10-10-2010, 01:32 PM
doctorwayne Wrote:Stein, check that the plugs between the loco and tender are fully seated - both the loco and tender pick up current, with the current from the loco going to the circuit board in the tender, then back to the loco. Tender pick-up is from one rail on one truck and from the opposite rail on the other.
If the wires between the tender and loco are not positioned properly, they can be a source of derailments, especially involving the lead tender truck. Since I run DC, I was able to replace the plugs entirely with a pair of wires running from the tender and the loco will now run even when the tender is not in place.
Good point - checked the plugs. They seem to be firmly seated. But the tender seems light - I just tried putting some lead on top of it (over the lead truck of the tender) as an experiment, and both electrical pickup and tracking seems to improve.
The RS-3 is pretty heavy - and that might be the secret to it's excellent electrical pickup and not being bothered by a little rough track work in spots.
I'll experiment a little more with it tomorrow - need to go to bed now - have to be up at 0500 hrs, and as Robin Williams put it in some movie : The Oh in Oh-five-hundred hours stands for "Oh my God - it's early" :-)
Grin,
Stein