Jerky movements

[Oz_Paul]

G'day all from the Land Down Under.

 

I am a new entrant to the fascinating world of N-scale railroad modelling and loving every bit of it, especially having grown up in the environment (lifesize though).

 

Have set up a layout as attached with all equipment supplied by Nariichi Takayamasan of ModeltrainPlus with whom it has been an absolute pleasure doing business with.

 

The Tomix fine track layout consists of two parallel loops connected with a cross over (T1247) which works well with a 5532/5533 combination turnout switches to address polarity. The two loops are powered by 2 separate Tomix TCS N 600 units which DC feed in on either side of the cross-over per instructions.

 

However after working well the first few days I now notice a jerky movement especially on the outer loop which has more turnouts. The inside loop is a tram track with its own DC feeder. 

 

It seems more apparent though in trains with single motorised units and generally near turnouts/around the cross over point (and for some reason to a lesser extent on the diagonally opposite side of the loop) .

 

Any thoughts/ suggestions for fixes are most appreciated.

 

regards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[katoftw]

check the joiners in the sections that struggle to supply power.  knowing where your power feeders are placed would also help.

[Oz_Paul]

Thanks, will check the joiners again. The power feeders are placed on either side of the cross over and wired through the Tomix 5533 switch per instructions that came with the cross over switch Tomix 1247.

[kvp]

That's great, but for a larger layout, you'll need feeders across the layout on the opposite side. You can use Y splitter cables to connect the two feeders on each loop to the output of your control switch. This means a double loop this size can have at least 4 feed points. Also getting the tracks dust free is important before running any trains.

[cteno4]

Ozpaul,

 

Welcome! Have you tried cleaning the track? I know it's new but one of your trains may have a lot of grease in it and it can spew and pick up dirt and dust then. I've seen track stay clean for long periods and get gummed up really fast, never sure exactly the cause!

 

Points can be especially bad as you have the frogs where you can also loose contact on one wheel set.

 

Jeff

[Ochanomizu]

Hello Mr Oz_Paul,

 

Please also consider humidity.  Moisture in a warm room will condense on the track as the rails cool down overnight.  This will dirty the rails in just a few days.  Cleaning as described by Mr Jeff is the best treatment of the symptom, but to treat the cause ensure your layout is not near the kitchen or bathroom and install a dehumidifier to keep the humidity below 60%.

 

Personally, my layout has its own room with a dehumidifier installed.  The humidity is kept around 50%.

[Oz_Paul]

Thanks guys,

 

Gave the track a good clean after work, checked joiners and everything works perfectly!

 

 

Now to increase feeder points and install a dehumidifier next on the list.

 

How awesome is this forum.

[Pauljag900]

Hi oz paul,I agree this site is brill,any problems soon get sorted.