track trouble

Mitch

New Member
I bought a relatively small HO set for my grand kids. It came with "Easy Track".
The track worked fine until it suddenly developed dead spots. The Voltage checks uniformly on all of the areas of the track including the dead spots. An engine will either stop dead on the dead spots or slow way down.
Any one have any suggestions?
mitch
 
Possible causes

if the voltage is OK, the track might be dirty. You can get cleaning fluids at your local hobby shop, along with the 'Bright Boy' eraser and cabooses that act as 'cleaning cars'.

A decent rubdown with windex will also help
 

60103

Pooh Bah
If you can't wait for the hobby shop to open, a piece of masonite (the rough side) or even a scrap of wood (no pine tar!) will clean the rails. Make sure you clean the inside of the head of the rail as well.
You should also check the wheels on the engine to see that they are clean.
Is the track flat? A sudden change of slope can pick the wheels off the rails enough to lose contact.
 
Track Problems

When cleaning track, make sure you do NOT use steel wool. The motor magnets attract the "leftovers"; it destroys the motor.

You mentioned grandkids. Is your track down permanently on a board? I worked in a hobby shop for a couple of years. A fellow in a similar situation bought a set which came with EZ Track. He would set it up and take it apart, sometimes not too carefully. It's been a couple of years, but it seems he broke off the part of the track joint that carried current from one section to the next. The only remedy was to replace the damaged track sections. Good luck with your problem. --Stu--
 

Mitch

New Member
The track is not permanently attached to the board. I was very careful putting the track together and every thing worked fine until it just quit.
 

Clerk

Active Member
Is the layout on the floor or table. If on the floor, somebody could have accidently stepped on a track and slightly bend it out of shape.
 

stary

New Member
It sounds like the rails are dirty. Try cleaning them with Rail Cleaning fluid from a number of dealers, or rubbing alcohol from the drugstore, Flitz or Mass metal polish, availible in stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. or Goo-Gone, in hardware or paint stores.
Also, get an NMRA gauge-also available at a hobby shop or from any hobby dealer-and check to see if all the rails are in gauge.

Good luck!
 

zeeglen

Member
Clean the locomotive wheels also. They will pick up crud from the rails and in certain spots the combination of wheel AND track dirt makes the track appear worse in those spots. Use rubbing alcohol on a Qtip or at the toe of an old sock worn like a glove. Connect a 9 volt battery to the wheels to spin them while holding the wet Qtip or cloth against the wheel treads.
 
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