Speed Up Then Slow Triang.

[Tiddles]

I am running a 3' by 5' loop of Triang Type "A" (Brown road bed) TT track around the Christmas Tree.

Power is from a Gaugmaster controller.

The problem I am having is that the locos slows down and loose power when they get 3 foot away from the power point then speed up again when they get within 3 foot of it.

Yes the track is very old but the joints are are ok and there is no voltage drop when tested with a multi-meter.

It has been suggested that it maybe a motor magnet problem. And I should get them re-magnetised.

[Bufferstop]

Despite the evidence of your multimeter I'd say if the slowdown is related to the distance from the power supply, it's a track problem. I'd want to check the current being drawn (sometimes not possible with a multimeter as it can be out of range for some models). The current falling as the distance increases would indicate that the track is high resistance. It's galvanised steel and the connectors have been in place for a long time. If they are not spot welded to the rails pull them off and tighten them up then re-fit. It might be worth running an extra feed from the track connectors to a point half way around the loop. Remagnetising the motor would be a worthwhile step as would cleaning and polishing the commutator segments and removing any carbon deposit from the grooves between them.

[Richard08]

The meter may be ok without a load, but perhaps not when loaded. A dodgy joint can act as a resistor as the current rises. Try nipping the joiners with pliers (gently!) to see if that helps.

[Bigmet]

Quick and dirty improvement, solder each railjoiner to the rail it is mounted on. Solder whole sections, or even bond the whole track circuit together with a copper wire if that's practical for you. Sixty year old tinplated steel rail track will have contact conductivity limitations, and there's nothing much you can do about the wheel to railhead piece, so minimising the track piece to track piece resistance is your best option.

[Tiddles]

I did think it was the track so replaced most of it and moved the power track to a different side.

Exactly the same problems Although both locos are performing the same so track maybe the problem.

Ideally I need a fully serviced loco and a loop of new track to see what is what.

[Tiddles]

The meter may be ok without a load, but perhaps not when loaded. A dodgy joint can act as a resistor as the current rises. Try nipping the joiners with pliers (gently!) to see if that helps.

I have done that and it helps a little.

[Tiddles]

Quick and dirty improvement, solder each railjoiner to the rail it is mounted on. Solder whole sections, or even bond the whole track circuit together with a copper wire if that's practical for you. Sixty year old tinplated steel rail track will have contact conductivity limitations, and there's nothing much you can do about the wheel to railhead piece, so minimising the track piece to track piece resistance is your best option.

As I only "play" with TT its only ever a quick set up on the carpet. The Triang TT Type A track is a bit like Bachmann EZ Track.

[Flashbang]

Hi
I think your problem is caused by your comment above

As I only "play" with TT its only ever a quick set up on the carpet. The Triang TT Type A track is a bit like Bachmann EZ Track.

Your saying you continually fit track section together then break them down on the Carpet (Argh!!) !
This connecting and opening of the rail sections will weaken the metal joiners (Fishplates) and prevent good electrical contact rail to rail.
Crimping the joiners tighter onto rail foot area of the abutting rail will always help, Also cleaning the rail tops too.
As stated by Bigmet, old rail which is often steel, is not ideal, modern Nickle Silver rail is by far better.

But do try not to run a train on the carpet. There is more fluff than enough down there! This very quickly gets sucked up into the locos lubricated areas and causes general poor running and eventually the loco will fail totally, due to contamination of carpet fibres / fluff! I know there's an idiot on YouTube who runs new locos on the floor and comments about them, but he's being paid to do this by YT. Its certainly not the sort of videos that people new to the hobby should be shown, as it tends to set a poor standard!

[b308]

Why not put another (temporary) feed on the opposite side to the existing one and see if that cures it?

[Richard08]

Hi

But do try not to run a train on the carpet.

Some people have no choice? I ran my trains perfectly happily on carpets as a kid for years, did not most people? A baseboard arrived only after my parents were convinced my continued interest in trains made the investment worthwhile.

[End2end]

its only ever a quick set up on the carpet.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

blasphemy.gif (1.65 MiB) Viewed 253 times

It was a Hornby clockwork set and I was 4 years old your honour.
Thanks
End2end

[Bufferstop]

Expectations increase with age, performance goes the other way! The old type A track was probably never much better, we have all become accustomed to the performance of nickel plated wheels on nickel silver track with multiple feeds. I can remember watching the TT Jinty hurtling around its loop of track in the model shop window, bashing down the spring loaded uncoupling ramp on every circuit. Die cast wheels on plated steel track permitted little finesse in the control of the loco, but did we care? I can remember enough to say that when brand new the performance of TT locos on steel track was not a patch on ten years old Hornby Dublo three rail and at exhibitions of the time faultless realistic running of any scale of two rail was regarded as a bit of a marvel.

[Bigmet]

... I ran my trains perfectly happily on carpets as a kid for years, did not most people? ...

Well of course. (My parents' first table -an extendable G-Plan- was just too narrow to permit an OO circuit.) And you couldn't set up the layout in the stereo soundstage of my Pa's home made audio system to match train movements with Argo Transacord recordings on the record deck, other than on that one carpet in the house. (Lino in the bedrooms.)

Not only that, but on the ground in the garden come summer, in the natural 'clay and sand pit'; which area was allocated to the children as it wouldn't support much in the way of plant life but was excellent for modelling roads and track bases. You should have seen the ovoid driven axle holes in the loco mechanisms: and that was the least of the damage as war-gaming with a neighbour's air rifle to determine outcomes was another sport, and everyone knew that GNR 0-6-2T's had been used on armoured trains.

[Richard08]

its only ever a quick set up on the carpet.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

blasphemy.gif


It was a Hornby clockwork set and I was 4 years old your honour.
Thanks
End2end

Ha ha ha ha! Excellent.

[Richard08]

Not only that, but on the ground in the garden come summer, in the natural 'clay and sand pit'; which area was allocated to the children as it wouldn't support much in the way of plant life but was excellent for modelling roads and track bases.

One of the downsides of getting a baseboard was that layout building excursions to the flower beds in summer had to stop. I suspect mother was quite relived though (digging a big hole for the Airfix girder bridge to go over was probably pushing it admittedly). The garden railway gene still lingers.