I am relatively new to model railroading and may have made a rookie mistake somewhere along the line before I placed my engine on the track.
Some detail may help someone provide me with what I hope is a very simple answer to my problem which is that regardless of which direction I place the engine onto the rails, it only runs backwards.
About 3 years ago I built an N scale layout with a total of about 27' of flexible rail. I soldered 20-gauge feeder wires to the track at approximately 4-5' intervals. I connected the feeder wires to a 12 gauge wire bus which I have connected to an MRC Tech 6 Sound Controller 2.0 All of the outer feeder wires are connected to one of the bus wires and all of the inner feeder wires are connected to the other. There are 5 turnouts and 5 terminal ends included on the layout. About 2 years ago, once I had all the track and wiring in place, I put my new Bachman diesel model 3274 on the track. While the performance was not spectacular, I do not recall that it only ran backwards.
For reasons I will not go into here I was unable to do any further work on my setup until this past December. After a light cleaning of the track with a Bright Boy and minor housekeeping I once again wanted to see my train run before I ballasted the track and began any serious landscaping. It was at this point that regardless of my best efforts I could not get the engine to run forward. I have done some preliminary searching for an answer on the internet without success. The closest I've come is several comments advising that there is a switch or wires on the engine motor that need to be reversed. I hesitate to do something unnecessary and am reluctant to begin taking the engine apart if the problem is in the track wiring or somewhere else more easily accessible. I live in a town that has no organized model railroading clubs or any stores with people knowledgeable about model railroad wiring or other aspects of the hobby so at the moment I'm at a loss for help nearby. I hope to locate some local help soon but would appreciate any help in the meantime.
Some detail may help someone provide me with what I hope is a very simple answer to my problem which is that regardless of which direction I place the engine onto the rails, it only runs backwards.
About 3 years ago I built an N scale layout with a total of about 27' of flexible rail. I soldered 20-gauge feeder wires to the track at approximately 4-5' intervals. I connected the feeder wires to a 12 gauge wire bus which I have connected to an MRC Tech 6 Sound Controller 2.0 All of the outer feeder wires are connected to one of the bus wires and all of the inner feeder wires are connected to the other. There are 5 turnouts and 5 terminal ends included on the layout. About 2 years ago, once I had all the track and wiring in place, I put my new Bachman diesel model 3274 on the track. While the performance was not spectacular, I do not recall that it only ran backwards.
For reasons I will not go into here I was unable to do any further work on my setup until this past December. After a light cleaning of the track with a Bright Boy and minor housekeeping I once again wanted to see my train run before I ballasted the track and began any serious landscaping. It was at this point that regardless of my best efforts I could not get the engine to run forward. I have done some preliminary searching for an answer on the internet without success. The closest I've come is several comments advising that there is a switch or wires on the engine motor that need to be reversed. I hesitate to do something unnecessary and am reluctant to begin taking the engine apart if the problem is in the track wiring or somewhere else more easily accessible. I live in a town that has no organized model railroading clubs or any stores with people knowledgeable about model railroad wiring or other aspects of the hobby so at the moment I'm at a loss for help nearby. I hope to locate some local help soon but would appreciate any help in the meantime.