Thank you.  You guys made some great suggestions...as always.

Most are hoppers and I don't think that the long screw option (or securing them with a nut) will work for them. 

There were just the wrong sized screws...like small wood screws.  They were too thick in diameter and about 5/8" long.

If your engine is hitting a dirty section of track rail, that could be the cause.

Try cleaning your tracks and your engine wheels on your DCC engine first (actually the wheels on all engines should be cleaned regularly).  DCC engines can be a little less forgiving than DC engines when it comes to drawing power from a track if the wheels or track rails are dirty. 

I live in Los Angeles and would like to go.  Where are they going to be and when?

I hope I'm not too late...

Quote from: marti091 on January 24, 2010, 09:02:41 PM
What type of decoder works well on E-Z command. Thanks

I use an EZ-Command DCC setup and I have used Digitrax DCC decoders with all of my Atlas engines...and I have about 10  of them.  They are very easy to install and no problems. 

You can get your decoders pretty cheaply from Tony's Trains.  I bought all of my DCC decoders for my Atlas and Athearn engines from them.  Try their web site...it's easy to find.  They have an excellent and easy to use DCC decoder selection guide for Digitrax DCC decoders for all types of DC or DCC-compatible engines, including Atlas.  If you own several engines, they give you a discount if you buy 4 of more.

Digitrax decoders have very easy to follow instructions for installation.

I currently am in the process of trying to repair several old Athearn freight cars that were given to me, but I need some information first to see if my idea is doable.  The bodies of the freight cars are in excellent shape and this is why I want to salvage them.   There are 8 cars, so it would make the effort worthwhile.     

What needs to be repaired is that screws that were too large were  originally used to secure the trucks...resulting in trucks that did not swivel as smoothly as they would have had the proper screws been used in the first place.  The holes for the screws (in the bottom of the plastic body of the freight cars) are now too large to use the proper screws that you can get from Athearn, Accurail, etc. 

The idea that I want to try is to fill the screw holes for the trucks with some kind of plastic filler or sealant and then drill out the holes again with the proper sized drill bit. Using the right screws, I can then secure the trucks and will have some good freight cars that I can use.

I have a couple of questions:

(1) what type of plastic are Athearn cars made out of?  I want to use something that will adhere and bond to the plastic inside the holes than I can then re-drill.

(2) does anyone have any suggestion as to what type of filler that I should use?  Epoxy...or what?

If (after you clean the wheels and track) your loco is running but it seems like it is not getting enough power, then the issue may be the size of your layout and the fact that you only have one terminal input from your EZ-Command control system running to your track.  I use the EZ-Command control setup (with Bachmann's 5 amp booster) with EZ-track and I have a very large layout (3 tracks connected by multiple switches covering 5'x9' and 6'x10' in an "L" shape).  This was an issue that I had and the people in this discussion group led me through the whole process of how to wire and install multiple terminals.  I wound up installing TEN terminal inputs.  It wasn't hard at all.

The title of the post was "I Think I May Not Have Enough Power for My Layout" by me (BradKT) and the dates of the posts and replies run from 4/15/09 thru 4/24/09.  It is is the General Discussion section of this site.

If you need to go this route, the entire discussion and the various replies will show you everything that you need to do.  The discussion group really gave me some excellent support with everything.

I suspect that what the other posters have said will solve your particular problem, but, if not, you need to read this entire discussion thread...especially if you have a large DCC layout and intend to run multiple trains.

Find it from a supplier on the internet.

If you have a second HO engine or if a friend has one, try it on your track to see if your issue is the power supply or the engine itself.  If the second engine doesn't work, then you know that the issue is your power supply...which probably means the connections between the power pack and the track aren't correct (it could also be the power pack, which is far less likely).  If second engine does work, then the issue is your engine.

