What brand of turnouts are you using..?? The only ones I know that don't require some form of ground throw are Pecos, and maybe ME's. All others require some form of throwing the turnout and keeping the points tight against the stock rails. I believe Atlas turnouts might also come with those awful turn-out throws, but not sure since it's been ages since I used them. If you want to use manual throws, the Caboose Industries', which I use for the turnouts that are "reachable", are very good, otherwise some of the solenoid or motorized machines will do the job. They will also require the use of a power supply, and electrical switches to operate.

The problem with your turnouts is probably due to the fact that the NMRA standards are rather vague on Turnout dimensions. In addition, there are manufacturing tolerances that can "stack up." The only turnouts that meet NMRA standards of conformance are those built by Fast Tracks jigs or those from the Proto87 stores. 100% of the turnouts manufactured by other manufacturers miss somewhere! Furthermore, even if the turnouts should meet mechanical standards, unless you solder a drop to each of the points to carry power, and tie the points into the appropriate stock rail, you end up with your electrical connection entirely dependant on a tiny tip of the very end of the points making contact with the stock rail to power the points. The least little bit of corrosion, dirt, or lack of contact at a spot of minimal contact surface will result in the switch being dead on one side from the points all the way through the frog!

I am using the older(Non DCC-friendly) Walthers Turnouts, But I will be sure to build all future layouts with Pecos

I am starting to think that my tracks may not be as clean as I thought, since the engine runs fine over newer sections of track.
What's a good way to clean track?

Justinmiller171 Wrote:I am using the older(Non DCC-friendly) Walthers Turnouts, But I will be sure to build all future layouts with Pecos

I am starting to think that my tracks may not be as clean as I thought, since the engine runs fine over newer sections of track.
What's a good way to clean track?

Please see my post, a few days ago. you may have overlooked it. :-) (at the bottom of page 18 of this thread)

You need something that is not too aggressive, but has good degreasing capabilities.
The friendliest is good old washing up liquid, heavily diluted of course (say a tablespoon in half a gallon of water), dip in a rag, and wipe the rails with this.
A bit more agressive is the use of 90% alcohol, but you need to be in a well ventilated space! And as with any chemical, read the safety precautions etc.! Again, put some on a rag, and wipe the rails.
There's probably also dedicated rail cleaners, but they are probably based on similar isopropyl alcohol.
You can also use some nail polish remover, which is acetone based in many cases, this will also work fine, again use on a rag.

Koos

Yeah! I fixed it!!!

I took the wheel covers off for a second time, this time I looked a little bit closer and I saw a few bundles of hair and grease wedged into the center of some of the wheels, I was able to pull them out with a small stick and now the engine runs perfect!

Now I will finally be able to run some ops sessions without the engine dying.

Thanks for all of the help!

Justinmiller171 Wrote:Yeah! I fixed it!!!

I took the wheel covers off for a second time, this time I looked a little bit closer and I saw a few bundles of hair and grease wedged into the center of some of the wheels, I was able to pull them out with a small stick and now the engine runs perfect!

Now I will finally be able to run some ops sessions without the engine dying.

Thanks for all of the help!

That's good news Justin, but I'd still advise you do do a cleaning session of your track, loco and rolling stock wheels.
Otherwise, you'll be looking at the same problems in a few weeks time. You've got to think about where that hair and grease came from, there's bound to be more around, a good clean only takes half an hour or so, and you'll have a smooth running layout as a result. A bit of a clean up is not a luxury, I do it regularly, made it a habbit, and it pays off.

Koos

Glad you found and solved the problem Justin!

Do you have a cat or dog in the house? I know that around here, I often find Yorkie hair in places where she hasn't been (prefers the upstairs to my Man Cave), but those hairs will be on you and are easily transferred to whatever you're working on. Keep your eyes peeled and like Koos said - clean the track and wheels often.

