nice track, crappy running?

[diezmon]

so, got the 'ol shelf layout modified with a loop..  installed all the track, wired it up.   My girls wanted to see a simple run so I cleaned off all the track, wiped it all down with a damp alcohol cloth.. and started running.

Man, how much work does a guy have to do to have trains run well, and consistently?  I started with a LL SW7, dcc.. clean wheels, it jumped off the tracks at my new atlas switch(yeah big flanges probably).  All Atlas code 55, btw.   so I tried my two Kato nw2's.. a set of two.  they ran great.. didn't stall at all, anywhere. 

So, then tried my atlas SD35.. which I'd adjusted wheel width last fall.  It stalled on some of my crossings, and one switch.

man talk about inconsistent.   

what i'm really wondering, is if it's not enough to clean the top surface of the rails only?   

there seems to be trouble in both crossings:





I've left plenty of wiggle room, or so I thought.. but engines tend to stall out on them..

I know track cleaning threads have been done to death.. but I'm doing all the steps.. "I'm not a slacker,  I'll do the work.  gimme gimme gimme..."

thoughts, tips?

[bbussey]

Everything looks fine in the photos.  Where the road meets the rail - is it equal to the height of the rail top?  Maybe some of the wheel treads are touching the road and preventing constant contact with the rail, as opposed to the flanges hitting the wood?

[Mark5]

what i'm really wondering, is if it's not enough to clean the top surface of the rails only?   

The top of the rail is all that is needed.

[MichaelWinicki]

My initial thought was the same as Bryan's... Is something causing the wheels to lift slightly off the rail while going through the crossing?  If you have a spare truck laying around (like who doesn't?  ) run it through and see what it does or doesn't do.

My second thought is that maybe this is a combination problem.  You would think that if one of the trucks on the SD35 was hitting something along the grade crossing, then the pickup on the other truck would take over.  

I'd consider rechecking your wheel widths on the loco.  I'd then drop the trucks, take them apart and clean the brass axle cups along with the axle tips.  Finally I'd clean the brass wipers and the brass nubs that protrude from the top of truck.

I assume the SD35 is DCC also?

You may want to check the engine contacts that touch the bottom of the decoder.  It could be that over time one of them is barely touching and perhaps the slight bouncing up & down as the engine goes across the crossing, causes one of the brass wipers to lose contact with the bottom of the decoder.

Heck you may want to check the decoder/engine contact area first... It sounds like the most likely culprit.

[up1950s]

I would angle the ends of the planks a bit inward funneling the flanges like a re-railer but not as much , and make sure your coupler pin clears the planks . Let me add that your asphalt road is just awesome .

[SkipGear]

This is at risk of damaging you nicely done roads and grade crossing, run fine sanding block across the grade crossing. I bet you end up sanding some of the road and or grade crossing. I've ran into the problem myself. Everything looked like it was below the rail but after sanding the crossing, and removing that extra bit of material, it would work fine. Especially with C55, the wheel flanges are much wider than the rail head so you need at least a 1/16" or more outside the rail below rail height.

[diezmon]

the oddest thing to me is that three different engines behave three different ways

Thanks for the input guys, I think I will end up sanding the road surface down, to make sure it's not above the rail tops.. just to be sure..

[bbussey]

One other quickie observation:  In the second photo, the section of sidewalk between the two tracks seems to be very close to the rails, and it clearly sits above the rail top.

[sizemore]

Compare the tread depths on the locomotives. And compare the widths between the wheelbacks. Compare both to your switches and track, then you'll have a better idea of what's going on.

The S.

[Heath]

Is the underside of the trucks hitting the wood planking lifting them up just enough to break contact? And I agree awesome roads!

[diezmon]

when I find one of the round-tuit thingys, I'll have to do some tweaking and experimenting.

[TrainCat2]

when I find one of the round-tuit thingys, I'll have to do some tweaking and experimenting.

[chuck geiger]

I used a emory board file (ladies files) to clean the grade
crossing where paint from the road got in the cracks and
it's fine now.

[wm3798]

I think the wheel tread is wider than the rail, and your asphalt has crept up above the rail height.  The wheel is riding up on the asphalt, and losing contact with the rail.

Lee

[Ken G Price]

I have had both problems. :-[ The one Bryon stated, road to high and the one Heath mentioned truck hitting ends of the roadway between the tracks.

Bob, I wish it was that easy.