Okay, brokemoto . . . 

I got hold of a very small Philip's screwdriver, and as you suggested, I took off the lead truck on ther tender. Sure enough, I saw two copper tabs which I could easily bend slightly with a fingernail.

When I removed this lead truck, I examined the drawbar and the area where it connects to the loco . . . but I could NOT see any sort of tabs under the loco's cab. In fact, even with a 16x jeweler's loupe, I cannot see how any electrical contact could be made from the draw bar to the loco!   

Anyway I reassembled the whole thing and it ran noticably better!  I ran it for eight hours straight at a setting of "40" on the Bachmann power pack, then gradually slowed it down and let it "rest" overnight.   


This morning I started it up and it's running smoothly at a setting of "50", so your advice was spot on! 



Two more questions, please . . . 

1)  could you please explain more about that "carbon caking" you mentioned?  (My screwdriver is not small enough to remove the screw in the top of the sand dome, so I can't get the shell off at this time).  If the loco sat around on a shelf for a few years in a sealed package, how could carbon form on the motor??

2)  could you also go into a little more detail about the two contact tabs under the loco's cab?  As I mentioned, I just can't see anything.  perhaps something is missing on my model?  *lol*


Thank you ever so much for your time and consideration! 


"The Bach-man" should give you a raise!   



All best,
Joe

Wow! 

brokemoto, that was a GREAT post!   

Ok . . . I have the version which seems to be "clunky and has foil edges" but no "stiff wires" are to be seen anywhere . . .

As you suggest:

"If it is the earlier issue, you might want, again,  to disconnect the locomotive from the tender.  Under the locomtive's cab are two contact tabs.  Bend them up to ensure good contact with the drawbar.  Unscrew the lead truck from the tender.  Bend up the contact tabs on the top of the truck ever so slightly.  Reassemble the whole business and put it back onto the track.
The electrically live tender is an important part of the electrical contact of this locomotive, hence an important part of its runnability."

And yes,


"While I was typing this, I see that the OP was posting something.  It sounds like you might have a carbon caking problem on the armature.  If you will unscrew the screw in the steam dome, the shell will lift off.  You might want to put a little Life Like track cleaner onto the armature where the brushes contact it.  Put the thing onto the track, without its shell, but with its tender, then apply power.  It should sputter and stumble, then take off flying.  It  might take two or three applications with a Q-tip to get it cleaned off. 

You did mention a possibility that it sat on the store shelf for some time.  If that is the case, carbon caking is a very real possibility.".
.
..

Yes, brokemoto, I was editing my post!   


THANK YOU ever so much for your reply!  Between being an introductory loco, sitting on a shelf for a few years, (and my being a newbie!!), you have probably figured out what is going on!

First I will get some small screwdrivers, etc.   *lol*

Then I will make the attempts to fix up my loco with your great advice!

All best,
Joe

OK . . . thanks for your replies NYC1956 and Bach-man!

Yes, I have been using  70% isopropyl alcohol. But, no matter how much I clean the tracks with it (using soft cotton T-shirt scraps)  I still manage to get some "black" on the cloth.  The last time I had trains they had BRASS tracks, so you can see how long it's been for me!    I thought that the "new" nickel-silver rails were supposed to conduct electricity better than the old brass tracks??   


This morning, I picked up the loco and carefully cleaned the wheels and the tender wheels using Q tips with the alcohol. No dirt or oil could be seen.

Bach-man, what do you mean by "conductive lubricant"?   Is this something that Bachmann sells? 

My loco is running worse than ever . . .  I used to let it run 1-2 hours at a time at a setting of about "40" on the Bachmann power pack . . . now it needs "80" to run at all.  I checked all the wires and plugs, and track connections and they all seem to be OK.

I am wondering if there is a certain number of hours a loco can run before it needs to be lubricated?  I'm afraid to take it apart to oil it, etc. but if I need to, I will try.

Once again, I realize this is NOT a top quality loco . . . but I need to get a good feel for N scale equipment before I spend hundreds of dollars more on this hobby.  I am indeed trying to have fun!!   

Let me ask my question this way: How many hours (at "prototypical" speed) can an introductory N scale loco like the "Yard Boss" be expected to run continuously before it needs service?    

