Just thought I would let all of you know that I received my 10 amp power pack, and FINALLY, my train goes all the way around the track without stopping!!!!!!    Whoop, whoop, whoopity, whoop!!!!!   I still have some issues to work out, because it isn't perfect, but I think MORE POWER was definitely a key ingredient to success!!  What a feeling to watch that engine chug around, with smoke merrily pouring out of the smokestack. 

Thanks to all of you for all of the advice and suggestions!!!!!   What a great group of people we have here!

Bummer!    Will they send it back to you so you can at least look at it?  Glad to hear that they are giving you a good deal on a new one though!  Great customer service! 

Hi Bill,

My track is new.  I purchased the Bachmann brass track, and it comes with joiners that are held in place with screws.  We tested it and there is consistent voltage all across the track.  I have a 10 amp power supply ordered, so once that arrives, I will try again to get this train chugging along!   

I think it is odd that sometimes the 1 amp power supply was enough to power it along, but not always.  So, I am not convinced that the lack of power was the complete issue, but we shall see.

Thank you for taking the time to reply......it is so wonderful to have a knowledge base to ask questions of! 

Thank you for all of the input!  Adam, it was my understanding that aluminum track wouldn't hold up in the weather, so that is why I purchased brass. 

I think that we are now leaning towards the fact that the power supply just isn't large enough, so I have another on order and am waiting for it to arrive.  There are no train stores near me and the ones that I have been to that are within a couple hours driving distance, just don't have much in the way of G scale.  Maybe I should open a store.....LOL

I will seriously consider switching to battery power if this new power supply doesn't solve the problems.

I thank all of you again for your time and input!

Well, what do you know?  I brought it in and ran it on the original track that it came with and it flew around the track like nobody's business.  I still think there is something not quite right in the front 4 wheels, but I think we just need more power.  Off I go to research!!!

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND ADVICE!  I hope I don't have to do anything else with the front 4 wheels, but at least I have some ideas now.

Heading to Taltree Arboretum in Valpairaso, IN tomorrow.  Can NOT wait to see all of their wonderful gardens!!!

Have a blessed weekend, train friends!

Kevin,

Thank you for your reply.....I think you may have nailed it with the post being too short on the front four wheels.  That seems to be EXACTLY what the problem is!  In fact, hubby and I were pouring over your book last night (wow...this is THE Kevin Strong that has responded!  ) and he suggested that we try some lead weights on the front somehow (similar to the ball bearings suggestion that you made in the book).   I think we will try that and see if it helps.  The more feedback I have received and the more I have tinkered with it, the more I am inclined to think that it just isn't making a good connection with the track.

Thank you again for your suggestions and help....I will let all of you know how it works out!  And I am continuing to search for a club! 

Hi Bill,

In the midst of all the suggestions received, I  forgot yours to try to run it inside on the original track.  Sorry about that!  It worked fine on the inside track the day that I received it and chugged merrily around with no issues.  It is only since I have tried to use it outside that it has been a problem.  I will try your suggestions this weekend, particularly with the cardboard and see what I can come up with.

I have searched for a local group, but haven't had any success thus far.    I continue to look!

I purchased the set new, will have to check the box for the set number, but I have only had it for a couple of months.

Thanks again for all of your assistance!

Hi Chuck,

Yes, that arrow is pointing towards the front.  In fact, it can't even be turned all the way around so that it is pointing to the back. 

Does that help?

Train friends,

Thanks to all of you for your advice and willingness to answer my millions of questions.  I think we are closer to diagnosing my track issues.  Please bear with me, because all of this diagnosing has brought forth more questions.

Ok, so I have  Bachmann Big Haulers starter set.  I laid Bachmann brass sectional track on a bed of crushed stone.  I have been working with JUST the engine to try to get performance issues ironed out.  The engine moves jerkily when it moves and most of the time just sits there.  There is a light on the engine and a steam feature.  I am using the starter power supply pack that came with it, a 1 amp box. 

