I have a smilar issue with my bachman 4-8-2. I found that its not the belt thats slipping its the motor. Its to weak to pull a heavy train and maintain its speed. I installed a Soundtraxx decoder and it chuffs faster than its moving when pulling any grade or tight turn with more than 5 freight cars. Its Kinda sad as the detail on the spectrums are great the weight that it can pull is awsome but that motor is just to weak to maintain its speed. I even tried double heading it with another engine but it will not pull its share of the train, The motor RPMS drop on the 4-8 -2 and then the lead loco spins its wheels untill the grade levels out. Im a little picky but I like the sound and movement to in step

I still like the Bachmans but I need to find a diffrent motor to install soit will pull like a mountain should!!!

Yes this is the USRA medium tender. the loco in question is the I.C.R.R heavy mountain
What I was thinking is hardwireing the decoder to the plug leads and then installing a grain of wheat bulb to get rid of that blue LED. I like to run the layout in dim light some times and find the regular bulbs look better then the LEDs

Just my opinion

Trent

it does sound like a binding issue. regardless a new engine should not need 100% power just to get it to  move. Most times a new engine only needs 1/4 power or less to get it going and after a few hours run in it needs less to get it started. Do whats suggested and then let us know.

Trent

the loco has a LED. I replaced it and it still did not work. I tested the soundtraxx  Decoder and the decoder gives the correct signal to its white wire but I believe its the bord in the tender is not passing along the signal. What I found was wierd was if I lightly press on the board the light sometimes comes on. Its almost like a bad connection but its not from a louse wire.  I will be glad to give out the info as soon as I jump in and test each lead. I was just checking to see if anyone has already done this as it would save me some time testing each plug pinout

Thanks
Trent

Does anyone know what the pin out is on the spectrum mountain. I am having head light troubles and I belive its caused from the circuit board in the tender. Im thinking I should just remove that board and hard wire the Soundtraxx decoder to the plugs for a cleaner instalation and remove any problems caused from the board.

Trent

I have not used it but think its a great idea for improving traction. the reviews I have read on the trainboardfourms speak highly of the product. A few people have tested it and say that they see not signs of wear, dirt or any bad reactions from the product. the biggist issues is that you have to have clearance around the wheel before its applied. some N scale guys have trouble with this.  I have 4 steam engines. my smallest has hard compound traction tires. it pulls better than my largest engine can.  Stay away from ruber bands and cheap tires that fall off and can halt your engine like a sports car.

good point, full stall = bad

IMO a motor that has the power to easly spin the wheels with traction tires (such as the motors found in my Broadway limited engines) will provide both better slow speed control and provide a nice increase in traction. of couse this is all realevent to the gear box that the engine is equipped with.

one thing I always did not like was a engine that ran at a scale 120MPH+ out of the box. if you geared that motor to a scale 80MPH top speed. the reduced gear ratio would greatly improve you slow speed control and improve the efficency of the motor thus extending its life.

Trent

If this decoder equipped engine has a CV option to run on DC and DCC it may also have a CV that can disable when it is on DC or DCC. this means that it will not respond when its on one or the other track power. also check the tender wheels to see that one set is not 180 deg and shorting the engine out. just some options to look at before you mail it back

trent

that is a borderline radius for a large engine like that. I can run 4-8-2 and 2-8-2 on 18" radius but the 4-8-2 does not like the tight turns. I had to do alot of little tweaks to get it around the 18" sections. your Niagra is a larger engine than mine is . 22" would be alot better IMO

you also can use a product called "bullfrogsnot" yea i know it sounds funy. you drip it onto the wheels of 1 driver axel and it basicly makes a tire around both wheels. it will improve traction. for refrence I have 2 of the same Mikados (2-8-2) one has traction tires the other does not. the one with tires can pull about 40 freight cars. the one without tires is lucky to pull 28 cars. big improvement IMO

Trent

and a simple soulition to add sound would to buy a "dummy" B unit that has space to install the sound unit and speaker. Soundtraxx makes some nice stuff. just remember decoder will not make a cheap or poor running engine run any better. if you going to shell out the $ for sound I advise putting it into a good runner that looks and performs well. 

After being in this hobby for 20 years Dcc operation, in my opinion, is the only way to go unless you really like to wire up the layout with miles of wire just to control you simple controls of your engines. With the lower costs of DCC systems and $20 decoders it makes it very reasonable and most times cheaper to go the DCC route. If you lan to run a small 4x8 DCC may not take full advantage but I think if you want to store locos on the layout and operate more than one engine at any one time DCC is the obvious soulition. to convert from DC over to DCC you will need a new controler that operates DCC, some begginer sets such as the bachman EZ command are a good way to get started. Middle of the road systems cost around $120. high end start around $300+. I would suggest a sytem that is easy to use and has expandable use if you pan on your layout to grow. I use the MRC advanced 2 and like it very much as its very user frendly and has a few options to expand. to convert you locos to DCC you will need to install decoders. if you can solder wire and work with small wire you should be ok. most problems with decoder instalation is finding space for the decoder to live.  cheap decoders can cost $20 and expencive sound decoders will run you around $100.

Some decoders can be programmed to run in DC and DCC. The down fall is that you cannot run a DC loco at the same time a DCC loco is on the layout (unless you wired the layout in blocks) At this point if you want to run both DCC and DC you might as well just stick with DC as you will bewiring up the layout in "Blocks" that are commonly found in DC layouts

again just my .02

Trent

one thing that also come into play for some (like me) is in the case of joining a model RR club. I bought a MRC advanced 2 for my home layout. then a year later I joined a Club. I needed a controller when at that club..now I can rent controllers there for $5 (returnable) but it becomes more of a headach waiting for one.  Some may want to consider that if they plan on joining a club it might be better to buy the same brand of DCC for home? just putting the thought out there

 I have a Heavy Mountain with a TSU-1000 installed.

I set the cv to have the dynamo on only when the head light is on.  when I turn the dynamo on the headlight slowly comes up. It also dims out when I turn it off. this is all set up thru the F0 function (headlight function) From what I know the dynamo charges batterys and gives power for headlights etc... I think they ran off of steam press. almost like a turbocharger takes exhaust and converts it into rotational motion. it could be making power when the train was not moving. if the loco is in passenger service i would think the dynamo is always on as it may have supplied power for some of the lights..in freight servce or when parked on a siding it might have been shut down to save steam, unless it was up stream in the draft and did not waste steam to be on al lthe time?

trent

you need a DCC system to control DCC locos a standard DC controller will not operate a DCC loco. DCC is considered usefull if you have more than just a circle track plan and have sidings or spur tracks that will store idle locos wile not in use. It also removes the mess of wires with complex track plans


Yes the bachman EZ command will get you up and running and is great for small starter sets. Personaly I  considered It nothing more than a starter DCC set that allows a new user to get an under standing of DCC and how engines perform with it. If you plan to get more involved in the hobby look into the MRC Andvanced DCC system. it has more functions and is not all the pricey. In the long run it will be better once you get into owning 10 locos and have a larger layout.

Do you have a hook horn style coupler or a Knuckel coupler? the nuckel couplers look like the real thing

Regardless the couplers to not interchange. You need to have one or the other. or you can make a freight car that has a hook horn on one end and a nuckle on the other. my suggestion is pick on now and make sure they all are of the style you pick. Most people chouse the kadee brand nuckle couplers

Trent