I have a new Trix Mikado HO steam locomotive with DCC that I love, and my layout is new, too. It runs great except that in some of my turnouts, it loses power and stalls pretty consistently. The analog locos I have don’t seem to have any problem. What’s the remedy?
Hmm…the Mike has power pickups form almost all wheels…it would take alot to stall it.
David B
Hmm is right! My Trix is an exceptional runner. But, if other locos are doing okay on those same turnouts, I’m afraid the Mike needs returning. Too bad, but a replacement is sure to give you good service.
Just a thought…is the plug from the tender attached? (if there is one). You shouldnt have any issues with the power pickup from this Mike…
David B
Clean the wheels with a wheel cleaner (powered wire brush) and then wipe them off with plastic safe electrical cleaner.
Wouldn’t that put pits in the tires and attract and hold more dirt and gunk?
I have used one of those for years on all of my loco’s and never had any problems. It is a soft wire and not the type that will leave scrapes or gouges on your wheels.
i’m using dcc on my layout and all my dcc equiped locos stall on switches when the wheels span the insulation gap at the frog and causes a small short. i use atlas and peco switches and the problem only happens with the peco insulfrog switches because the rails are too close at the frog. the short that occurs sometimes shuts down power to the decoders and stops the train even with two or three locos mu’ed together. stops them all. the locos i have that are still dc will jerk a little but don’t stop. these peco switches are the same ones in use when my layout was dc and there never was a problem but the dcc decoders are a little more sensitive to minor shorts. i model in nscale but it happens at my club too which is ho. also if your using switches that route power through the points bad contact or dirty rail where the point and stockrail touch will sometimes stop any loco.
First you need to get a voltmeter and ammeter hooked up to see if it is shorting or losing contact. Then report back to us… [:)]
If you don’t have a meter, you can simply put another engine on the track nearby and turn on the headlights. If the lights on the other engine stay on when Trixie stalls, then the engine is losing contact. If the lights on the other engine go out or blink, then you are shorting.
Does Trixie (sorry, I still think of Norton’s wife on “The Honeymooners”) have traction tires? These rubber wheel inserts usually take that axle out of the power circuit.
Are the turnouts particularly tight, like Atlas snap-switches? The Trix articulated Big-Boys, despite being huge engines, will navigate 18-inch curves. However, they probably don’t maintain good contact with all wheels around these tight curves.
Also…I would also check the gauge of the wheels…if they are tight, then it might be the cause of the short.
David B
If the Mike is shorting out at the frog because the rails are too close, paint a short portion of each rail with clear nail polish. This will increase the insulated area and eliminate the short.
tilden
I have that problem with only one of my loco’s (4-6-0) at only one of my turnouts, but it seems that the frogs are too far apart, if that loco goes too slow then the rear most drive wheel falls into the gap and the loco stops. It is an atlas turnout & I run DCC.
I model in HO & I have a Mike 2-8-2 & a 3 Truck Shay that work just fine at the same turnout.
Could it be that they are too close and that nail polish trick would work?
We had similar shorting at frogs at WIMRC, particularly with locos with blind (flangeless) drivers such as Spectrum Russian Decapods and 2-10-2’s. The blind drivers, being wide, bridge across the two frog rails. Also, DCC power can short across small gaps at the frogs, either rail to rail or rail to drivers. Our simple fix was to put a thin layer of good quality clear nail polish over about 1/4 inch length of each frog and into the gaps between the converging frog rails . This has worked well for almost a year and has stood up to numerous rail cleanings so far.