I am interested in "continuous running" for now.  I hope to be able to do switching operations with a better quality DCC equipped loco later on.

Thanks again for your patience with me and my newbie questions.


All best,
Joe

Hello everyone!   


I bought B-mann's "Yard Boss" set a few weeks back as an intro  to N scale since I had always had HO before.  I realize that a "starter set" is not really the best way to get started *lol* and is best for Christmas gifts for the kids, etc. . . . .   BUT . . .

I also purchased a set of 6 x 5" straight EZ track so I could make an oval that would easily fit on my 2' x 4' coffee table! 


Anyway, after running this little train set (which I really like!) around a few weeks  . . . I have some questions.  Perhaps the "Bach-Man" or others could chime in and help me.


1)  I noticed that after an hour or two of running, the little 0-6-0 ran much more quietly and smoothly.  I ran it forwards and backwards at varying speeds until it seemd "broken in" . . .  So: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BREAK IN A NEW LOCO?

2)  After a week or so, I cleaned the track because the loco seemed to run in jerks and spurts.  I used an old cotton T-shirt cut into strips. I also used rubbing alcohol.

3) Over the next week or two, performance noticably DECREASED in spite of judicious track cleaning, etc.

4) If I ran the "Yard Boss" in reverse, performance was noticably BETTER, and very prototypical at a setting of ~ 30-35 on the Bachmann power pack.

5)  Now . . . in spite of track cleaning, running forward and reverse at varying speeds, etc. etc. my little "Yard Boss"  isn't doing well at all. 

6)  I realize this is an INTRODUCTORY set . . . and not the highest quality that Bachmann makes (as compared to their "Spectrum" line?) but, could someone give me some advice??    . . . . Do I need to clean and/or lubricate the locomotive, etc.  

(I looked and searched on this site for "lubrication" etc. but it seems that "less is more" when it comes to oiling a loco)


I can't see how this would be necessary . . .  perhaps the product sat on my LHS shelf for a few years?


I understandably bought this "introductory" set as a "feeler" for about $130, but  . . . Jeez . . .before I spend $200 or more for a good qaulity loco, can someone here give me some suggestions or tips?


Thanks, and all best,
Joe

Ummm . . . how about a blast of WD-40 . . . then wiping off any excess? 


Would this help or hurt an N scale loco?   Isn't WD-40 conductive?



All best,
joe

Quote from: Jim Banner on January 17, 2010, 04:06:57 PM
thanks, Jeffery, for the endorsement.

I think there is some confusion here between ac, dc and DCC and perhaps a misunderstanding of just where E-Z Command fits in.

Alternating Current, or ac, constantly reverses its direction of flow.  The 60 Hertz power that comes out of a wall outlet changes direction 120 times every second.  The advantage of ac is that it is simple to use a transformer  to increase the voltage for less loss when power is sent over long distances and to decrease the voltage to a safe level for final use.  In the case of our model trains, that safe level is usually between 12 volts ac and 16 volts ac.  AC power can be used to light lights, throw switch machines and run ac motors.  If you run ac through some electronic components known as rectifiers, you can change it into Direct Current, or dc, which always flows in the same direction.  DC is very useful for running dc motors because dc motors will run in one direction with the current applied in one direction, but if you reverse the direction of the current, the direction of the motor will also reverse.  Additionally, if you vary the voltage, which is the amount of force or push the current gives, you can also control the speed of the motor.  This is just what we need for running trains forward or backward at different speeds.  With a hand full of electronics components, we can take the safe ac voltage from a transformer, rectify it into dc, then control the voltage and the direction of the dc for running trains.  These controllers are generally called "power packs" and are differ from the transformers used to control old Lionel and MARX trains by the inclusion of the various electronic components.   

To get the dc power to our trains, we feed it to the rails, one connection to each rail.  Then, in the locomotive, the motor is connected to the rails via the wheels.  More voltage on the rails means more voltage to the motor which means the locomotive goes faster.  If we reverse the connections to the rails and apply an increasing voltage, the locomotive again goes faster, but in reverse.  If we put two or more locomotives on the track, they all pick up power from the rails and they all go faster or they all go slower or they all go in reverse, all at the same time.  Usually, though, we don't want all our trains playing copy cat with one another.

