Does your locomotive have a plug in decoder with an p in NMRA socket? If so, test your locomotive by removing the decoder and inserting the dummy plug in the socket. If I'm not mistaken there should have been a dummy plug included with the locomotive. This will convert the locomotive back to DC and is a good way to see if the decoder is faulty, or if the problem lies elsewhere. If it's not a decoder related problem, then replacing the decoder with something else will not get you running again.

First of all, what railroad were these for? Every railroad had their own numbering system for equipment, so without knowing which railroad you are referring to we have know way of providing the correct answer, or point you toward a place where you might find the answer.

Quote from: Ralph S on February 03, 2024, 02:05:45 PMOkay.  Silly me, but can anyone explain to me what a "diamond" is on the crossing?  I don't understand.  It is the track, or crossing signal...

I think you're confusing the road crossing with the track crossing. We are referring to the track crossings. They don't have crossing signals.

Looking through the Bachmann catalog it appears that NONE of the track packs contain DCC switches. You can't program it if it's not DCC. If you want DCC switches you have to either convert them with an accessory decoder, or buy them already DCC equipped. 

Quote from: Terry Toenges on January 30, 2024, 12:46:49 PMThe rails in the diamond are "hot". I use my test light to check them.

I thought they might be, but I wasn't certain. since that is the case, your issues with trolleys losing contact is probably due to their short wheelbase. Not much you can do about that if you run single cars, but if you run them in pairs you might wire them together so that one car can feed power to the other. Or if your trolley has two trucks see if it is picking up from all wheels or just the power truck.
 

Quote from: Terry Toenges on January 29, 2024, 12:40:00 PMI think he is asking about isolating the spurs not controlling the turnouts. Turning power on and off for the spurs.

In that case, the easiest way is to use an Atlas Snap Relay  spliced into the 3 conductor wire from the switch control box.

Not sure what you're asking. The package the switches came in should have the instructions on the back. If you;re running  analog DC, you connect the two conductor wire from the AC or accessory terminals of your controller to the side contacts of the switch control box. The three conductor wire from the switch itself plugs into the top side of the box. That's it. It's a very simple hookup.

The thing is, I am trackside alot and I always see younger railfans, some school aged, when I am out. It's model railroading that has stagnated. Railfanning is doing just fine, even with the lack of those steam locomotives. We also have a vibrant network of groups on Facebook which cater to "heads ups" which are reports of train sightings. Unlike years ago when you had to find a station or tower to find out about what trains were close by or due, these networks keep track of what's happening on the line. The problem isn't a lack of steam locomotives, It lies elsewhere. In addition to the uncontrolled prices in the hobby we also have totally uninspiring model magazines, clubs that are every bit as cliquish as high school, and the net result of both has sucked the fun out of the hobby for some.


Consider this: the cost of entry into this hobby is at least $500 to build even a basic layout. To build something more elaborate, but not by any means complex will cost over $1000. Take that same $1000 and invest it into railfanning and it will buy you a decent DSLR camera with a couple of lenses, am SD card for the camera, and a scanner with enough left over to finance a day trip to the hotspot of your choice. The cost of a new locomotive will finance a weekend roadtrip. And every trip is an adventure. You get to choose the type of day you want. Want to see alot of passenger trains? head to the city, Want to see older exotic locomotives? GO chase a shortline. Want to see an parade of freight trains? Head for the mainline and railyard. I live on the outskirts of a small city, and within ten miles I have a choice of three class 1 railroads and 4 shortlines. Model railroading plays second fiddle to that.



 

Quote from: Terry Toenges on January 28, 2024, 02:17:54 PMAre the rails in the "diamond" in Bachmann crossings connected to the outer tracks? I'm trying to figure out how to keep my trolleys from stalling at the crossings.

Not sure about EZ track, but I know the Atlas ones are jumpered through the diamond. Have you checked them with an ohmmeter? Ig the diamond rails are live then they should read 0 Ohms all along the same rail. If yours are not live, assuming yours are nickle silver you can solder the necessary jumpers to power them.

If the hobby is dying it is partly because things have gotten so expensive. There used to be quality, budget friendly freight car kits for well under $10. and most locomotives were under $100. Now cars routinely run $40 OR MORE AND $300 locomotives are becoming the norm.


As for Hattons and MB Klein,  Hattons had just bought Model Train Stuff a month or so before they went under, and dragged MBK/MRS down with them. I really don't see many others of any size going under in recent years. The last big loss I recall was Model Power/ Mantua leaving the market a decade ago. In the meantime, we have had several new manufacturers pop up.

I can't speak for others, but I tend to restrict my answers to subjects I have first hand knowledge of. That way, I am not inadvertently giving bad advice based on ,y perception of what others have said. I, like many others on this forum, do not use EZ track on my layout. My track is handlaid, built on the spot or in jigs that I own. Therefore, anything I say about wiring an EZ track switch for DCC is irrelevant.

I do not own this locomotive so I can't offer personal experience. The parts drawings give no clue as to if the motor is isolated from the chassis. That is necessary as typically one side of the circuit between the wheels and motor goes through the chassis. Locomotives marked as "DCC Ready" already have an isolated motor, so if yours is marked that way you are in luck.


My experience with other Bachmann steam, notably the 0-6-0s from the train sets, is that the newer ones are DCC ready, and adding a decoder is a simple hardwire job involving 4 wires, 6 if you want a working headlight. These wires are all soldered to a circuit board in the cab, and conversion is merely unsoldering them from the circuit board and resoldering them to the appropriate leads on the decoder. It is worth noting that DCC wiring follows a specific colour code, and that the Bachmann locomotives I've converted, steam and diesel, do not conform to this colour code. As such, when installing the decoder, I suggest working on only one wire at a time so you don't get them mixed up.  If your locomotive has a smoke unit you'll want to make sure you remove it.

If you're lucky, a locomotive will already have a plug n play socket installed. Most common are 8 pin and 21 pin. If yours has a socket, it will have a dummy plug in it for DCC operation. Conversion to DCC is as simple as plugging a decoder with the appropriate number of pins into the socket. 8 pin decoders are usually not sound equipped, 21 pins are for sound.

That high pitched squeal you hear is a non DCC locomotive sitting on DCC powered track. RUnning a non DCC locomotive on DCC power can damage the motor, especially if it is left to sit idle. You need to add a decoder to your locomotive to safely run it with your EZ COmmand. Or run it with the DC controller that came with the set.

Have you considered converting Thomas to DCC? It is easy to hardwire a Z scale decoder in place of the PC board in Thomas's cab. Years ag0 I posted how to do this over in the Thomas forum.




https://www.bachmanntrains.com/smf/index.php?topic=17870.0

Quote from: RedMt Dave on January 20, 2024, 03:48:46 PM


JWard - BTW, I was born in PGH on the Southside.  My grandfather worked at J&L Steel.

My grandfather worked in the power plant on the Oakland side of the river at J&L. I lived in the hilltop neighbourhoods for many years. Spent alot of time on the Southside after I moved to Pittsburgh from the mountains.

Small world.



At any rate, I tweaked your plan in SCARM, and was able to find a way to run 22" curves around the layout as in your original plan. It is a sort of hybrid of the two plans, with the rear crossover moved closer to the end of the layout where hopefully it will be a little easier to reach. I also modified the inner siding to eliminate the 18" radius S curve which can cause problems. These mods were made merely in the interest of making your layout operate more reliably. Hope you find this helpful.