I have a Rivarossi 2-truck Heisler ho scale that has electrical contact problems crossing my Atlas turnouts, especially my curved turnouts. Is there anything I can do to solve this lurching?
Welcome Back, @Dunderhead and To help you out a bit I’m going to re categorize this thread in the MR category
1 Like
I own an older model, with only 4 wheel power pickup. I suspect your’s has the same arrangement, that does create power pickup issues. A few things you can do:
-keep your wheels, track and friction point in your turnout clean
-add weight to your engine
-run two engines in consist mode
-if running DCC, use a decoder with a keep-alive function
Simon
3 Likes
Thank you for your reply Simon. I don’t have DCC, and what do you mean by running two engines in consist mode?
Well, in the case of DC, it would mean running two Heislers together so one can “push” the other over the bad contact. Did you test to see if your turnout components carry power? The points, in particular, carry power when they are pressed against the other rail. The contact points need to be clean.
You don’t mention the size of your turnouts - the long ones will be problematic for such a small engine, whatever you do.
Simon
Well I don’t have another Heisler so I’ll check my contact points and such. I was just hoping I could add another wiper to one of the trucks to make sure of constant contact. Thanks for your reply Simon
Good point. It would be a bit tricky, but well worth the effort. Please keep us posted.
Simon
“Upon further review” the place where the hesitation occurs is actually at the frog. I have a feeling that the “cure” is going to be tricky.
Absent the ability to install a keep-alive or flywheel, your solution is going to be all-wheel pickups and careful maintenance of same.