I got my track layout all done and everything is good except for two 031 curved track sections, for some reason they just dont seem to line-up together as well as all the other track sections in my lay-out. In useing Lionel O-gauge track, and when I run the train over these sections I can see the engine wobble, and move up and down, it also slows down when it’s over these two sections, but it’s not bad enough to de-rail it. When I run my fingers over this part it seems that where the track sections go together, one track section is higher than the other!! I was woundering if I got some course emery cloth, if it would be possible to “blend” the two sections to eliminate the high spots, I don’t want to use a file, Im affraid I would mess up the original shape of the track. If you guys know a better fix I’d shure like to hear it, infact any info will be greatly appriciated.
Take a look at the ties. If the ties are distorted, that can cause the problem you describe. I’d be more inclined to disassemble the track piece and try to flatten the ties out, rather than attacking the rails.
Or it could be as simple as one of the ties being slightly out of position. Compare your bad sections against a good section and see if you can notice any difference.
Sometimes eventhough everything appears to fit there can be a bit of a twist/warp in a curve joint where some unobserved misallignment/stress elsewhere on the layout ends up.
Is the track secure at the tie pieces? Sometimes the track has a tendency to pop out of the tie pieces, usually a couple of hits from a hammer with a flat tip screwdriver held at the base of the tie clip will secure the tie to the track again.
I tried everything and still could’nt make the train run right over those two sections of track, so I bit the bullet and bought two new sections of O-31 curve track, and the train is running smooth on the whole lay-out now. But it’s funny, the train still slows down when it gets to that general visinity, and the lockon is right on one of the new curve tracks!!??
Checking the voltage with the train not running or running elsewhere on the track will not tell you much. You need to check the voltage at the problematic point as the train is running past. Even checking at the lockon will not show a problem with the lockon’s connection to the track. The best test is to look at the voltage on another lockon mounted next to the one supplying the track.
I strongly recommend an analog meter, even a low-end one like this, instead of digital, for this kind of test. You will get a much clearer idea of what’s happening by watching for the needle to dip than for the digits to change.
For anyone with a CW80 or similar “transformer” worried about the accuracy of the measurement, don’t. It will be off by perhaps 4 volts; but you will still be able to see the dip if one occurs.
However, you can also get a pretty good idea just by connecting a small lamp (perhaps a lighted accessory) to the test lockon and watching for it to dim a little as the train passes.
I got my voltmeter at Home Depot, if I remember right. But since it’s pretty clear you need one or possibly more additional lockons anyway, you could probably get by without one (unless you think you’ll use it a lot) and just add another lockon, experimenting with its position on the layout until the slowdown goes away.
If you’re getting a slowdown and it’s a fairly small loop of track, you probably have a loose track joint somewhere. Try tightening the track joints near the points where the train slows down. Squeezing the track near the pins with a pair of needlenose pliers will do the job. Don’t squeeze too hard because you don’t want to distort the top of the track.
Well Im gonna get a volt meter today, If Im gonna be in this hobby I might as well get the tools I need, thanks Bob for the Radio Shack info.
Dave my oval is 60 inches long by 30 inches wide, do you think I would need more than one lockon, but squeezing the track section where they go together is something Im gonna do TODAY, thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know what happens.
humming bird wrote the following post at 12-23-2007 12:39 PM:
Well Im gonna get a volt meter today, If Im gonna be in this hobby I might as well get the tools I need, thanks Bob for the Radio Shack info.
Good idea. I find that a volt-ohm meter is indispensable. I recently tracked down a similar problem to an old rusty lockon. It had a 2 volt drop across it when the train was on its section. I replaced it with a brand new lockon, and the problem went away.