Train slows

Is this the only one doing that?  Is it the same spot everytime?  You might have a voltage drop there and need another power drop.

same spot, Me thinks its dirty track? "Power Drop"?

Power drop is due to loss of power at the track connections and the length of the track away from the transformer. To over come this you must add an extra set of power wires from the transformer every three to four feet or sometimes every four to six sections of track.

No matter how tight you may get the track pins there is always a very small power loss. One way to overcome this problem is to solder your track connections, but is time consuming with a large track layout.

 

Lee Fritz

Pull the tracks apart at the affected area, pull the track pins out and clean them if they are dirty or corroded. Then squeeze the web of the rails tight so that the pins are a snug fit and try again. Additional lockons can be added as suggested, especially on larger layouts.

 

Larry

I, too, have experienced this phenomenon.  The most effective cure for this is to run a buss wire underneath the entire platform  just below where the track on top is located.  Then you tap into that buss wire every three or four feet to connect feeder wires that will go to sections of your track via lock-ons or by soldering to the track.  Make sure that the feeder wires are consistently tapped into the appropriate portion of the buss wire (either hot or neutral) and attached to the appropriate terminal of the lock-on so that all the tap-in connections are the same.  You don't want a neutral feeder wire going to the hot terminal of a lock-on and then on another part of the layout having that neutral wire connection going to a neutral wire terminal.  Everything must be consistent for proper phasing.  You will find that transformer power will be applied more uniformly across your entire track scheme with this system.  Also, as mentioned on here, make certain that your track pins are clean, tight, and secure and push the sections together as much as possible.  I use a small emery board to take off any rust and apply some electrician's grease on the pins to make them easier to insert in the succeeding track section as well as improve conductivity.  The time you spend doing this will make your train run much smoother and eliminate frustration.  Good luck!

Check your center rail insulators too. Only once, but I had a short there, But it never shorted 100% for months, just slowed, and blew tmcc whistles. I found it cause it got hot, and I put my hand right on it.

All of the above are good suggestions and most likely will fix your problem.

For future queries somethings that would help trouble shoot is providing more information. For instance in this situation if you are running  on O27 track with a post war engine you may notice a considerable slowdown of the train as it goes into the tight curves and then speeds up when it enters the straight away. In this case adding a power drop or lockon in the middle of the curve may help.

Good luck and hope you have a lot of fun.

Well, I cleaned the track, I moved the power source. I replaced the track in the area where it slows down. Still does it. I noticed while looking at the locomotive there is only one wheel that has the rubber band on it, is there supposed to be more than one?

 I am new to this so pardon me I don't know the lingo.

Generally there should be two wheels with rubber bands on them.  I don't think this would contribute to the slowing though.  Have you added a power drop there, or another lockon if this is tubular track?

.....

Dennis

No I have not, I will purchase one. I did notice tho that the rubber band is somewhat loose. I wonder if that may be the issue as well.

The traction tire should be replaced if it is loose.

Any other drive wheel that would have a traction tire would have a groove in it for the tire to fit in.

 

Try running the train in the opposite direction than you normally do (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and see if the problem occurs in the same place on your layout. Also check to see that the part of the layout in question is slightly elevated in reference to the rest of the layout.

 

What locomotive do you have, cab #, product code, etc.

 

Larry

Lionel 8604 "Wabash" The traction tire is that a universal type?

I tried to change direction same problem.

The traction tire part number looks like 242-206.

Are you sure that your layout is not on a slight incline? Try turning the complete layout around if you can and see if the problem follows the track or stays in the same physical place on the layout.

 

Larry

I will try to look at the slope
Thanks!