I am heading to the National Train Show in Sacramento on Saturday, I have about $70 of spending money and I am wondering what I should get?
I am going to get a couple of books by Tony Koester, "Planning Scenery for Your Model Railroad" and "Realistic Model Railroad Design", That still Leaves me with about $30.

So what should I get?

I'm betting you're going to get so distracted by all the goodies on offer, that you'll end up not buying the books, and end up buying a loco of some sort in the sales or whatever, guided by the heart, not the head :-) LOL !

torikoos Wrote:I'm betting you're going to get so distracted by all the goodies on offer, that you'll end up not buying the books, and end up buying a loco of some sort in the sales or whatever, guided by the heart, not the head :-) LOL !

LOL!!! That's probably true.

Anybody Here going to make it to the National Train Show?

I've read elsewhere that you had a great day at the trainshow, meeting Tony Koester etc. Glad you had a great day indeed! However, I'm even more impressed with the restraint you've managed to show, not buying locos etc, stuff you didn't really need, but would have wanted. Instead you bought what you came for, and had some spare cash for a freight car. I myself, like many others, would have faltered and bought locos and other goodies that I didn't need, but pure lust would have taken over... Sometimes I'm glad that these huge train shows are half a world a way for me , literally.

Enjoy your books!

Koos

:x .... My NW-2 still isn't running that great, The tracks are still dirty, and I can't seem to file down those solder lumps on my tracks, Now I realize I should of built a smaller layout

Justinmiller171 Wrote::x .... My NW-2 still isn't running that great, The tracks are still dirty, and I can't seem to file down those solder lumps on my tracks, Now I realize I should of built a smaller layout

Justin;

Are you running any cars that still have plastic wheels? They will keep your track dirty, as they accumulate dirt on them and spread it around on your track. If you do, I'd suggest replacing all the wheels sets with the appropriate size metal wheels and also try cleaning your track with alcohol. Using abrasive track cleaners like the good old Brightboy creates minute scratches on the rail, which in turn accumulate dirt and so forth.

I've only cleaned the track on my layout (which is just temporarily in place at the moment) one time after I got the track laid and it has remained clean. Wiping your finger over the rail shows no size of any dirt or oil on the track.

I'd think long and hard about soldering all your rail joints. Although some will recommend that, it's a bad idea for many reasons. I made that mistake once and won't repeat it. The only places that I'd solder rail joints would be on flex track in a curve and where short sections need to be spliced on to a longer length of track. Otherwise, it's a power feeder to every turnout and section of track.

As for the places where you have soldered the joints and have bumps, get an inexpensive set of jewelers files and you should be able to smooth them out.

Sure can't figure out why you are having problems with your NW-2. Mine ran really smooth right out of the box and continues to do so. Just can't get the engine rev's to match the prototype, but it's a great running locomotive and I can't wait to get it painted in that L&N Rebel paint!

Justin, one point that Joe Fugate made in his clinic on getting our trains to run reliably is that he had the "gunk" he wiped off his tracks chemically analyzed and the company doing the testing found a significant amount of plastic. He made it a priority to replace the plastic wheel sets with metal.

He also cleans his track with mineral spirits (paint thinner) and leaves a thin film on the rails. He suggested for those who think that track is better if dry that you run your train with the lights turned out at night, and watch the "spark show" put out by your locomotives and any cars with track powered lighting. Then put down a thin film of mineral spirits, and try it again and see how the sparking disappears. Each spark makes a small pit in your loco wheels and on that spot on the rail. This is why the thread started testing the use of Whal oil on tracks worked. Basically any thin viscosity oil will work to reduce arcing and pitting.

Russ Bellinis Wrote:Justin, one point that Joe Fugate made in his clinic on getting our trains to run reliably is that he had the "gunk" he wiped off his tracks chemically analyzed and the company doing the testing found a significant amount of plastic. He made it a priority to replace the plastic wheel sets with metal.

Thats a good idea, I have lots of cars from Athearn and Roundhouse kits, Which all use Metal Wheels, This may also be a good excuse to switch to Semi-Scale wheels