This is where Digital Command Control comes in.  DCC is a special form of ac that is connected to the track all the time.  It gives a constant ac voltage to all the locomotives on the tracks, so we need to do something different than just change the voltage to control their speeds.  And the ac is constantly reversing direction so we cannot use that to control locomotive direction.  So how can we control the locomotives?  Along with sending power along the tracks, DCC can also carry messages, usually referred to as "commands."  That information has a lot in common with email sent over the internet.  Like email, it can be sent to any one of a large number of addresses.  And like email, all the other addresses ignore commands not addressed to them.  In the case of DCC, the commands can tell the locomotive to speed up, slow down, switch to reverse, turn on or turn off any of many functions like lights and sounds,  and even how to interpret various commands.  All this control information and decoding of commands occurs in a tiny electronic package called a decoder that sits inside the locomotive.  These decoders, some of them smaller than a dime, have roughly the electronic functionality of a programmable calculator, which is pretty amazing when some of them cost less than $20.

To generate the commands that let the decoder know what we want to have happen, a "command station" is used.  when we operate our trains, we tell the command station what we want a particular locomotive or even a group of locomotives  to do and the command station  translates that information into digital bytes addressed to the particular locomotive(s).  We tell the command station what we want by adjusting the controls on a "throttle."  A throttle typically includes a speed control, a direction control, a series of push buttons for function control, and some means of selecting what address (locomotive) we want our information sent to.

There is one more piece of equipment needed to make it all work and that is a booster to raise the DCC signal, including the digital commands from the command station, up to a power level that can run our trains, their lights, and possibly their sound systems.  That is a "booster" which is rather like an audio amplifier except that it is designed to handle digital signals.  In a simple system like Bachmann's E-Z Command, the throttle, command station and a small booster are combined into one box which is sometimes referred to as a "digital commander."  Higher powered external boosters and extra throttles are also available.  As a quick review, this is how the information flows:

You >>> throttle >>> command station >>> internal booster >>> external booster (Maybe) >>> track >>> locomotive >>> decoder >>> motor, lights, etc.

If you are still with me, congratulations.  That is a bit more than I had originally intended to say.  But I told you that to tell you this:

Locomotives are not the only things that a command station can send commands to.  It is also possible to have decoders in or connected to lights, turn tables, signals and turnouts, to name a few.  Bachmann makes two types of turnouts ("track switches"), one that is operated by the application of either ac or dc power and the other operated by DCC commands via a decoder within the turnout.   For a DCC turnout, the information flow looks more like this:

You >>> throttle >>> command station >>> booster(s) >>> track >>> turnout >>> decoder >>> switch motor >>> turnout position.   

For regular turnouts, including Atlas turnouts, we do not need a DCC system to operate them.  We could operate them off the track output of a DCC command station or booster but that would take away power from any trains that were running.  If more than a few trains were running, they would all stop and the turnout would not throw because the locomotives plus the turnout(s) would draw more current than the booster inside the command station could produce.  A much better way of operating regular (non DCC) turnouts is to use ac or dc between 12 and 16 volts and rated for at least 1/2 amp.  This could be an extra power pack, an old Lionel/MARX transformer, or a "wall wart" power supply (looks like a fat plug on the end of a cord) rated anywhere from 12 to 20 volts and at least 1/2 amp or 500 milliamps.

Jim

What an absolutely GREAT post!   

It is excellent, and Bachmann should be proud of this man's knowledge and abilty to explain in understandable terms some of the workings of DCC!

I'm a 59 year old newbie finally getting started in N scale modeling and bought Bachmann's "Yard Boss" set.   I have the same sorts of questions about power routing switches, and that's how/why I stumbled in here. 

Anyway, I like my little "Yard Boss" 0-6-0 . . .  but of course want to expand it and advance to a DCC setup  (2'x4' coffee table layout), and I would like to use one manufacturer's track, locos, DCC systems, etc.

Bachmann seems OK to me, and once again, I appreciate Jim's knowledge and will be lurking around trying to pick up some more of it!


All best,
Joe