HELP!!

[keeper13]

I own a  Bachmann HO train very old one  And i set it up for the first time in years, but it is very hard to get the engine perfectly lined up on the track to make it move. Any suggestions on how to do it easier?? it also stops at random places too.

[NarrowMinded]

First you could buy a re railing section of track these look like road crossing help a little, there are also railing ramps made for this, they look sort of like a flat funnel and set on top of the track to allow you to "funnel" them down onto the track.

I think a little practice is all you will need though and it will get easier to rail them.

Check all your track connections. The stopping and starting is likely due to dirty track and or a locomotive that needs a little maintenance, lube the locomotive and clean the wheels, clean your track with a cloth and some alcohol if you have it.  lube your
loco with some model train lube if you have it, if you don't I suggest going to your local hobby shop (take your loco with you) buy some plastic safe lube.

Hope this helps Other will likely chime in as well


Nm-Jeff

[Doneldon]

keep-

If you can't get the locomotive on track even with care it could be you either have some wheelsets (two wheels and their axle) which are out of gauge or leading or trailing trucks (if the lokie is a steamer) which are binding, misaligned or incorrectly loaded.
                                                                                                                                                             -- D

[blwfish]

Do the lights flicker or go out when the locomotive stops?  If so, you've almost certainly got dirty track, dirty wheels, or both. The track is pretty easy to address: there are cleaning bars (one is called "Bright Boy") that are specifically intended to clean track. I'm assuming you don't have some enormous amount of track. If you don't want to spend the $6 or so for the Bright Boy, you can probably get by with some really fine emery paper - you just need to clean oxidation and perhaps sticky junk off the rails.  That often does the trick.  If not, check the wheels. They're a bit harder because you have to get the whole wheel tread.  Some contact cleaner usually does the trick there, using a Q-tip or something similar.

If the lights stay on and don't flicker when the locomotive stops, you probably have a mechanism that's binding internally for one reason or another, and that could be a more involved problem. If it's really old, there's a good chance that it just needs some lubrication.