I have an ho scale layout. it is 16 x9. I notice in certain spot my trains seam to slow down. I ran 18 gauge wire around my layout and put feedes every 4 feet or less. I still runing on dc at the monent . I want to go DCC for christmas.( are you listenting my dear wife). Can you tell me if I used the wrong size wire if so tell me what sise I sould use. and any other hints you would care to share.
You may still have some bad connections, so some sections aren’t getting as much power as others. Also, you may have dirty track where it’s running slowly. I see a spray bottle in your signature - have you been ballasting or putting down ground foam and turf? The overspray from the “wet water” needs to be wiped off.
no the bottle is for the cats. I havent started ballasting yet. How dop you cleane your tracks. I use a piece of 1500 griy sand paper to clean mine it seams to work ok . If this ids bad let me know
[#ditto]
That’s an on-going debate. Some people say anything abrasive is bad, because it scratches the track and invites more dirt. Most people use a Brite-Boy track cleaning pad, which is just slightly abrasive. Sometimes I just use rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. Other people swear by MAAS or Mother’s Mag Wheel metal polishes.
My guess, though, is that you’ve got a couple of loose connections. See if you can identify the rail joint where the engine looses power.
Are the places where the train slows down at the farthest location from the power pack? If so, you have a power loss. If it is random around the layout, it may be weak connectors, or dirty track.
Check all of the above, your problem is probably there.
If the slow down is on a grade the reasons should be obvious. If it is on a curve, it is natural. You don’t mention what kind of locos, but a 6-wheel trucked diesels or a 6-8 coupled steam loco and small radius’, 18-20 in., cause enough friction to slow a loco. Even the prototypes have friction problems in curves. There is a formula somewhere for calculating it.
I would try to cure, or at least identify the problem before converting to DCC. With DCC, most modern decoders can be set up to maintain a specific speed, kind of like cruise-control, which would eliminate/reduce your problem, but sacrifice realism.
As to what size feeders to use, my DCC bus is No. 12 solid copper wire. The feeders are No. 20. Bigger is better for wire in DCC.
Hope this helps and you solve your problem. Once you convert to DCC you will never look back.
Good luck!
Hate to asked the obvious but:
- Has the track gauge been checked at the place where it is slowing down? Perhaps there is a pinch.
- Is the place where it is slowing down on a curve?
- Is there a slight grade, intentional or not, where it is slowing down?
- Is it every train/locomotive or just certain ones?
Any combinations of the above.
Not wanting to pound out the obvious from other posters, but if you only have the one hook-up to your track (one power cord, and no feeders), then you may be getting voltage drop at the farthest point from where your power gets supplied to the track.
So, everyone has given you excellent advice. Start with the joiners. If you have more than 12’ of track being powered with one connection, then you are experiencing voltage drop…although that may not necessarily be THE problem. A few loose track connections could also be the problem.
If you have access to a multimeter, check out the voltage readings at various places, particularly where it seems to slow down.
BUSS WIRE (any guage) delivers equal voltage to all feeder’s. Probability is you do not have feeder’s to all pieces of track, and you are depending on adjacent track or rail joiner’d to deliver (equal )VOLTAGE’
selector.
I ran 18 gauge all the way around my track. then I run feedres every 4 feet or lee deepending on if there is a switch. I have two main lines running around the whole layout and the rains seam to slow down in the same spot on both lines. does not matter witch train i use. me feeder are 18 guage as well. I checked the track to make shure ther was no pinching. the train does slow down at the furthis point from my power sourse(mrc1370) is the power sourse Im using not big enought to support a layout this size. 16x9
I plan on going dcc in the near future. maybe i sould go a little sooner. I want to clear up this problem first
Sounds to me like loose track connectors. From your photo, it looks as if you’re using cork roadbed. Both cork and foam (WS-type) roadbed material has ‘give’ to it, so the weight of passing trains will loosen the connectors in time. Usually re-crimping the connectors with a pair of fine needle nose pliers–or pressing down on them with a small screwdriver–will temporarily correct the problem. What I’ve done is solder the rail joiners, and it works really well for me.
Tom
Mine used to slow down in different spots until I put more feeders in and now it runs fine. I put my feeders no farther than 3’ apart.
ICMR
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
try to solder your rail joiners together in the slow moving train area…if they are loose the feeder wires do no good…chuck
For cleaning track, sandpaper is out - it’s too abrasive. Much better to use a proper track cleaning pad (I use a Peco one but realise they may be hard to come by over there - likewise I couldn’t get a Brite Boy easily!). I’d check the track and loco wheels for cleanliness, then try adding feeders. I did have problems with mine immediately after adding DCC but they vanished after soldering in some feeders so the point blades were not the sole means of carrying power through a switch!
Spacing feeder wires every four feet means that there are rail joints in between the feeders, even if you are using flex track. Loose track joiners are probably the source of your voltage drop. You don’t have to solder every track joint to insure good conductivity, but you want to make sure that an unsoldered joint has solid (soldered, if you will)connection to a feeder.
If this doesn’t work, either replace the 18 -gauge bus wire with a heavier gauge or double the 18-gauge bus wire.
One more thing, does the slow point on your layout receive its’ power from two directions? If not, your bus wire should be a continuous loop following the track, not two separate feeder lines that only connect at the power source.