Electrical issues with my guard Graves track?

Please provide some more detail of exactly what the problem is?  I'm not certain what "electrical spots" are.  Also when running command engines I would not be putting more than 18 VAC out on the rails.

Are the spots you are referring to arcing between the rollers and the track?

 I agree with TSTART ,Looks to me like a poor connection between the center rail and pick up rollers. Rollers may need cleaning and a lube job along with the track.... You could cut the voltage down a tab... good luck.

You might look at the uncoupling tabs on the cars. the "thumbtack" types can be hitting the center rail. Also, some of the K-Line aluminum passenger cars did this on the uncoupling flaps. Turn your cars over and look for spark marks on the trucks and couplers.

Be careful,at 20 volts you're going to beat your turnouts to death.

There are a lot of things which could be going wrong. Make sure the most basic functions work first. Before worrying about DCS, see if you can run an engine in conventional at low speed without stalling, or at least push an illuminated car along the track without it flickering a lot. If not, clean the track again; I have always found that new gargraves needs a vigorous cleaning.

As for derailing on curves, again, that could be a lot of things. What derails? A steam engine has a long rigid wheelbase: if that is derailing you likely have a kink, or an uneven roadbed which makes one rail higher than the other. If it is cars which are derailing, it might be a gauge problem--possibly the rails spread apart a little when you were bending them. If it happens only on one or two cars, the wheels on the car might not be quite far enough apart on the axle (can easily happen on postwar cars due to wear).

Thanks all, jerry 

Hi all,

The spots are arching spots and are burning into the tracks.

Thanks for the replies , jerry 

How did you paint the track? It could be the track is shorting out because of excess paint contacting two rails(center rail and an outside rail) and making electrical connection. Or you used a conductive paint without knowing about it.

Lee Fritz

Jerry, 

I think you have all the answers already given in the replies above:

-Clean the track over and over and over.

-Lower the Voltage on your ZW to somewhere around 18V. 

-inspect the pickup rollers on your engines to ensure they are clean and oil as needed.

If those items don't cure the issue, report back to us.

Will do!

Much thanks again, Jerry

I have found that left alone Gargraves track can oxidize a bit allowing poor roller pickup continuity.  I staple a section of fine emery cloth on a small block of wood and rub the tracks with it a couple of times. On areas in the rear of the layout, in order to reach there, I attach the sanding block to a long piece of wood. That has cured the problem.

Thanks all again,

Jerry