Code 55, Where Are You?

[scubadude]

I've spent the last few weeks laying track and wiring the T & A ,using Microengineering code 55 flex and turnouts. The track is laying on standard pink foam and WS foam roadbed. I've temporarily put nails in to secure it, will remove nails and glue and ballast once switch machines, etc are in place...

Wiring is 98% complete with one spur left to complete. I've got good current throughout according to meter...

The problem is the locos all seem to be having wheel contact issues randomly around the layout with a couple of consistent spots....if the engine stalls or gets sluggish, lights dim etc. if I put very slight pressure directly on the loco, or put light pressure on both rails with my fingers either directly in front or behind the engine, it will move on....

Do you think once I glue and ballast I can try to square up bad spots with a piece of plate glass pressing down on both rails, or some other way?

Should I pull up the WS foam roadbed and replace with a sturdier cork?

I knew this track was delicate, and thought I took care in laying it down....but maybe not so much.

Any thoughts are good ones...I've spent a lot of $$$$ on this track and 30 turnouts, but I'm not so sure I should replace it with a sturdier code 70 or even the oversized code 80, which was bullet proof on my last layout, but I wanted to get a little more prototypical...and besides this Microengineering is beautiful stuff...

[faraway]

I had similar symptoms on my layout after the last rebuild. It was caused by dirt on rails (a couple of consistent spots) and wheels (randomly around the layout). The tricky part was the kind of dirt. It was a lot of very robust but hard to see/find white glue etc. on wheels and tracks. I had to use the normally not recommended cleaning blocks to get the tracks back in line and run the engines on alcohol soaked fabric for quite a while.

Your concern about Microengineering code 55 flex being in general the cause looks very unlikely to me. The internet would be full with warnings and bad experience reports about a none reliable track system.

Good luck!

[Charlie B]

I swear by automatic transmission fluid. Put enough on each rail to spread on the entire circumference of a locomotive wheel and run it around several times. I am amazed at how well the trains will run with this little trick. First couple times around will be jerky, may even require a five finger pusher, but it will get better every lap if you have the same luck I have.
Charlie

[scubadude]

Reinhard, would you please explain what you mean by running the engines on alcohol soaked fabric? The problem occurs with all the engines I have tried...all of my motive power is new in box Atlas, Bachman and Kato .. All tested and run within the last year, but have not been run in a few months...Do you think the issue may be with the engines?

[BR60103]

Richard
The method usually means getting a paper towel or similar, cut a bit wider than the track, and soaking a strip with track cleaning fluid. Put over the track then put the loco on with one end on bare rails and the other on the towel. Hold the loco and turn on the power so that it rubs the wheels clean. You will have to move the loco back and forth a bit and probably shift the towel. Turn the loco around and repeat.
This only works with locos that have enough pickups to run from one end.
To clean car wheels, run them back and forth on the towel. You may have to manually clean stubborn bits of gunk.

[scubadude]

Great tips guys, I'm going to certainly give that a try as a matter of maintenance...even though the engines are all "new" they have only been run a few minutes at most each...

This may be just dumb luck, but I was sitting here drawing up some train stuff and took the old 2 nd grade pink pencil erasure all around the track and lo and behold it improved things 90%...I'm going to spend a little more time and do it again along with maybe the track cleaning fluid....

In the meantime, check out Scubadude's Most Excellent Track Cleaning System available soon on the interweb for the rock bottom price of $19.95............

[faraway]

Richard, this is my "wheel cleaning station".

A powered track and a fabric with alcohol. The right truck powers the unit and the left truck spins on the alcohol soaked fabric. You will be amazed about the black marks produced by brand new out of the box wheels.


ps. The back of old white "office shirts" is a perfect source for fabric.

[scubadude]

Wow, you are right...great tip I'll give it a go this weekend...