Help with Track Powered Coaches

[Alex Butner]

 I have found out that my track powered coaches produce horrible drag, how could this be fixed without ruining the lights?

[Kevin Strong]

The easiest method would be to replace the wheels with ball-bearing wheelsets that have electrical pick-ups on them. Check Accucraft and LGB, though there may be others, too. Then you'd just remove the Bachmann pick-ups, then take the wires and solder them instead to the pick-up tabs on the new wheelsets.

The other option would be to use batteries, but that negates the whole "track power" part of the equation.

Later,

K

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Alex,

The electrical pickups are a drag on your passenger car wheels.

The lights are an extra load (drain) on your power pack.

When you are stopped in the station, your lights are out. 

Have you considered removing the pickups and using battery powered golden white LEDs instead?

http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=10245&p=2

(Scroll down until a familiar name is seen...)

The quotes for AA Alkaline batteries in that thread are 13 cents each. 

I have recently purchased off-brand AA Alkaline batteries for a little over 5 cents each after rebate.

Hope this helps. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

[Udo]

Hello Alex,
try to reduce the power which the power connections bring to the wheels by bending them a little away.
I also lubricated the pick ups with conductive grease. That helps a little to reduce the draft.
The best way, as mentioned in the other answer is to use LGB (or similar) ball bearing axles.
Accucraft will be difficult, because the axle diameter is 4mm. Bachmann and LGB use 3mm axles.
In my J&S coaches (from kit) I use function decoders to switch the light (2X inside, platform and furnace flicker).
Additional I have connected the cars with a 2-pole plug. So all the cars together use the power pick up from each other.
The full baggage also got light. There I used the LGB pickups (with coal brushes) on two axles. There is a provision in the trucks to do it easy. But only for one axle of each truck.
May be later I will change to LGB ball bearing axles. I have one caboose (kit) with four of this axles.
There the draft is really close to zero. That car runs away on the slightest decline.

Hope this helps,

Udo