Restoring Abused Rogers 2-4-2 Locomotive - Help with Power Issues


cathoderays

New Member
Hi all, this is my first post on the site. I inherited my grandpa's G-Scale train set that we used to pull out every year for Christmas - it was stored in a humid environment before I got it and it seems that some of the LGB brass track and other metal parts are oxidized. The box was also thrown around quite a bit (unbeknownst to me) so a lot of the plastic pieces like the marker lights got broken. I've been working on fixing as much as I can.

I cleaned off the blackened surface of the brass track using 800 grit sandpaper on a block and then went over the track with clean towels soaked in 99% isopropyl to clean off any metal flakes or residue from sanding.

Testing the track with my own cheap Bachmann G-Scale set it works great, no issues with the locomotive running around the track without intervention, and it is able to come to a complete stop and start up again every time consistently without fail.

However, the Rogers / Aristo locomotive from my grandpa doesn't run nearly at all on the same track. It's the Rogers 2-4-2 shown here. I've cleaned the wheels as best as I can with 99% isopropyl and q-tips to get all of the carbon tracking and dirt off of them but it still doesn't run well. I've also cleaned the tips of the contact brushes that spring against the wheels, and replaced the worn out and rusty tension springs on the front and back power pickup wheels to ensure they were getting firm contact with the track.

The Rogers can't consistently make it around the track loop without stalling, and once it stops it won't move again without me nudging it along. It slows way down on curves and the stalls from power loss happen several times per track loop.

I don't have any experience fixing model trains but I do have an electronics repair background and have lots of different tools, lubricants/grease, cleaners, etc around for this kind of stuff. I just don't know what's safe to use on these locomotive wheels or how to diagnose the problem to a specific part of the locomotive. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I'm trying to get this puppy up and running for my 4 year old son to enjoy this Christmas season 🎄

Thanks all.
 
Well interestingly despite cleaning the track recently I tried again tonight and found it was still coming up black with what I assume is carbon. After a swipe of a melamine (mr. clean) pad all the way around, and yet another cleaning of the Rogers 2-4-2 pickup wheels with 99% iso, now its running great. It's able to run consistently even at slow speeds, doesn't stall out, and doesn't need to be tapped to get going from a standstill.

I wonder how long my "track cleaning" will last before it starts sputtering again. I'm wondering if the poor condition of the wheels and track are causing a high amount of carbon depositing. Maybe I should buy one of those automatic track cleaners? I noticed there is some pitting on the wheels where the nickel finish is gone.

I also found a tip on another forum that, for locomotives like this with a "required" tender for coupling cars behind them, you can cheat by wiring the locomotive and tender power together to gain the extra power pickup wheels from the tender - which give the locomotive extra chances to not lose connection with the track during difficult/dirty sections. I ran wires through a screwhole from the PCB inside the tender to a quick-disconnect header, and then tacked another pair of wires and quick-disconnect to the solder points of the rear pickup wheels on the locomotive. Then I connect them together when I link the tender to the locomotive and bam - extra pickup power.

The final tip I found was to spray Deoxit (or my preferred equivalent with no residue, MG Chem Electrosolve) on the back surface of the pickup wheels to clean off any oxidation preventing good contact between the conductive brush and the pickup wheels.

Hopefully these tips help anyone else with the same issues.
 
Brass track can be a nightmare to keep clean! It oxidizes, and the oxide it forms is not electrically conductive. If your budget allows it, you would do well to purchase some nickle silver track. It still oxidizes, but the oxide it forms is electrically conductive. You still want to clean it, though.
 
Brass track can be a nightmare to keep clean! It oxidizes, and the oxide it forms is not electrically conductive. If your budget allows it, you would do well to purchase some nickle silver track. It still oxidizes, but the oxide it forms is electrically conductive. You still want to clean it, though.
Thank you for the tip! I have very little budget right now so replacing all of the track will have to wait, but I will make that a long-term goal. What brand is recommended for nickel G-Scale track?
 
Another update, I managed to fix all of my issues :)

The most important thing I did was tie each track piece together to promote maximum conductivity and eliminate all the small gaps in the rails. The majority of my track is apparently REA brand instead of LGB, so it didn't have the little cutouts for LGB's track clips (part #11500) - some are even missing the plastic truss nearest to the end where that would connect. So what I ended up doing for those cases was using zip-ties like so:

20221221_144105.jpg


And for the LGB clip-compatible pieces I used the LGB #11500 as so:

20221221_144120.jpg


I like that the LGB clips are reusable and are more "hidden" but they don't work quite as well as zip-ties. My track is pretty jank I guess.

Anyways the next thing I did was replace the deteriorated rubber tires on the drive wheels of the Rogers 2-4-2. At the suggestion of someone on another forum I used LGB #69184 (easily found on eBay) and trimmed their width down using a fresh x-acto knife so that they fit in the cavity of the drive wheels. No more traction problems or issues with pulling my heavy REA light-up passenger cars. While I had the drive wheels off I went ahead and cleaned the spring contacts too.

Last thing I did was buy the LGB attachable track cleaner kit, but apparently none of the cars I have are compatible. I'll have to find a cheap boxcar to attach it to I guess.
 
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Thank you for the tip! I have very little budget right now so replacing all of the track will have to wait, but I will make that a long-term goal. What brand is recommended for nickel G-Scale track?
 



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