Loco behavior / Electrical question

[mlt1]

Noticed a peculiar thing tonight: Turned on the train this afternoon when I got home from work.  Needed more throttle to achieve the same speed as yesterday.  Later this evening, when it was dark, I turned on the train and watched it run in the dark (wanted to see the headlamp).  The light flickered and sometimes wasn't hardly lit at all.  Speed seemed a bit erratic.  Thought of running it backward (to assist in break-in per instructions) and guess what?  The engine ran and sounded smoother.  The headlamp (a 4-4-0 steamer) seemed to be more steadily lit.

Any thoughts or comments?     

Thanks.

mlt1

[Hunt]

  •   Wipe clean you track railheads with isopropyl alcohol.
  •   On the track, clean locomotive’s electrical pickup wheels by holding locomotive and spinning wheels on cloth, not paper towel, soaked with isopropyl alcohol.
  •   Wipe isopropyl alcohol residue from track with clean cloth.
  •   Spin locomotive wheels on clean cloth the remove isopropyl alcohol residue.
  •   Place very, very small amount of conductive contact lube on each metal driving wheel tread and electric pickup rub points.

Once you complete break-in running, properly lubricate the locomotive.

It is not uncommon to see some locomotives run better backward than forward, but you need to look for binding at all points that rub together.

[Jim Banner]

Some steamers have power pickups (little bronze fingers) that pick up power from the backs or rims of the wheels, after the wheels have picked up power from the rails.  If these get dirty, you will have the same bad effects that you get from dirty rails or wheels.  Generally it is the leading edges of the power pickups that get dirty.  But which edge is the leading edge depends on which way the locomotive is running.  This may explain why it ran better and the light seemed brighter and steadier running in reverse.

Using a magnefying glass, visually check the power pickups for fuzz balls and strands of hair.  If these are present, remove them with tweezers.  And don't forget what Hunt said - use a bit of conducting lube where the power pickups rub against the wheels.

[mlt1]

Thanks to both of you.

mlt1