0-4-0s stalling on points. Thoughts?

Martino

Martino

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Hi folks.

I have a number of points on the line, some are LGB 3s and some are Train-Li 7s. I have endeavoured to lay these as flat as possible.

My Bachan 2-4-2Ts have no problems with them. I guess their long wheelbase and pick ups on all 8 weels keep them moving. The problem is with my two LGB Stainz chassied locos.

Both these have a tendency to stop on points. Not always, and not consistently on the same ones. Sometimes they sail across (regardless of which direction or which way the point is thrown) but other times they just stop. Usually as the skate is passing over the frog.

One of the locos as a traction tyre, the other doesn't. I thought it may be an issue with the non tyred loco tipping, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I thought it may be the plastic frog on the LGB points, but they do it on the Train Li points which have metal frogs and electrics which keep the frogs live.

I'm using DCC, by the way.

Any ideas as to why and how to cure it, or shoud I just carry on with the hand of God or a poke with a stick?
 
You can fit a power buffer to the loco decoder, this will keep the loco running when the loco loses power on a set of points. I have one fitted to one of my loco's, since it was fitted, no problems with stalling.
 
Martino, we also have problems with Corpets doing the same thing. Yet the LGB 4Wheeled Railcar never has problems even though it does not have additional pickups. Reason, the Railcar has a sort of Compensation in it. Thus 4 wheels are always on the track. With Stainz you can have a situation on one side where only the Sliders are making contact if the track is dirty and the one driver is on a bit of crud. Dirty slider and yes she stops.

I have tried the power buffer but it was on a Sound Fitted LGB Steam Tram (same chassis pretty much as your Stainz) this whilst keeping the Sound Unit going was no help at all with Stalling. I wonder if putting an extra set of Sliders on would help, may not look too pretty but it should be cheeper than a Sound Buffer and probably more effective, but at a slight loss of Tractive Effort. I have considered doing this for some time on a Corpet but never got round to it as yet.

Let us know how you get on.
JonD
 
As stated a decent sized power buffer is essential (will need to disable analogue running when using a power buffer on DCC). As the Stainz stalls on a Piko live frog then one must assume the locomotive, since it has no chassis compensation, is lifting a wheel/wheels as it traverses the switch.

Possibly on the non-traction tyred model, remove the sliders as a test to see if they are contributing to the locomotive stalling over the frog. I feel the slider may be lifting the locomotive as it passes through the switch.

Also, check that the power pickups are all actually working.
 
I often run my 4 wheelers with a pick up car behind connected through the LGB lighting socket on the rear of the cab.
Ballbearing/pick up wheel set and a bit of wire and you'll need the plug for the socket which you can get with the coach lighting set, or scrounge one off here.
NOTE - not all light sockets are wired the same way round on all locos, trial and error is the simplist method.
 
I can perhaps understand the occasional hiccup over the plastic frog of an R3 point, but a live frog really should eliminate power pickup problems, so as others have said make sure the point is layed flat, the frog is powered and has correct polarity for both routes, and check it's not a skate or coupling getting caught somewhere?

Service the loco, clean the tread **and backs** of wheels and check all wheels are picking up power at extreme sideways play (you might have a stiff/dead pickup spring). Check the skates are not stiff and are picking up power.

Consider a live frog replacement for the LGB R3 (Bertram Heyn makes one I think).
I've not noticed any major problems with 0-4-0s on my R3 pointwork, even traction-tyred stuff seems to pass through smoothly at slower speeds. I run skated LGB stuff and non-skated such as the HLW Mack. My LGB R5 points have had replacement live frogs fitted (home made) and these give no problems at all. I may yet go for some Heyn R3 live frogs (or make my own) as I do prefer the idea of a live frog for slow running.

Consider a power buffer as you're DCC and if the decoder supports one. None of my chipped locos have them fitted at the moment but this might change in the future, for locos that don't get run on friends' analogue lines.

Bottom line IMHO is correctly laid and clean track + clean and serviced loco shouldn't give major problems despite the rigid 0-4-0 chassis and traction tyre.
 
dunnyrail said:
Martino, we also have problems with Corpets doing the same thing. Yet the LGB 4Wheeled Railcar never has problems even though it does not have additional pickups. Reason, the Railcar has a sort of Compensation in it. Thus 4 wheels are always on the track. With Stainz you can have a situation on one side where only the Sliders are making contact if the track is dirty and the one driver is on a bit of crud. Dirty slider and yes she stops.

I have tried the power buffer but it was on a Sound Fitted LGB Steam Tram (same chassis pretty much as your Stainz) this whilst keeping the Sound Unit going was no help at all with Stalling. I wonder if putting an extra set of Sliders on would help, may not look too pretty but it should be cheeper than a Sound Buffer and probably more effective, but at a slight loss of Tractive Effort. I have considered doing this for some time on a Corpet but never got round to it as yet.

Let us know how you get on.
JonD
Click to expand...

A small-capacity power buffer designed just to keep the sound system alive won't do much for the stalling - but a decent driving buffer like Massoth's new Powercap Micro should cure the problem 100% with or without the skates, unless of course the loco is getting physically stuck somewhere on the point!

Jon.
 
Thank you everyone, there are some great suggestions there. I'll experiment as you all suggest and report back in due course.

Many thanks again.
 
Hi Martino. Check too how worn the skates are, I had a problem when the skates wore on Hannah's Stainz, the skate had worn a groove with a relatively abrupt edge.
 
One is somewhat worn, the other is brand new, so completely unmarked skates.

I have a feeling the skates are catching on the frog and lifting the wheels off the track, so in effect one side is completely off current. I may see what te result of removing the skates may be.
 
There has been discussion elsewhere on the forum on this topic and I seem to recall someone saying they had done some "deepening" of a plastic channel in the points to solve the problem. (I think these were R1 points.) I run Playmobil 0-4-0 tank locos, RC and mains, and the latter tend at times to stutter on points, but as the session continues this seems to disappear. With the RC locos, I have noticed that on some points entering on the curve and leaving on the straight, the loco can be thrown quite violently.
 
I just had a look at the past topic - very enlightening, thank you.

I must spend some time watching the locos going through the points and seeing exactly what's going on.

Another thought is that as both these are engines that 'potter' about, I think there is an excuse for a GW type 'shunters chariot' for them to trundle around, that could act as a supplementary pick up. Yet another project for the list.....

Thanks again everyone.
 
More thoughts, put the loco in some kind of a cradle upside down. With a circuit tester check that each side is working OK in the pickup department. You should get continuity as you touch two items wheel/pickup etc. check out everything both sides. I did this one some time back on a Stainz to find that only the pickups were connected to the motor. Wheels needed new back connectors! Miracle it ever ran at all.
JnD
 
Had the same trouble with the Stainz but not with the corpet's funny though two of the toytrain 0-4-0 dieseal's run though R 1 point's at a crawling pace with no trouble at all. Not an answer to your problem but I run the the Stainz loco's on a shuttle line the shuttle line has a set of turnout's running onto the main line these were never used to change from the branch line to the main line just there to give the illusion of being able to switch from one line to the other. As the train's run slowly on this section there was a lot of stuttering or false stop's on the turnout's. As the train's only use the straight part of the turnout on the branch and the main line my solution was to replace that part of the turnout with a straight piece of rail disconnecting the metal strip's under the turnout's to avoid a short The turnout's were a bit old and had seen better day's but of coarse are now complety useless for anything else But as said before they were never used for changing from one track to another and I get smooth running which I did not get before
 
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