tracks

[russellyardmaster]

question is?? i have power and my train works and half the other tracks do, its bachmans ho easy track??

any ideas??!!! please help

[Eric97123]

Do you mean half works and half dont work?  I would check the connections of the track and also make sure your track is clean. 

[IRONROOSTER]

Sounds like you're saying the train will run only on half the track.  Adding feeders to the track that doesn't have power should solve your problem. 

If that doesn't work, provide a more detailed description of your layout so someone here can help you better.

Good luck

Paul

[russellyardmaster]

how do i clean my tracks??

[russellyardmaster]

what are feeders???

[cv_acr]

If you are relying on the rail joiners to transfer power all the way around, and you have a bad railjoiner somewhere, then you will have large dead spots.

If you're just playing with sectional track that's not necessarily permanent, then try to find the bad joints and replace or tighten them.

Ideally however, if your track layout is a little more permanent, you should not rely on rail joiners but attach more feeder wires to the rails.

Either way, you need to go around and find the bad spots, and more wires to the track are better. Feeders soldered to every piece of rail is the only real bulletproof solution. If you have a sectional track layout and you don't solder, then get a few more terminal pieces of track to spread around your layout, and tighten up all the rail joints, that should cut down a little on your problems, but if any joints loosen up, new dead spots can still occur, requiring you to go over them again.

[cv_acr]

A feeder is a wire attached to your track to provide power. (it "feeds" the track power)

[cv_acr]

Cleaning:

There are a few different methods.

1 - wipe a rag dampened with (isoproypl) alcohol over the rails to remove grime.

1a - use an alchohol soaked rag or paper towel to clean your engine's wheels - put the towel over the rails, hold your engine down (so it doesn't move) with one truck on the towel and the other on rails to pick up power and then run it at high speed for a few seconds to spin the wheels. Pull it back and forth slightly as you do it and be surprised at the black streak of dirt and grime left behind on the towel

2 - you can use a slightly abrasive block like a BriteBoy (check your hobby shop) to remove built up dirt or oxidation on the rails. (Brass track and wheels are absolutely terrible for oxidation and electrical contact. Nickel-silver is far better). In a pinch a pink pencil eraser may also work, but not as well. Vacuum afterwards to remove any particles.

3 - some on this forum have been advocating using a metal polish on the rails to clean them

[jeffrey-wimberly]

russellyardmaster

what are feeders???

You're familiar with the red wire that connects to the track. That's a feeder, If you were to place several more terminal tracks around the layout and connect such wires to them you would be feeding the track at several points instead of just one. Another way to do it that looks better is to solder feeder wires to the sides of the rails. These can come up through the layout base next to the track so they can't immediately be seen. Another thing you'll have to do is to solder your rail joiners so you have a solid connection from rail to rail. NEVER DEPEND ON THE RAIL JOINERS TO CARRY POWER. Each and every unsoldered joiner is a potential break point. On the subject of track cleaning, the gambit goes from wiping it with an alcohol soaked cloth to polishing the track with metal polish. Of the many different ways I prefer the GLEAM method. A forum search of 'GLEAM' should give you plenty of material to study. A word of warning. Never, NEVER clean your track with water, unless of course you're scrubbing glue off of it.

[russellyardmaster]

deosnt matter whick color track mine is both back and grey easy track ho bachmans.

another thing to get  wheels unstuck on an engine which method is best to be used??

they have power to them,but wheels aren't turning??

thank you for all the help.

[superbe]

A very simple  inexpensive but an important tool for every modler is a multimeter.

By touching the prongs to the track you can check the electic conductivity.

With electrical issues it stops a lot of guess work.

Happt Railroading.

Bob

[galaxy]

russellyardmaster

deosnt matter whick color track mine is both back and grey easy track ho bachmans.

another thing to get  wheels unstuck on an engine which method is best to be used??

they have power to them,but wheels aren't turning??

thank you for all the help.

If you have black roadbed Bachmann EZtrack it is steel track which is not as conductive as Nickle Silver{NS}, which is on the Gray roadbed. The steel also corrodes easier than NS. Mixing the two is probably not the best idea. Stick to the gray roadbed NS track and smaller ovals. How long are you trying to make your track run? THe longer the run, the larger the oval the more feeder wires you will need to feed current to the track.

[cowman]

You say you have power to your loco, but the wheels don't turn.  Sounds like it could be a problem with the loco.  If it goes a little, then locks up and the wheels won't turn, the gears could be jamming.   How old is the loco?

Do you have a friend with a layout you could try it on.  Take it to your local hobby shop (LHS) and see if they can find the problem.  Mine has a fellow that works on them, but is not instore.  Even if you didn't buy it there, they should be willing to help a potential customer. 

Good luck,