Where do I begin? Over the holidays I dug up my 20 year old N-scale set that has been sitting in the basement untouched. Since my 3 year loves trains, I figured, why not? He loved it so much and can even operate the locomotive. So over the weekend I ran out and bought $50 worth of Atlas Code 80 tracks and built a moderately simple layout (3 crossings, 2 switches) that I found on the web. Size is 2’ x4 '.
Well, tonight I tried the set up and I was frustrated every step of the way. I was wondering if you guys can help.
General Info:
If my memory serves me the set was made by AHM (now defunct) and cost me a whole $22! The engine is a GP-40 type, 4 axles with the rear truck as power pickup and front truck as traction. It also came with 6 rolling stocks and a power transfer that’s slight bigger than a pack of cigarette. Only throttle and direction. The engine is made in Italy by Lima. I also have 5 assorted Atlas rolling stock (all made in Austria by the way).
Problem 1:
The engine stutters along the tracks as if it was too light and had intermittent contact. This happens regardless whether I’m on a curve (mix of 9-3/4" and 11") or a straight away. As I add more stock, it seems to settle down but still stutters somewhat. The tracks and wheels are clean.
Problem 2:
I added all 11 cars to the engine and ran it at medium speed. After about 5 minutes the whole setup started to gradually slow down. Soon I reached the max of the throttle. I stopped the train and picked up the engine. It was quite warm and had a funny “heat” smell to it - not burnt smell. I thought I fried the motor. After letting it cool down, I dropped it on the tracks and it worked again at full speed. I checked all rolling stocks for wheel and couple binding. None found, everything spinned and moved freely.
Questions
I’m assuming that the engine is a cheap one. Will a more expensive Atlas, Life Like, Athearn, etc. with a price tag of around $70
I don’t believe you are going to solve this problem. I used to own some of these locomotives. I got like 6 of them really cheap somewhere. I tried everything to make them run and nothing worked. I finally hooked two of them permanently together, I ran two wires between them so that both locomotives were sharing electricity. This doubled the power pickup and they didn’t stutter the same so at least one motor was usually trying to run. While this helped they still didn’t run well enough for me to keep. I hope I didn’t sell them to someone.
These locomotives have traction tires. That is the wheels will grip rather than slipping even when the engine is being overworked. This makes the motor over heat. As it gets hotter the electricity flows less freely and hence the slowing factor. It could also be that the wires in the motor were insulat
Problem 1: Your track may look clean, but did you clean it? Nickel-silver track can look okay but have oxidation on it–so can your wheels. If you don’t have a Bright Boy you can use a rubber eraser to give your track an impromptu cleaning. If your track was stored for 20 years it may be heavily oxidized even if it’s not really discolored or gunky.
Problem 2: Another factor in letting a locomotive sit for 20 years is that it is probably in desperate need of lubrication. A couple drops of Labelle plastic-safe oil on the gears is all it needs–let it run for a while and things should ease up. The motor is probably working up a storm trying to turn unlubricated gears (or coated in gluey old grease), and thus getting too hot.
A more expensive locomotive would probably run better, yes. 11 cars is not unrealistic for N scale–a good N setup should be able to pull a couple of dozen cars without too much stress, as long as your trackwork is good.
About the powerpack: Tiny trainset powerpacks tend to have really abysmal speed control. Buying a better controller will give finer control of speed, provide pulse power to aid slow-speed operation, and otherwise get things running better. Even an expensive locomotive still runs like a toy train if powered with a cheap powerpack.
Problem 3: That’s the cheap engine getting you. A good-quality engine should have all-wheel power pickup and all-wheel drive.
Texas Zepher,
THANK YOU (x10)!!! Thank you for the time to write all that up. Certainly you have added to my thinking that it’s the cheapie loco. Funny you had 6 of them at one time! My loco’s front truch wheels have clear rubber rings for traction just as you described so there’s no slipping. I kept thinking all last night that it was me but there was nothing that I could find, even opening up the loco, that would explain the symptoms. I’m going to take your advice and get a newer and better loco first. You watch, I’ll probably end up coming home with the power supply too! My son will enjoy this!
Jetrock,
I did not use any of the old tracks sitting in the basement. They were the original AHM ones and didn’t quite look like the Atlas ones. The rails seem to be thicker. My current layout is all new tracks from the LHS. No, I didn’t clean them but I doubt they are sitting in the LHS for that long. It’s good to know that 11 cars is not unreasonable. LHS here I come! My wallet thanks you!
One possible low-cost suggestion on a replacement power pack would be to consider looking for a used MRC pack on ebay. I picked up a couple of used MRC Tech II packs (one 1300 and one 1500) a year or so ago. If I recall correctly they were about $15-20. Either would be a big improvement over what you have without breaking the bank.
A decent loco should be able to run for hours without overheating.
My son will enjoy this!