I am almost giving up. I am having a hard time getting my train to run outside so considering battery power.

Greg Elmassian said:
No one said you are cheap. There is no issue with a limited budget, we all have our limits. But you have explored many low cost options, and I am telling you that you will spend more going to battery than soldering jumpers to your rails and running track power.

Now you are looking for a way to run battery without any controls. Again there is no shame in not having an unlimited budget, but you need to look at the bigger picture, TOTAL cost of your endeavor.

You were given good advice when you were first hooking up your track, bonding rails or clamps, and you did not follow that. No problem, your decision, but your decision to not bulletproof your power delivery has now caused your track power to fail.

Batteries for your one loco will cost more than the copper wire to solder your tracks.

Greg
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Greg, lets not turn this into a track vs battery cost thread, cost are pros and cons, and really depends how deep you wish to plunge. However, as he has a track controller and a couple batteries and chargers, cost are immaterial. I agree the tracks need some permanent connections, but just jumper leads will provide this, but the track will move apart at the joints, so clamps are probably the answer.
 
In this case, I think the problem is the track moving too much, and getting covered in crud. This will cause grief running battery, track, steam or even clockwork. I'd try and get the track more stable and joined properly before making power decisions
 
Ok thanks everybody. I am hanging out with my 39 year old gf now. After that I plan on running the battery steam engine. This was part of the origional plan. I am hoping it stays on the track and that the rechargable battery is not too powerfully for the motor. It is supposed to run on 6 batteries on the coal car.
 
Just ignore Greg, he is not getting your dirty track and dog issues related in your start of this thread. Proper Battery is indeed not inexpensive but will solve your problems. Horses for courses, there are many suppliers of the right batteries and radio controllers out there. For you these may well be the best option.
 
Oh no Greg is one of the best guys here. Just ran my battery modified steam track cleaner. There are bugs to work out but it did go full loop a few times without a derail. I had to get rid of the track with no Ties on the bridge.
 
Bugs gone. Battery steam Runs great..no derails...track cleans ok for now but will try and get it to clean better.
 
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phils2um said:
This is far from the ideal solution. You will need to disassemble an throughly clean the track ends for the solder to attach to the rails. Then you will probably need to clean up the soldered joints with a file. Otherwise, loco and wagon wheels will bounce around and maybe even derail crossing the joints. A much better way is to solder wire jumpers across the rail joints. You still need to clean the rail where the jumper is to be soldered but this can be done with a wire brush in a Dremel type tool. You'll also need a high wattage, 150 to 200 watt, soldering iron/gun. You should practice on some pieces of track to get the hang of it before attacking your layout.

I don't want to discourage your shift to battery power but I suspect you are going to run into a different set of frustrations. These will be born out of your desire to do everything very quickly and on the cheap just as your troubles with track power attest. The FA is a nice loco. It deserves a proper modification to battery power, not something hobbled together.

It is clear to me that at present you lack the knowledge to properly carry out the battery conversion. Or even give track power a fair shot for that matter. This is not a criticism. We all were beginners at one time. I recommend you find someone/group that can guide you with hands-on help. If there is no one locally in Sarnia you might try the Lakeshore Garden Railway Club. They're on the wrong side of the border but not too far from you. I believe they are based in Saint Clair Shores, MI. There is a good chance one of their members is in or near Port Huron just across the bridge.

By the way, I agree with Rhino - the FA's wheels need a good cleaning and possibly an overhaul of the trucks!
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Too dangerous over there for me to do that.
 
With battery power you need a potentiometer to adjust speed. The batteries I am using now I already had. I will be running my battery powered steam for a while. I had to borrow curved track from other areas to complete the Spadina extension. That extension ...along with the area I took curved track from and replaced with new straight. All needs to be secured with shoveled earth to make the track more secure. It will be a week or so before my track will be clean enough to attempt track power. Again thanks for your help y'all.
 
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TTaannggss said:
All needs to be secured with shoveled earth to make the track more secure.
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Using just earth will give you grief, when it's wet it will clog up your track, and when it's dry, it will cause dust to get onto the engines' workings. That's why most use some sort of grit as ballast.
 
Greg Elmassian said:
No one said you are cheap. There is no issue with a limited budget, we all have our limits. But you have explored many low cost options, and I am telling you that you will spend more going to battery than soldering jumpers to your rails and running track power.

