods will require cleanup with a fine tooth file. You will need a small soldering iron or soldering gun to connect feeder wires to the rails. I assume the layout is a flat piece of plywood or homasote with the track nailed or glued down on it. You can do hills either to old fashioned way, screen wire and plaster or paper mache or plaster cloth over wooden formers. Or you can make hills out of foamboard. What ever you do, you paint it with an earthtone paint and sprinkle died sawdust or ground foam into the paint. Works best with a couple of shades of sprinkle on stuff, medium green for every where and patches of lighter and darker green here and there. While you are at it, paint the sides of the rail with rail brown.
3. Electric wiring. Kalmback has a bood on wiring which will help you. In short, electricity leaves the positive terminal of your power pack, connects to one rail, flows thru the motor making the train move, flows out of the motor to the other rail and back to the negative terminal of your power pack. Interuption of juice anywhere on that journey stops your train. Accidental connection from plus to minus anywhere is a short circuit.
4. Wheel slip makes a whirring noise as the wheels slip over the rail. You can see it if you look. If the motor sounds like it is going faster but the locomotive doesn't go faster you may have a problem with the drive parts, a split gear, a slipping gear, a driveshaft out of place, lot of things. Take the shell off the locomotive and watch the drive run. You will be able to see what's wrong.
5. Tools. A set of tiny screwdrivers, pair of long nose pliers, oil, grease, some clean rags, some solvent. Locomotives that have been sitting around for a while suffer from the grease in the gearboxes hardening up and sticking. Just cleaning all the old grease out and relubing (lightly) will make an older locomotive run right. Motors want just one small drop of oil on each bearing. Never oil a commutator. Clean all the wheels to improve electrical pickup.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Many thanks for your help!