I posted a thread when I joined the forum that was placed in the Tin Plate forum. No problem, I'll just fill you in. I have an elevated track that I run a Lionel Lion Chief Mikado Steam Engine and it's consist. It's my grandson's train. He's so thrilled. Anyway, it's very close to the ceiling, in a room heated with propane gas. I have vents to the outside for fresh air, doesn't work, but that does allow the excess heat that builds up when the heat rises to escape.....rather slowly. It's in a basement area, and at one time the room itself, my train room, was a water cistern under my garage. Now it's a train room under my garage. But the room lends itself to massive rust build up if you don't run the train often. I keep a track clean car in the consist at all times. Every time I run the train, it cleans its own track. Mainly it just keeps the rails clean enough to continue constant contact with the current. But you let that track get the least bit ahead of you, and oh is it fun trying to get the train to make one complete run around the oval.
If you have this problem, time and other commitments take you away from a scheduled run to keep the track clean, and rust builds up, don't fret. I just discovered that perseverance and one of those 1/4 inch thick green scrubber pads, as well as a dust buster, works wonders. You can also make the train help as well. My elevated track has two useless, but rather cool bridges on it. I discovered I'm crafty. Illusion bridges to coin a phrase. I thankfully left myself some openings to be able to reach in and push the stopped train along until it reaches a clean spot and can continue. I used the green scrubber pad to clean the rust off the track I can get too, then dust busted all the rust dust. Does a number on the filter. Dawn squeeze bottle and water, clean as a whistle. I would then give the train a launching ramp, jazz up the speed, and when it launched across the clean track, clean being a relevant term here, when it hit some rusty track, you'd see sparks fly and it would slow down, and finally just stop.
Push, push, push, HELLO!! Off it would go again finding another stretch of clean enough track to keep moving. I think you can gather that the unclean track was inside the bridges. But, if you run it enough, and you stay it, at some point the train itself will sand down the rust enough to get good contact, and there you go. I turned the lights off, that room gets DARK. Engine looked like that movie Hellrider where the motorcycle riding skeleton rode around on fire. Not one of Nick's best, but cool. At one spot just outside the end of the bridge, the engine would hesitate but keep going. As soon as the caboose went by I would scrub the area, vacuum it, and within one trip, no more hesitation. After it was able to make a full run at speed without sparks or hesitation, I poured some track clean and electrical contact enhancer liquid on one of the track clean car pads, and left the one behind that one dry. I ran the train 10 laps and basically added the cleaner and wiped it dry, so the bridge sections got cleaned and lubed. If you don't have one, a track clean car is can work wonders on keeping that black stuff off your track or at least at bay. I use one on all 7 of my trains, not to mention my grandson's. He's so excited.
So if you have a suspect track, or a dead spot, or places where the engine goes from humming along to coughing and choking, let the train go by, lock in on where that was, and wipe it off with a dry cotton cloth. Next trip by you may be rewarded with more hum and no cough.
Thanks for listening, hope I helped someone out there solve a problem.
John
If you have this problem, time and other commitments take you away from a scheduled run to keep the track clean, and rust builds up, don't fret. I just discovered that perseverance and one of those 1/4 inch thick green scrubber pads, as well as a dust buster, works wonders. You can also make the train help as well. My elevated track has two useless, but rather cool bridges on it. I discovered I'm crafty. Illusion bridges to coin a phrase. I thankfully left myself some openings to be able to reach in and push the stopped train along until it reaches a clean spot and can continue. I used the green scrubber pad to clean the rust off the track I can get too, then dust busted all the rust dust. Does a number on the filter. Dawn squeeze bottle and water, clean as a whistle. I would then give the train a launching ramp, jazz up the speed, and when it launched across the clean track, clean being a relevant term here, when it hit some rusty track, you'd see sparks fly and it would slow down, and finally just stop.
Push, push, push, HELLO!! Off it would go again finding another stretch of clean enough track to keep moving. I think you can gather that the unclean track was inside the bridges. But, if you run it enough, and you stay it, at some point the train itself will sand down the rust enough to get good contact, and there you go. I turned the lights off, that room gets DARK. Engine looked like that movie Hellrider where the motorcycle riding skeleton rode around on fire. Not one of Nick's best, but cool. At one spot just outside the end of the bridge, the engine would hesitate but keep going. As soon as the caboose went by I would scrub the area, vacuum it, and within one trip, no more hesitation. After it was able to make a full run at speed without sparks or hesitation, I poured some track clean and electrical contact enhancer liquid on one of the track clean car pads, and left the one behind that one dry. I ran the train 10 laps and basically added the cleaner and wiped it dry, so the bridge sections got cleaned and lubed. If you don't have one, a track clean car is can work wonders on keeping that black stuff off your track or at least at bay. I use one on all 7 of my trains, not to mention my grandson's. He's so excited.
So if you have a suspect track, or a dead spot, or places where the engine goes from humming along to coughing and choking, let the train go by, lock in on where that was, and wipe it off with a dry cotton cloth. Next trip by you may be rewarded with more hum and no cough.
Thanks for listening, hope I helped someone out there solve a problem.
John