So, tonight, after receiving great advice from all of you, hubby and I took the voltage meter out and checked the voltage all across the track (about 60 feet).  There are no breaks in voltage, it is consistently 26 volts all over.  I cleaned the rails til they were shiny.  Cleaned the train wheels too.  It ran around the entire length of track once with just a few slow downs and jerky movements and then came to a dead stop.  Coaxing it by giving it a push makes it power forward a bit and then it stops again.  The fact that it did go around the track once makes me think that while the 1 amp power isn't fantastic, it is at least enough to make it work.

The track is level...I have checked it all with my torpedo level.

Forgive me for not knowing all of the proper terminology, but when the front four wheels are on the track and we hold the back of the engine up, the back 4 wheels spin like nobody's business.  But it seems that the front wheels just don't make good contact when the engine is placed on the track like it is supposed to be.

So, my question is this......does anyone else have this set and is it REALLY designed to be used outside?  It just seems that the engine isn't heavy enough to have the wheels make good contact.  The wheels are metal, but just about everything else is plastic and very lightweight. 

Also, the crushed stone that I used as ballast is very dusty.  Is there something else that works better?  Has anyone else tried using concrete pavers or something similar under the track, with better results?

Thanks in advance for reading my rambling message and any help that you can provide! 

Sign me,

Frustrated Newbie Train Gal that is about ready to hang up her engineer's hat and put the darn set on Ebay

Thanks, John!  I am going to experiment with several things before I buy a different power supply pack, but would love to hear from others, if it comes to that, are there brands that work better than others?  Can I mix and match brands?  (ie-I have Bachmann brass track, but I don't see that Bachmann offers a high amp power supply box.

You guys are all so helpful and have given me many things to try!  I will work on all of your suggestions over the next few days (darn work schedule...interfering with my train time!) and see what happens.  Hubby has a voltage meter, so we can test the voltage over the track and see what we come up with.  I am, indeed, using the small gray, square power supply that came with my train and it says it is 1 amp.  Hubby and I had wondered if perhaps it wasn't powerful enough.  My sounds are controlled by a 9 volt battery in the tender, and I don't have other lights (yet!).  So, perhaps I need a larger power supply.  But, I will try all of your suggestions first. 

Just out of curiousity, is there any sort of rule of thumb (ie-footage of track vs amperage needed)?  I understand that a lot of it depends on how much stuff you are trying to power, so maybe distance around the track doesn't really matter so much.  However, I have only been trying to run the locomotive....without any other cars attached.  So I haven't exactly been draining power from what I am running. (if that makes sense)

Thanks again everyone....you are all so kind to share your wisdom!!!    (And if anyone wants to make a road trip to Ohio, my doors are open....LOL)

Chuck N,

Love those snowy pictures!  I hope I can get mine running before the white stuff makes an appearance! 

Thanks, Chuck!  I've been trying to join MYLARGESCALE.COM, but the sign up process doesn't seem to be working right now....go figure!  LOL

I will continue to try that to see if I can find some local people to network with.  I fully understand that it is difficult to diagnose from afar! 

I am going to try something else tomorrow and see what happens.  Maybe by the first snowfall I will have it all worked out.....LOL

Andrew,

Thank you for your time and patience with all of this nonsense!  I tested it like you said to do and all of the wheels turned when touched with the wires.  I really think it is all related to the wheels not making good contact with the rails, but I don't know what else to do to fix it.  I used very fine, crushed stone for the ballast.  I am now wondering if perhaps I should lightly mist the stone, and use something to tamp it down, to try to get it more level and less likely to shift?  Sound like a reasonable plan?

Hubby tested the voltage (he's a mechanic) and said all is well.  I tightened all the screws on the rail joiners and tightened the screws where the power hooks to the track.  The locomotive is the only powered one.  I haven't tried to attach any cars to it, this is just the locomotive that won't run worth a darn.  I purchased it new, as a set, which included the power pack.

This was supposed to be fun and is just frustrating.  Of course, I'm not the most patient person either.  

I am wondering if I were to purchase a battery operated locomotive, if I would be better off?  

P. S.  It is of note that when I first received my starter set, and set it up in the house, with the standard track, it worked just fine.  The issues have come about since I put the brass track outside.