Quote from: HockeyStix on December 25, 2017, 04:51:04 PM
I am brand new to train sets. It has been a life long dream of mine to setup a whole town. I finally got one for Christmas. My issue is that the trolley worked a couple of times. I turned up the speed a little and once it got to the bumper end (hit the bumper), it stopped. Now there doesn't seem to be any power getting to the trolley at all. Could something have jarred loose inside the trolley? What are some suggestions to help trouble shoot this? Thanks for the help in advance.

It sounds like you have one of the older mechanical trolleys that actually had to hit the bumper to change direction, is that correct?

The Trolley being discussed in this thread is electrically controlled.  It sounds like your trolley probably has a broken wire or the switch in the trolley is defective.

I just saw this quote below and wanted to comment.  The auto-reverse track does have extra connections, but the speed controller is what actually has the direction control, so you can't just use any controller.

You CAN use any ez-track, but you need to do a little wiring to make it work with the auto-reversing transformer.  I experimented with this last year before I switched over to DCC.  I used only the end sections of the auto-reversing track, and used regular ez-track for all other track.  All you have to do is run a wire from the beginning section of track over to the end section so it can provide the feedback to the controller, and then every other peice of track inbetween can just be regular ez-track.

Quote from: Flare on December 18, 2017, 05:43:35 PM
Since you already have track, you just need a speed controller.

The trolley that comes with the auto-reversing set is like any other locomotive, the track in that set has additional wiring built-in to reverse polarity and detect when the trolley/train reaches the end of the line.

First thing you need is a multimeter.  If you don't have one you can get one on amazon or ebay for about $10 (you get what you pay for, but any meter will do for this test).

Then just turn on the power supply and check the voltage across the track (from one rail to the other).  If you have voltage, then you can use alegator clip wires and jump from the track up to the wheels.  If you get no action then there's likely a problem internally which could be as simple as a broken wire.

Also, have you tried moving the trolley up and down the track?  You may have a dead spot and you are just testing it in one place on the track that is dead.

I use azatrax sensors. They aren't cheap if you need several of them, but I tried z-stuff sensors and when I added snow to my layout last Christmas they lost their mind. Z-stuff products are good, but I had a whole bunch of snow material everywhere and with all the reflective surface there was too much light scatter.  The azatrax stuff is bullet proof.

Azatrax also has crossing gates and signals, but I don't use them.  I use MTH or the lionel scale size banjo signal and it fits well with On30.  The Lionel is discontinued but I have found them on Ebay.  Here is one right now, but be sure you look for model #6-14149 because that is the scale model.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lionel-Scale-Sized-Banjo-Signal-6-14149-NOS-46-170-/253335064278?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

Here is the MTH that is currently available,

https://mthtrains.com/30-11006

but I like the discontinued model that is black and you can also find them from time to time on ebay and they fit into the holiday display better than the newer silver models.  There are none right now, but here are some completed auctions for the 30-11010 model:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=mth+30-11010&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=20110&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50

Quote from: cbrussell on December 26, 2017, 05:46:16 PM
I was looking at the Zstuff components, both for the Crossing Gate System and for a system to stop trains at various points along their route like at train stations. My problem is I am not very "electrical" savvy so need to go with the simplest system possible.
Anyone have a preference?

For automated control I use the Tamvalley train shuttle.  I use it for a bachmann railbus that acts like a trolley and have it set to stop at the station on either end and at various mid points to pick up passengers.  I even added track switches this year (turnouts) that splits off the track at 2 points and the train shuttle controls it all automatically.  Very handy device, but it takes a bit of work to wire it all up because it uses rail gaps to detect train location.

http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/products/trainshuttle.html

Terry, if you're interested in being accurate to the model I think there are other light fixtures included in the package.

Yes, I think you're right.  There are other lights in the package for other lights.  I'm not really interested in being accurate to the model, I use these as a holiday layout with automated control so I'm only looking for atmosphere.

Thanks, just found that myself and came here to post.

Thanks for the link.

I found it.  CV 33 and 34 control the lights.  Set 33 = 1 and 34 = 2 for directional lighting.  The default value for both is 3, meaning they burn in either direction.

Speaking of Heisler backup light, what are the CVs and values to use to have directional lighting?  Mine come on all the time regardless of direction.  Would like directional lighting.

BTW, I have the sound module installed if that makes a difference.

Sorry to go off-topic.  I opened a new thread if you would like to reply in that one... I just saw this thread and you mentioned the lighting so I thought I ask here.

Seems by default the headlight and rear light come on all the time.  Would like to make lighting directional based on forward or reverse direction.  What are the CVs and settings to do that?  BTW, I have the sound module installed if that makes a difference.

Also can't seem to find the programming guide for this engine.  Anyone have a link to it?

There is another train shuttle by tamvalley.  It's DCC and it uses rail gaps to detect train location, and can be used to control end and mid stops and also will activate turnouts.

Thanks.

Can you tell me what the 2 components are on the NMRA plug in the railbus?  

From all indications it appears that they're diodes to connect both the Yellow (backup light) and the white (headlight) to the NC connection on the 8 pin socket.  

Is there a schematic available of the railbus circuit board?

Could you add some rail wipers to a 2nd car on the On30 to create a really long pickup that would span the entire crossing?  Then you could just leave the whole On30 crossing electrically isolated.

Thanks very much.  I have that exploded view but will study it more thoroughly and see if I can figure out how to get the chassis apart.

As for the sound, I'm fine with basic sound.  I know people do a lot of modifications to add sound, but I just want a basic install.

I have the rail bus http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=879_755_789_803_804&products_id=5220&zenid=d06knli4cecqpa4fp1pln2mdp1

What sound module do I need for this?  Does it have all the wiring and speaker ready for sound, or would I need to add more stuff?

Also, I man-handled the cab and popped out a window, and I need to know how to take the chassis apart to get access to the inside to replace the window.  The instructions or other info I've seen online don't show how to get the cab off the chassis for access to the inside.