[N] Help with new Model Power 4-6-2

"Ken Bessler"

Sadly, it's probably because it's Model Power.

If you want steam, then purchase Spectrum or P2K or, at a pinch, Athearn.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

"Roger T."

OOPS, sorry, didn't see the "N" scale. Ignore the above as I know nothing about "N" scale locos.

Well guys, I solved my own problem - for Google's sake, here's how:

Yesterday I finally finished track laying. After finishing, I started filling in the gaps in the ties between flex track sections with scrap ties but I ran out before I had filled in all the gaps. I thought I could just buy a piece of flex and scavange the ties from it but that seemed wastefull and I needed ties for track bumpers. The flex ties have holes under the rails so they would look like crap as crossed tie wheel stops.

So, I decided to buy some scale tie size strip wood, stain it & cut it to length. It would solve both problems. I looked at the stripwood and saw it was very smooth - too smooth. I would have to scratch it up so it would look like a tie. I immediatley thought of the 120 grit sand- paper I had at home. This was the same paper I had been cleaning my track and 4-6-2's wheels with.

Then it hit me - if 120 grit sandpaper can scratch wood, what was it doing to my track and poor engine? Gawd!

I went to the lumber store and bought some 400 grit wet/dry paper and cleaned everything again - the whole loco and all the track. Went through a bunch of the paper as it clogs up easy when used dry. After cleaning, I wiped off the surfaces with a t-shirt scrap. Pulled an amazing amount of gunk off the loco and the layout!

Now the engine runs almost perfectly - I ran it for 2 hours with a medium train behind it. It only would stall when crossing the point rails on some turnouts (Atlas code 55). Total amount of stalls was reduced by 98%. Every time it stalled, I could start it again by wiggling the mechanical turnout control a bit.

So, It's a picky engine but not hopeless. Clean everything with the right tool, have plenty of power drops, etc. I'm also gonna buy a bottle of goo gone and coat the track to protect it. I did a google search and discovered a contact enhancer called "DeoxIT'. I'll use this on the loco and the turnouts, both the point pivot contacts and where the points touch the stock rails.

I'd simply solder the points, bypassing the connection but I looked at how hard that would be for turnouts that are already installed and the fact that a small tube of DeoxIT is only $5. I'll try the DeoxIT first. There are a LOT of positive reviews about this stuff on Google so it must be good........

Ken

If you've used all nickel silver track, there's a very inexpensive way to improve your track cleaning: Silver Polish. I used some of that, and after me not being home for 4 months, the trains still ran without so much as a swipe with an eraser. The real test is going to be about 8 months in storage, I may have to reapply it... (We moved about 7.5 months ago.)

Use that sandpaper for only the toughest of cleaning cases... It creates bad grooves in the rails, as you've found out.

Puckdr> Well guys, I solved my own problem - for Google's sake, here's how: >

Thanks for letting us know how you fixed this.

Yes, 120 grit paper is much too rough for cleaning track. Kind of like trying to file your fingernails with a 15" bastard file... :-)

Walther's Brite-Boy eraser would be much better choice. It is used by many model railroaders.

Keeping the track clean is no small chore. If your layout is in a fully finished room, it gets little easier. If it is an unfinish basement or a garage then the dust will make your track dirty quite quickly.

If you run your trains regularly (every day or every other day), that will keep the track cleaner.

Personally, I dont' like an idea of any sticky fluid coating my track. It usually acts as a dust magnet.

But there are ones who swear that some of those magic potions work great.

Personally I think using a mild abrasive then following up with an alcohol wash is the best way to keep the track in good shape.

And you can buy abrasive and wet track cleaning cars.

Peteski

And No Smoking! Back in the late 60s or early 70s someone quit smoking and noticed the track stayed cleaner longer --> lightbulb balloon --> "Ciagarette smoke is mostly oils and tars that condense on cool srufaces such as metal track..." For the same reason, a real fire-place in or near the train room will create problems.

Good advice. Added point: use metal wheels, they accumulate less goo. And clean the wheels regularly.

Use a contact cleaner such as Aerocar's Conducta-Lube or other brands of contact cleaner available for the electronics guys. These not only inhibit oxidation, they are also conductive. I occasionally put a _small_ drop on each pickup wheel, too, and run the engine to spread the stuff.

The abrasive, even 400 grit or Brighht Boy, makes small scratches in which small dust and goo particles can accumulate without being squished off the track by the wheels, and eventually add to the build up that prevents good contact. The alcohol creates a short-term super-clean surface which will oxidize quickly, which is not good (even though n/s oxides are conductive, they aren't as conductive as unoxidised metal protected by contact cleaners.)

I've used gun-blue on my rail - it works like Hobby Black to create a conductive coloured coating on the rail. Polishing the railhead with a cloth creates a steel look. And the stuff is conductive. In this none too clean basement I have been able to run trains after a a hiatus of several weeks. If there's a problemn, I put a drop or two of Labelle 108 or Conducta Lube on a piece of old T shirt and rub it along the railheads. An 0-5-0 track cleaning car. :-)