Here are the symptoms - what is the illness?

I would say your powered unit needs a good cleaning and lubrication. This would include cleaning of motor and wheels. When have you performed maintenance on it last?

TEX
Steve

quote:

Originally posted by TexSpecial:
I would say your powered unit needs a good cleaning and lubrication. This would include cleaning of motor and wheels. When have you performed maintenance on it last?

TEX
Steve

The same thing happens regardless of which engine I select...

Michael,
Try cleaning your tracks and see what happens, also if you have some switches make sure they are making good tight contact.
PCRR/Dave

Michael, try connecting power to another part of track circle and see if it changes where engine slows down. Another idea is to run a second wire and connect half way around track.

TEX
Steve

If it happens to all trains you might have an overloading transformer, what size wire, how many wire drops to track, loose track, check to see if any track is getting hot.

Rod

quote:

Originally posted by TexSpecial:
Michael, try connecting power to another part of track circle and see if it changes where engine slows down. Another idea is to run a second wire and connect half way around track.

TEX
Steve

Thanks Tex. I have it connected in 3 places.

quote:

Originally posted by NROD:
If it happens to all trains you might have an overloading transformer, what size wire, how many wire drops to track, loose track, check to see if any track is getting hot.

Rod

Will do.

quote:

Originally posted by Pine Creek Railroad:
Michael,
Try cleaning your tracks and see what happens, also if you have some switches make sure they are making good tight contact.
PCRR/Dave

I'll try this too....

If it's a Pul-Mor motor, the problem is likely carbon build-up between the motor poles (the gaps between the armature coils.) What happens is as you run the engine, carbon dust from the brushes collect in these spaces and conducts electricity after time. As the motor heats up, the resistance increases and more of the current flows through the armature. To clean this, get a toothpick and scrape the carbon out, then swab the area with contact cleaner, alcohol, or TV tuner cleaner. The motor should run fine. You don't even have to take the motor apart or remove the brushes to fix it.

Based on previous experiences, you have too much resistance in either your rails or your connections, or both.

Since its a loop, you would need 2 bad connections - lesson I learned from slot cars. What I would do is split the track at the point farthest from the transformer and try to find where the problem got really bad; there should be two places, unless the farthest was the problem.

Or, its as simple as you have too many pieces of track connected, which in that case, feeders are needed.

Since engines can have varying current draw, and, they move, a good tool is a caboose with a light, a plain old light, no LED, and just move the car along looking for a change in brightness. Bonus if it smokes, more current.

A voltmeter can help.

And if you are looking for a problem, check the center rail joiner first, since there's only one of them, but if FastTrack doesn't have a connection between the outer rails, it could be more like to have a problem.

I use 36" and 40" sections where possible, and use 12 or 14 gauge THHN for feeder wires.

You didn't say what you are using for a power supply. Does the power supply have "Momentum" built in and you have it turned on?

Sounds to me like you are down in the basement or out in the garage in 50 degree room and it takes that long for the moving parts to warm up all that gunk.
Pretty much happens to to me getting up at night to take a pee.I return under the blankets faster than when I woke up!

Which transformer are you using?

quote:

Originally posted by Hugh Laubis:
Sounds to me like you are down in the basement or out in the garage in 50 degree room and it takes that long for the moving parts to warm up all that gunk.
Pretty much happens to to me getting up at night to take a pee. I return under the blankets faster than when I woke up!

Hugh, I think you have solved the problem on this topic. I agree it takes a train's parts a while to get moving during cold weather, just like a cold car is slow to start. Unlike machines, we are fortunate as humans to be able to quickly find our way to get out of the cold and into a warm bed after a p**. Maybe if we took our trains to bed with us on a cold night, they would run better in the morning. You will see an example of this in a picture on page 178 in Ron Hollander's book "All Aboard". However, if you sleep with your wife at night, this procedure is not applicable.

quote:

Originally posted by rogruth:
Which transformer are you using?

Z-1000's (one per loop)

quote:

Originally posted by Mike McNally:

quote:

Originally posted by Hugh Laubis:
Sounds to me like you are down in the basement or out in the garage in 50 degree room and it takes that long for the moving parts to warm up all that gunk.
Pretty much happens to to me getting up at night to take a pee. I return under the blankets faster than when I woke up!

Hugh, I think you have solved the problem on this topic. I agree it takes a train's parts a while to get moving during cold weather, just like a cold car is slow to start. Unlike machines, we are fortunate as humans to be able to quickly find our way to get out of the cold and into a warm bed after a p**. Maybe if we took our trains to bed with us on a cold night, they would run better in the morning. You will see an example of this in a picture on page 178 in Ron Hollander's book "All Aboard". However, if you sleep with your wife at night, this procedure is not applicable.

They are upstairs in an empty bedroom. It is cooler and not that cold. And the humidity is perfect. I have tried sleeping with my EM-1 but the tender keeps poking my wife in the back and she doesn't like it!

quote:

Originally posted by rogruth:
Which transformer are you using?

Z-1000's

quote:

Originally posted by pgbsr:
You didn't say what you are using for a power supply. Does the power supply have "Momentum" built in and you have it turned on?

No momentum!

Try taking a hair dryer and warming it up (bottom) before trying it!

quote:

but the tender keeps poking my wife in the back and she doesn't like it!

I've never heard it called that.

quote:

Originally posted by Rail Reading:

quote:

but the tender keeps poking my wife in the back and she doesn't like it!

I've never heard it called that.

Out of context R-R!

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hokkanen:

quote:

Originally posted by Rail Reading:

quote:

but the tender keeps poking my wife in the back and she doesn't like it!

I've never heard it called that.

Out of context R-R!

Sigh, if I could get my wife anywhere near that interested in trains...