train stutters and stops

[darthraven]

I am assuming my problem is resulting from loose rail joiners, causing spotty electrical stability.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Franz T]

could also bee dirty track (especially if ALL locomotives exhibit that behavior), or bad contact somewhere in the locomotive (if only one does). The easiest fix is thoroughly cleaning the track . . I would try that first.

[darthraven]

Brand new track and loco,  I have cleaned it with 70% alcohol both track and wheels ( by putting alcohol on a paper towel and setting it on the track holding the loco while running it on it).

[Jerrys HO]

darth

If it is EZ Track  run your loco as slow as you can, it should stop where you say it is stuttering. At that point start with the closest rail joiners and either push or lift the track a little. If the loco starts to move squeeze that rail joiner tighter, if it does not move proceed to next joiner till you find the problem. I had the same problem and found one joiner loose 2 ft. away from where it stopped.

Hope this helps

Jerry

[darthraven]

It is atlas track code 55 though I imagine the same thing would work.  This is pretty much what I figured, though I wondered if it would be better to solder the joiners as opposed to crimping them some?

[skipgear]

What engine? It matters with C55. If the flanges are oversized it will do exactly as you describe.

[Rockdweller]

What engine? It matters with C55. If the flanges are oversized it will do exactly as you describe.

exactly what I was thinking, trains flanges runs on trackbed and loses full contact with the rails - result power/no-power etc.
As much as code55 looks more realistic it can cause various problems that you have to be aware of...

Have you got any regular code80 track? run the train on that and if the problem goes away - well its not the train intself, its the wheels needing to be "code55 friendly"..

[darthraven]

it is a Bachmann 2-6-2 and as I watch it it does not hit the trackbed.  If I speed it up it will make it around the track with just light stutters.



http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=804

[skipgear]

The wiper springs on the drawbar have come unsoldered and the tender is not helping with pickup. The wires are not maintaining tension. Pull the tender drawbar off and hit the two little feeler wires with a little solder where they are attached to the drawbar, making sure that they are pointed together slightly to add some more spring tension to them when connected to the loco.

[darthraven]

it appears to be tight here but I will add some solder to be sure.  That won't void my warranty will it?

[skipgear]

If the drawbar is OK, it just may need some run time. I don't consider performance on steam loco until an hour or better break in time. If it doesn't clear up by that amount of running, then I start tinkering.

[darthraven]

Total run time has been maybe 15 mins.  it was stuttering so I assumed I had an electrical stability issue and stopped it.  If it was HO I would have just soldered it first but this is a bit more daunting on N.

[Clovis-73]

I also have a Bachmann 2-6-2, and run it on Kato unitrack. It stalls on the 15 degree crossing. At the suggestion of a power user on the Whistle Post website forum, I added track feeders to all arms of the crossing. My Atlas GP30 crosses over without hesitation, but my 2-6-2 stalls every time. I don't understand the suggestions above, regarding enhancing the pickup ability of the locomotive. As info, my locomotive was bought new, in its original box, item no.51551, UP #1836.
Thanks,
Jim

[Clovis-73]

I understand from other posts that the slope-back tender would fit the 2-6-2 and has pick-up on both trucks? Are there any modifications needed to fit this tender to the 2-6-2?

[Clovis-73]

I just spoke with Bachmann Parts Dept who spoke with the technicians regarding the 2-6-2 tender and inadequate pickup. They advised that this was the design and it should be sufficient to have the tender pick up current from the front truck alone. So, as we know, this is not always the case.

He also advised that the slope back tender has the same design and only has pickup from the front truck.

After reading a number of posts on the subject, I'm not sure about my next step.

1) Is there a way to enhance the eectrical pickup of the 2-6-2 and Medium tender as is?
2) What can I do to ensure that the drawbar is correctly picking up the electricity from the front tender truck? It appears from a previous post in the forum, that there is a solder joint on the drawbar - I see that. This join is on the top of the drawbar and the whiskers are on the bottom.

Sorry if these questions have been answered before - I'm not knowledgeable about locomotives and pickups, etc.

Thanks,

Jim