Power stalls

[TwoK]

Just got a new N scale set for my birthday (2/3/09), the first of my newly rediscovered hobby!  What can I do about the locomotive stalling (stopping or slowing) on the curved rerailer?  Also, it gets random "power surges" and will make a screeching sound (like the wheels are spinning very fast -but they're not - hard to describe).  At one point, the whole locomotive seemed to jump and derail.  The EZ track connections are all smooth.  Was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences. . .?

[Cascade Northern]

What locomotive/set do you have?

[James in FL]

Welcome back to the hobby.
New track is not clean. Clean the tracks by wiping with lint free cloth and isopropyl alcohol. Then clean the wheels of your locomotive and rolling stock using a Q-tip and the alcohol.
After that, if you still have the problem on the re-railer, check to see if the wheel flanges are bottoming out on the flange way and "lifting" the loco.
Random power surges and screeching sound to me like dry motor shaft bushings may be the culprit. A small drop on each with plastic compatible light oil should quiet them.

[TwoK]

What locomotive/set do you have?

The Frontiersman, with a 4-4-0 American Steam Loco/Tender

[TwoK]

Welcome back to the hobby.
New track is not clean. Clean the tracks by wiping with lint free cloth and isopropyl alcohol. Then clean the wheels of your locomotive and rolling stock using a Q-tip and the alcohol.
After that, if you still have the problem on the re-railer, check to see if the wheel flanges are bottoming out on the flange way and "lifting" the loco.
Random power surges and screeching sound to me like dry motor shaft bushings may be the culprit. A small drop on each with plastic compatible light oil should quiet them.

Thanks James!  Will give all a try and report back!

[cyclopedg]

Dear Friends,
this is my first post here. I'm 38 already and have a kid of 6. I also bought the mentioned Frontiersman set. I have a (vintage, at this stage) set of N scale and by comparison I find that this Frontiersman it's really small. Is it me or, in 1:1, this train would be in fact smaller?
If you want to see the photos of my set pls go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cyclopedg/TrenBachmann#
Any comments will be welcomed.
Brgds/Leo

[Hellhound]

I have a 4-4-0 American in HO scale (product code 51112) I noticed it is tiny, almost looks like N scale. It looks like a toy sitting next to a GP-40 diesel. Nineteenth century locomotives were much smaller than mid twentieth century steam and diesel locos. Here is a picture on railpictures.net of an early 4-4-0 (CP63) sitting next to Nickel Plate 765 which was built in the 1940s. The 4-4-0 looks like a toy train next to the big Berkshire.    http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=292205&nseq=9

Dear Friends,
this is my first post here. I'm 38 already and have a kid of 6. I also bought the mentioned Frontiersman set. I have a (vintage, at this stage) set of N scale and by comparison I find that this Frontiersman it's really small. Is it me or, in 1:1, this train would be in fact smaller?
If you want to see the photos of my set pls go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cyclopedg/TrenBachmann#
Any comments will be welcomed.
Brgds/Leo

[cyclopedg]

Here is a picture on railpictures.net of an early 4-4-0 (CP63) sitting next to Nickel Plate 765 which was built in the 1940s. The 4-4-0 looks like a toy train next to the big Berkshire.    http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=292205&nseq=9

Tks Hellhound for yr reply. I was confident that bachmann would not fail in the scale, but now with your picture I see what you meant. Tks again/Leo

[ftauss]

The curved rerailers/terminals are to shallow. I've had no end of trouble with them. Discard them and buy a straight rerailer/terminal.

Frank