Running a TMCC Lionel GG-1 on 0-36 fasttrack

Not at all, that semi-scale GG1 should run on O31 curves, that's what it's rated for.  I'm not sure you're seeing binding, the Pulmore motors just don't run slow that reliably, especially with the antique electronics in that set.

I had much better luck running a two-motored Pulmore engines at slow speeds with the ERR AC Commander and using the 100 speed steps.  This is the Lionel Phantom that I upgraded with the AC Commander and added a second motor to.

Doing complete maintenance on the motors and trucks will certainly help.  Lube everything, clean the motor commutators and brushes.  Replace the brushes if they look mothy.

Thanks for the response.   Will see what I can do when I open it up.   Will take it over to Hennings if I can't get it right.    Will stop in at the club as well.   Only about 40 minutes away  from me in Upper Makefield.   That is quite a train!  looked up the mysterious history of the train associated with the Pratts Hallow Design Society.   Quite a mystery.   I am a real fan of art deco.   This is quite an expression of that design.

If the slowing is really pronounced, then I agree that your loco would benefit from some mechanical attention.  However, none of the Pullmor-motored locos will crawl along at Legacy single-digit speeds.

If you really need Legacy-like performance on O36 curves, you might look for a LionChief Plus 2.0 GG1 to put at the head of your passenger train.  MTH also made several production runs of RailKing GG1s in the traditional size with PS2 and PS3.  My $.02.

@HJS posted:

Thanks for the response.   Will see what I can do when I open it up.   Will take it over to Hennings if I can't get it right.    Will stop in at the club as well.   Only about 40 minutes away  from me in Upper Makefield.   That is quite a train!  looked up the mysterious history of the train associated with the Pratts Hallow Design Society.   Quite a mystery.   I am a real fan of art deco.   This is quite an expression of that design.

The Phantom is a fun departure from all the "standard" stuff.

I agree with Ted, if you're looking for smooth running and constant speed around the whole layout, the LC+ 2.0 or MTH Railking semi-scale command models have DC motors and cruise control.  I'm not entirely sure why, but my Frankenstein Phantom motor/driver update runs better at low speeds than any of the other Pulmore motored diesels I've ran here.  I actually only have still a handful of engines with the open frame AC motors, but a lot of them have cycled through here over the years.

One mistake I made building my current layout was not having at least one loop with tighter curves so I could test stuff like this.  After having stuff as small as a little O27 based layout I went for O72 and larger for all the trackwork.  Trains run great here, but I can't really evaluate issues like you're having as I simply don't have any testing setup for those problems.