If ever you’re faced with a situation where your locomotive fails to operate, it’s better to know how scale model electric trains function to best position yourself in its repair.
Firstly you must grasp the importance of electricity. It is your source of energy. Knowing this helps a great deal as if you fire up your unit and nothing takes action, no steam whistle, no chug, chug from the sound card… NOTHING! If this happens to you you’d best check your layouts power supply and its DC connection.
After checking your wall connection and proving it’s innocence, follow the power cord leading form the power supply to the wall. Look for breaks in the wire, burn marks or any inconsistencies that you think would cause problems and prevent the layout from operating properly.
If you are still at a loss for answers, then follow the charges next logical course. The charge travels along a wire leading from the power pack to a bus resting on one rail. This is the most logical location to search for layout halting problems.
Your DC current enters the circuit at this junction. Entering through the wheels and traveling through the locomotive to it’s motor, the current can be traced as it dumps off life giving forces to the electric components. The power pack which was at the beginning of this electrical journey is also at its closing as the current completes it’s circuit by traveling back through the opposite rail and re-entering the power pack.
If your wheels are unclean to such to a degree that fine electrical impulses can’t find there destination, then your locomotive could conceivably suffer form lack of power or no power!
For this very reason it’s a good idea to clean your track and wheels before and after operation.
If you follow these simple steps you will most likely walk your problem into submission. If you go through the steps outlined above and still encounter problems, pull out your multi-meter they are perfect for identifying hard to locate electrical problems. Be sure to check your motor for foreign objects and binding gears.
For more information on scale model locomotives visit Daryl’s BLOG surrounding model trains, you may also stop in to read thomas the wooden toy train engine reviews.
