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Clicking tortoise?

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  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
  • 11,439 posts
Posted by dknelson on Monday, April 7, 2014 9:14 PM

cacole

So much time wasted trying to come up with answers to a problem that was not caused by what everyone seems to have thought.

 
No not wasted - I was acting as go between and me and my friend really do appreciate all the ideas and suggestions -- particularly the part about ballast as he has yet to ballast that part of his layout.  His Tortoise was in a particularly inaccesible part of his layout so neither of us could actually see it until he did some major work.   The only thing clear to me from hearing the problem was that the motor was not stalling even when the points were entirely thrown but rather was continuing to run.
 
Dave
  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Chi-Town
  • 7,712 posts
Posted by zstripe on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 3:41 AM

Quote:  Dknelson,

The only thing clear to me from hearing the problem was that the motor was not stalling even when the points were entirely thrown but rather was continuing to run.


 

Dave,

This statement, is exactly what I was trying to get across in my replys, it was not clicking because there was ballast in the gears.

Thank You! Big Smile

Frank

  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Dearborn Station
  • 24,280 posts
Posted by richhotrain on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 5:21 AM

dknelson

 

 
cacole

So much time wasted trying to come up with answers to a problem that was not caused by what everyone seems to have thought.

 

I was acting as go between and me and my friend really do appreciate all the ideas and suggestions -- particularly the part about ballast as he has yet to ballast that part of his layout.  

 

I have a large number of Tortoises on my layout, and not a one has ever failed in the 10 years that my layout has been up and running.

But, a couple of years ago, I did have that one Tortoise making clicking noises.  When I did open it up, I found several grains of ballast in the gear teeth, just as the technician at Circuitron predicted when I called.

So, apparently, ballast fouling up the gears is not all that uncommon.  A word to the wise!

Frank asked, how could ballast get in that side opening?  Good question.  My only answer is, it did.

Rich

Alton Junction

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: Chi-Town
  • 7,712 posts
Posted by zstripe on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 5:36 AM

Quote:

Posted by zstripe on Saturday, April 05, 2014 8:19 AM

You must be living in a different, atmosphere than I am. The gravity in my house goes down, not to the side. Big Smile

Frank


 

OH OH, I tink, the above is what I said.

But it must have been the ''gremlins''.

Frank

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