Hi,
I am working on a model train for a restaurant called the Canadian Brewhouse( Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). We have 20 cars ( Mix of LGB trains and USA trains), 2 USA GP-38-2, 300 ft of track. We have connected both GP-38-2 to each other. We are hoping to run these trains all day. But they seem to die every 4 -6 hours. Can anyone help? Are these possible to run all day (16 hrs). Also we have 4 sharp corners within 40ft.
Ryan
It's hard to diagnose without more info. Are the locomotives new? When they stop what is going on? Do they slow first or do they just die? Are the motors hot or do the locomotives smell very warm? I'm not familiar with those scales to know what else they have for parts inside, but just from an electronic side of things we'd need to know a little more to help you diagnose what is going on.
Mike
It sounds like there might be a thermal safety switch either in the locomotive or in the power supply. Next time it happens put your hand on the power supply. If that turns out to be a distinctly unpleasant experience, you'll know that your power supply is either not adequately ventilated or is through-putting more amperage than it can indefinitely.
I am wondering if that is too much track for your power source.
CleyndertBut they seem to die every 4 -6 hours.
One quick solution to try would be to add additional feeders to the track. Do you only have one pair of wires leading to a track connection?
I'd suggest getting some two-conducter wire (speaker wire or low-voltage garden lighting wire would work) at least 16 gauge, 14 even better.
Run these each direction from your power supply, say 100 feet in each direction to give you three sets of feeders to the track. This will reduce the need for the track joiners to carry all the current to the far side of the loop.
Just be sure you keep the continuity of each rail mated to each feeder wire.
Hope that helps. I'll stop in for a free brew if it works
Regards, Ed
Try running only one engine, not two, and/or reduce the number of cars. Too many cars mean too much load on the engines. Too many engines mean too much load on the power supply.
There are no problems in model Railroading, by the way, only challenges.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The idea of runing 16 hours daily puts a lot of wear in the locomotives and rolling stock. You are probaly putting more operating hours on your equipment in a week than the average hobby modeler would run in a few months or more. At Boothbay Railway Village, we run both our HO and G scale trains 6 to 8 hours a day every day when the museum is open. You should be prepaired to do maintenance and repairs on your locomotives on a regular basis.
When your locos 'die', check how hot the locomotive shell is. If it hot, you are pulling too much load and straining the motor. Reduce the number of cars in the train. Overheating will decrease the running life of your equipment. If possible, it might be a good idea to buy a spare locomotive so you can keep things running of a locomtiove has a breakdown.
Cleaning the track and locomotve wheels daily (in your case maybe a couple times a day) is essential for long term running. We have to do this regularly to keep operations going. Consider shutting the layout down during times when there are few customers. Let things cool down a bit. At Boothbay, we are in a purpose built layout building, but still have issues with summer heat and humidity. With a restaurant, you have the added problems with grease and cooking smoke from the kitchen and food being served. If customer smoking is allowed (hopefully NOT!), this adds another layer of grime settling on the rails and wheels.
As mentioned above, add a lot of power feeds to the track; do not depend on rail joiners to carry the current. A bit of hidden corrosion in some joiners will cause a big voltage drop in the rails. Our standard is one power feed for every other piece of track, and power feeds are soldered to the bottom or side of the rail.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Welcome to the forums.
This site is mostly HO and N operators, though it is obvious that a number of them also have done some work with Garden railroads, as there are some good suggestions.
You might want to pose your question on the garden railroad section of the forums for more answers. Go to the top of this page and in the light gray lettering go to Trains.com Sites, then Garden Railways. Should be a number of G scale operators there.
Good luck,
Richard
You say they die, I am asuming they come back to life. If this is the case I would guess it is the power supply as it is unlikely both enginges from two manufacturers would have the problem. Whaqt brand power suppy and model #?
to the Model Railroader forums.
.
Since they both die at the same time, I am pretty sure that the thermal breaker in the power supply is tripping. You did not say you need to do anything other than wait to get them running again, so the thermal breaker makes sense. It will automatically reset when it cools down.
Running a smaller train could help, but you should probably get a better power supply.
The "hobbiest" power supplies are not intended for continuous use. A commercial power supply could be much more appropriate for your needs.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
When electronics get hot the wires have higher amounts of resistence which causes a voltage drop. The drop might be causing the locomotives to not get enough power. Try larger gauge wires and more connectors to the track spread out over the layout every couple of yards. Also get a fan to blow on the power supply to help cool it off.