Question & Answer of the Week - September 30, 2005

[Jumijo]

From the pages of CLASSIC TOY TRAINS magazine, Ray L. Plummer and the CTT staff offer a Question & Answer of the week.

Pickup rollers wearing down


http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/006/202gvbyj.asp

If any one has a decent question, please submit it to any of CTT's staff. They will forward it on to Mr. Plummer

[lionelsoni]

Prototype catenary is deliberately strung in a zig-zag pattern to spread the wear over the width of the pantographs. I have wondered whether we are missing an opportunity to do a similar thing with our center rails. It might be practical simply to bend one of those thin center rails alternately sightly left and right to create a gently undulating curve which would be easier on the pickups (assuming that there is a problem).

Dave Vergun may be doing this unintentionally with his handmade copper-wire center rail, depending on how imprecise he lets himself be about its location.

I doubt that the conductivity of brass is of any importance, given the size of the rollers and the extremely short distance that the current travels.

I have seen the suggestion that roller wear is actually due to arcing. I have often railed (so to speak!) against the popular way of running trains between blocks powered by different transformers, because of the fault current that can flow when the pickup bridges the gap. It would be interesting to know whether the folks who operate that way see more wear than those who don't.

[Dr. John]

I have often wondered if the chemical blackening on the center rails (MTH RealTrax, K-Line Shadow Rail, Gargraves Phantom track, et al) might cause more arcing. I have read more than one article that recommends removing the blackening from the center rail, ostensibly to improve current flow.

[Anonymous]

I can not believe that a blackened center rail can conduct current as well as clean shinney metal.

I would take an old sharp knife and scrap off that black stuff from the top of the center rail.

I have old rough, with gaps, 027 track that I clean with sand paper that does not wear most of my roller contacts.

I have a #50 gang car that sparks like crazy and had roller wear when I bought it. I rapped a piece of brass shim stock around the roller and solder it to fix the groove. Still sparks. So I beleive sparking as well as gaps in sectional track can wear grooves.

But don't you love that Ozone smell. Reminds lots of old timers of Christmas.

Charlie