I have 3 dc trains. 2 of them run at the same speed but one of them runs at half the speed the others do at any throttle speed. Anyone know what I could do to fix this? Thanks
This is hard to answer without some more information. What brand of locos are they, what type (diesel or steam), are they all the same type and age? For example, different gear ratios in different locos will result in different speed curves.
Joe
Hi MBmodeler, and to the Model Railroader Forums.
It would help to get some answers if you could tell us what locomotives you have. Locos from different manufacturers can have different motors and different gear ratios too, and that sometimes can happen with locos from the same manufacturer.Another possibility is that the slower locomotive may be DCC-ready... this often means that there's a circuit board inside the locomotive (or tender, if it's a steam engine) where a DCC decoder can be plugged in. That circuitry can result in poor performance on a DC-powered layout, usually slow throttle response and limited speed capabilities. There are ways to disable that, and perhaps there are others here who can suggest methods if you wish to keep features such as headlights.I also operate with DC, and simply remove such circuit boards completely, then re-wire the locomotive...not too difficult at all, especially if you don't need the lighting feature.
Wayne
MBmodeler I have 3 dc trains. 2 of them run at the same speed but one of them runs at half the speed the others do at any throttle speed. Anyone know what I could do to fix this? Thanks
First welcome to the forum.
Without knowing the brand of locomotives it can be a number of things from a faulty circuit board to a bad motor or different gear ratio or binding in the drive.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The two that run the same speed are a old tyco and old bachmann. The engine that runs slower is a older bachmann. Both bachmanns have the pancake Style motor and all engines are diesel.
Hi there. The traditional way of doing this is to install a cab control system, with two power packs, that allows you to control your locos through electrically isolated sections of your layout. If you do a search on the Internet, I'm sure you will find text on this. Another method is to isolate sections of track in your layout and to control the power of your sections with on/off switches using a single power pack. The switches allow you to shut sections off for a few seconds to slow some of the locos down and allow other ones to catch up... Not very realistic looking but it worked for me when I was a teenager.
I don't know how far you want to go into this hobby, but the best way is to buy a DCC system and DCC locomotives. DCC allows you to control each loco independently. Converting your old locos to DCC are probably not worth the effort.
Simon
PS: If your Bachmann is very slow, a good tune up might help speed her up (clean the wheels and lubricate the gears with an appropriate lubricant like Labelle).
MBmodelerAll engines are diesel and the two that run the same speed are a old tyco and old bachmann. The one the runs slower is a older bachmann.
Sorry to say those old pancake motors wasn't the best but,I'll second Simon's cleaning and tune up and if that fails to improve the performance then I suspect the motor is going bad.