Robert:

HO scale.  The layout itself is an a "L" shape (9' x 5' on the left side and 14' x 6' on the other, with an access hatch).  There are 3 tracks.  The outer and middle tracks go around the shape of the "L" and in the rear of the layout the outer track is elevated.   The outer track curves are 28" and the middle track curves are 22."  The inner track is a large oval about 11 feet in length with 18" curves.  All three tracks are connected by switches (#6 turnouts), which allow trains to be switched back and forth between tracks (there are two turnouts at each location so the trains can be switched off of one track and onto the other...each set of two turnouts is wired into and controlled by a single Atlas switch).  All of the turnouts are powered by a separate DC transformer (also Atlas).    There is a siding and small rail yard in the middle rear of the inner oval track.  The 24" square access hatch is located inside of and on the left end of the inner oval track.  Two more lines come off the siding to the small rail yard and engine house (these are #5 turnouts).  At the front of the layout (where the controls are located), there is another siding coming off the outer track (#5 turnout), which is to allow cars to be placed on and taken off of the track.

There are some pics posted on page 4 of the photobucket site that show the track layout.
 
I had previously forgotten to add that there three sets of manually operated diesel horns that are also installed.  Once any of the 3 switches switch is turned on, the horn(s) operates on a continuous loop until I turn it off.  Each of the 3 horns gives the dash-dash-dot-dash signal that the train is approaching a crossing.

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season and wish all of you the best.

To all of you good people who have really helped me over the last almost 2 years to resolve a variety of issues, I have decided to update you on my layout so you can see the payoff...and the latest progress that I have made.

The last of the structures (the passenger station/freight depot and truck-rail facility) and the Tomar RR crossing signals at the two street crossings have finally been installed.  They came out great and make for a really realistic-looking layout.

I have posted a number of new pics at the following site:

http://s584.photobucket.com/albums/ss284/BradKT/

For those who wish to visit the site and who have not seen the earlier pics that I posted, they are there also and there are approximately 185 pics posted at the site.

To reiterate for those of who who have not seen the earlier pics that I posted, the basic theme is an industrial park, with oil refinery complex (Conoco oil refinery, storage tanks, natural gas unloading facility and tanker truck loading facility), rail yard, fire station, engine house (with overhead crane, passenger car washing station and diesel locomotive refueling station), cement plant, gas station, warehouse, construction equipment rental company, bus terminal, taxi stand, passenger station/freight depot  and truck-rail facility.

The locale is either central or Southern California...in the eastern part of the state.  The time frame is the early to mid-1970s.  The flags that I run are Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Denver and Rio Grande Western and Santa Fe.

This is still a work in progress.  I still have to do the following:

1:  wire the street lights, wire the traffic light and getting the RR crossing signals working right; and
2.  install the background around the 3 outer edges of the L-shaped layout.

Yampa Bob took the time to teach me how re-size the files and how to post these images and they are a manageable size so they won't slow down your computer trying to load them.

I hope you enjoy what you see.  This has been a fun project and I couldn't have done anything near this quality had it not been for the contributions, cautionary notes and suggestions that so many of you have made.

Once again, thank you everyone.  There is a part of all of you in this layout.  Enjoy.

I had a major problem with screwing EZ-track down on my layout (or using small nails).  The problem that is created...especially on curves and near turnouts...is that the base of the trackbed is not solid and can easily be depressed, resulting in an unevenly laid layout track.  This will cause derailments on curves...and sometimes on straights...especially for the longer engines like SD-45s, 50" or longer cars, such as passenger cars, 50' box cars, gondolas and flat cars).

Learn from my experience.  I used wood glue instead and had no further problems that were related to this issue.  Wood glue is white and dries clear.  If you have to take up some of the track later, all you have to do is to break the seal between trackbed and plywood with a sharp knife.  The track easily comes right up.

My suggestion is to layout the track on your plywood first and get the exact track configuration that you want and then glue it down.

Robert:

I saw the pics.  This fix on the turnouts looks easy...and it is so logical and it looks so simple! 

I am confident that it will solve my derailment problem 

Thank you.

My e-mail address is Bradfordtalamon@att.net.

Yampa Bob helped me a number of times with my layout and I am very much in his debt.  He also taught me how to size and post my layout pics on Photobucket. 

My very best wishes to him...and yes, I miss him, too.

If anyone hears from him, please extend my regards and best wishes.