Happy New Year to all.
I have a bit of a problem and was hoping for some advice/suggestions.
I received a Williams steam locomotive (S-2 Turbine) for Christmas
and I’m having trouble running it. I’m trying to determine if it is
the locomotive or my track/layout/transformer.
My son (8 yr-old) and I have essentially two loops of Lionel Fastrack, each run on a separate Lionel CW80 transformer. The two loops are connected with two Fastrack O-60 switches with the “block” section between (i.e., 1 3/8" piece with break in center rail and wire underneath disconnected). Is this set-up a problem? My young daughter is also getting into trains and they each can run a train at the same time with this set-up.
After rereading the paperwork that came with the
locomotive, Williams recommends using a minimum of 90W transformer.
The loco does not really run consistently on either loop, most of the
time the headlight lights and the smoke unit will work, but it will
not move. I even set up an independent five foot section of track
(i.e., a “test track”) and hooked up the transformers independently,
and I could only get it to go forward with one of them.
Okay, here is the strange part (for me who knows little about
electricity) - when there are lighted passenger cars on the same
track, the loco seems to work fine (forward, neutral, and reverse).
Do I need a new/more powerful transformer or should I send the loco back?
If I start looking for a new transformer, are there any suggestions
without breaking the budget?
Thanks in advance.
Philip