I have an N-scale set up with a couple of atlas crossings installed. The engine seems to get hung up on the crossings, apparently it cannot cross the middle of the crossing without losing power. I have the ends of the crossings soldered to the adjoining track, and have soldered feeders to each section of track. Do I need to power the center section of the crossing as well, or should I be looking for a power loss somewhere else? Suggestions or tips either way? It is a DC set up.
Thanks.
Is the center of the crossing plastic or metal.
LION would use an all-metal crossing, gap the ends and tie the track power to the signal that gives permission to pass the crossing.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Atlas crossings are pretty simple, straight forward, specialty tracks.
Since you have power feeding into the crossing at all four ends, that is more than sufficient.
True, a small portion of the crossing is gapped to prevent shorts, but those gaps are pretty small.
Make sure that all of the power pickups are working properly on the loco.
With power applied, lift the rear wheels to be sure that the front wheels are spinning. Then set down the rear wheels and lift the front wheels to be sure that the rear wheels are spinning.
It sounds like the loco is stalling on the crossing because one or more of the power pickups is not performing properly.
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks, Rich, much more helpful than he who roars in the 3rd person.
audreyspapa Thanks, Rich, much more helpful than he who roars in the 3rd person.
Let us know if the power pickups on the trucks are the problem.
If not, you need to test electrical continuity on each gapped section of rail on each crossing.
Since it is happening on both crossings, my suspicion focuses on the loco pickups.
Ok, Rich, thanks for the tip. It does appear the pickups may be the problem. If I run the diesel short hood forward, it makes the crossings ok, and those wheels spin when I tested them as you suggested. The long hood end seems to be where the problem is, as those wheels don't spin when tested and when run that end forward it stalls at the crossing. Now, I'm fairly new at this, so how do I go about fixing this? I appreciate all the help for a newbie.
To some extent, it depends upon the brand of locomotive and the type of locomotive.
But, generally, the way power is picked up from the rails and transferred to the motor is through a wire that connects from a copper tab on the truck to the circuit board that feeds power to the motor. There is likely a broken soldered connection that needs to be resoldered in place.
You might start by closely examining the two trucks on the long hood side of the locomotive. See if the wire is firmly connected to each truck. A small flashlight will help here. If a wire is dangling loose, that is the problem. If all the wires are secure on the trucks, then you will need to remove the loco shell in order to examine the wiring connections on the circuit board. In any event, there is likely a loose or broken wire connection.
If I am reading your description correctly, you have a leg of each crossign connected together such as: ===##===
If that is the correct interpretation, then yes, you definitely should connect feeders to the short bit between the two crossings such that there is <fed track>===<crossing><feeder><crossing>==<fed track> Simply for best reliability if nothing else.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Over the years, I have had 6 different diesel locomotives that have had pickup problems.
I had an Atlas Dash 8-40B with no power to the front truck right out of the box, and I returned it to Atlas for repairs. Same thing with an Atlas SD35 right out of the box, and I returned it for repairs. Then, an Atlas GP38 right out of the box that I repaired myself.
I had an Athearn Genesis F7A lose power to the front truck due to a broken wire connection that I resoldered on my own. The matching F7B unit lost power to the front truck and that turned out to be a circuit board problem. That remains unresolved until this day.
Lastly, I had a Walthers Proto SD7 that developed a loose wire connection to the front truck that I repaired myself by resoldering the wire connection.
I think this happens more often than many modelers realize because, if a loco is running at higher speeds through turnouts, the momentary loss of power through the front or rear trucks is never noticed.
Do you REALLY want to meet a LION in the first person???