I have my family's Lionel 027 Babe Ruth set with the 1666 2-6-2 engine, plus over a 100 ft of additional track, 5 sets of switches, and crossings I added from the Red Caboose's Lionel redealer over the years. My wife lets me and the children take over the living room floor for a month every Christmas. This year it was sluggish when I set it up. Tested the 1041 transformer and only got 15v, not 18v. Borrowed a reconditioned 1041. Tested 16v like it is rated for and increased the train performance by 9% - better but still not up to par. So it looks like something happened to the 1041 in storage since last year. No one will touch the transformer. Looking for ideas.
BTW, I keep the train cleaned and lubricated and shop it for repairs as needed (pickup shoes, reverser unit,etc). Also keep the rails clean. Also use lockons every few joints. My transformers test was performed on a 72 in circle with only the transformers swapped to eliminate other influences.