Now you are looking for a way to run battery without any controls. Again there is no shame in not having an unlimited budget, but you need to look at the bigger picture, TOTAL cost of your endeavor.

You were given good advice when you were first hooking up your track, bonding rails or clamps, and you did not follow that. No problem, your decision, but your decision to not bulletproof your power delivery has now caused your track power to fail.

Batteries for your one loco will cost more than the copper wire to solder your tracks.

Greg
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Looking from an economical point of view Total Cost, would have to include time taken in cleaning rail, maintenance of joiners and initial installation of cabling and feed wires.
This must surely add to the overall cost of the layout and these considerations must be balanced against the cost of purchase, maintenance and replacement of batteries over a period of time.
 
GAP said:
Looking from an economical point of view Total Cost, would have to include time taken in cleaning rail, maintenance of joiners and initial installation of cabling and feed wires.
This must surely add to the overall cost of the layout and these considerations must be balanced against the cost of purchase, maintenance and replacement of batteries over a period of time.
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Nice try GAP. This "time is money" formula only works if you are going to supplant your recreational time with actual paid work. It is something I used to bench mark the "cost of sale" when trading on Ebay (to pay for this hobby), while I had a job that offered some realistic overtime opportunities. I'm not sure what the UK government's Department of Work and Pensions might say when I put in a request for time and half uplift of my state pension for time spent building and running my line. But as I said, nice try. Though it could be a solution, for us retired folk on fixed incomes, who now face of paying massively ramped up energy bills - getting paid for playing with trains. I'll suggest that to my sitting MP. Max.
 
TTaannggss said:
Has anyone ever melted soder into a track connection to make it better conductive?
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When I used track power, I soldered jumper wires across the track joints. I found the best method was to drill a hole into the web of the rail, insert a piece of wire and solder them. If the track expanded or contracted with the weather, the wire would not be affected.
 
What is wrong with just melting solder into the joint? And what is the best solder to use. I have a small bottle of liquid solder. I do not need a iron to use it. I use for my house plumbing. It has a copper look to it. As well there is a blast that I can put over my clay earth. Chicken something it is called.
 
TTaannggss said:
What is wrong with just melting solder into the joint? And what is the best solder to use. I have a small bottle of liquid solder. I do not need a iron to use it. I use for my house plumbing. It has a copper look to it. As well there is a blast that I can put over my clay earth. Chicken something it is called.
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OK.. Where to start:
If you were to heat a stick of solder, and drip it into the joints, it would instantly cool (and not 'stick') to the rail-ends. - You need to get the rail hot enough, for the flux to do its job, and the solder to 'take' (stick/bond) to the rail.
By 'liquid solder' I am assuming you mean a grey-paste? - Solder powder and flux. You will need to clean the rail-ends (and the joiners) before trying to solder.
This is all the work necessary for a good oudh-fit joint, Barring a little 'copper-grease' and squeezing-up the joiners a little..

Your track will also move over time. - The ground will move, it will expand/contract with temperature. If there are no joints, where it can move, it will buckle in some way, and your soldered joints will break.
Also, if you have soldered the actual rails together, you will find it very difficult to move the track around.

Chicken Grit is OK for ballast, but check it is not crushed she'll, as this will slowly dissolve in the rain.

If you can get some weed membrane, you can cut it into strips, and put it down before you ballast.. The ballast will not disappear into the soil so quickly.. You can lift it, and wash the ballast, for when you make changes.
Plastic sheet is not good, as it holds water.

PhilP
 
I still have 3 pieces of 4 foot straight lgb track to install. I got it cheep cus he told me he gave up on track power...in town yet. I am calling it the Danforth extension and will put it here. The railway can not extend any further so will probably stay like this for years to come. The end of loop is now before the palm...plan is for it to go around the palm. See how it goes.
 

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GAP said:
Good to see another Lawn Bowler and railway person on here (I am in Australia)
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Yes and my all time favorite show is Ausie's Sea Patrol with sub titles. Ha ha. Better acting and stories than Bay Watch. Too bad they only made 67 episodes.
 

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My new Danforth extension. Now I can focus on leveling and cleaning the track.
 

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