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Offline JDennis  
#1 Posted : 01 May 2022 21:14:33(UTC)
JDennis

United States   
Joined: 04/11/2017(UTC)
Posts: 89
Location: Minnesota
Just set up my first real layout, using all C-track. Having a number of odd problems.

Have a lot of power interruptions causing the loco to stop crossing switches/turnouts. Run fine on all other track sections.

Have a number of cars that snag on switches/turnouts, sometimes pulling the car right off the track (sometimes derailing the whole train). Especially if the car has any pickup shoe, shoe will snag on switches/turnouts. Also have a brand new set of pax cars that appear to have some different sort of couplers, and the trailing car will not cross a switch/turnout without snagging. (The cars coupled to another car do OK.)

Very frustrating. Are these common problems? How does one resolve it? Thanks.
Offline David Dewar  
#2 Posted : 01 May 2022 23:46:54(UTC)
David Dewar

Scotland   
Joined: 01/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 7,383
Location: Scotland
Are the locos and coaches that you run all Marklin or other they other makes.
Take care I like Marklin and will defend the worlds greatest model rail manufacturer.
Offline JDennis  
#3 Posted : 01 May 2022 23:54:22(UTC)
JDennis

United States   
Joined: 04/11/2017(UTC)
Posts: 89
Location: Minnesota
100% Marklin
Offline dickinsonj  
#4 Posted : 02 May 2022 01:14:11(UTC)
dickinsonj

United States   
Joined: 05/12/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,730
Location: Crozet, Virginia
I run mostly Märklin rolling stock on C track and issues in turnouts are not at all uncommon in my experience.

I have found that is is not the turnouts at fault in must cases, but the sliders on the locos and cars. The only turnouts that I have never been able to make work dependably are the three ways, which cause havoc with some freight wagons, particularly the two axle variety.

I have been able to eliminate most of the turnout shorting with very careful adjustment of the sliders. If a slider is catching on the turnout and causing derailments it is probably seriously out of adjustment. I have also seen derailments caused by couplers which are not at the correct level, but that is easily fixed in most cases.

The slider itself must be perfectly flat and they do not all come from the factory that way, so that is where I start. Also check that the sliders are evenly suspended and that they hang down the correct amount below the wheels. Perfecting those things has fixed the vast majority of my turnout issues. I have made tiny adjustments and seen those problems go away, so work through each problem slider carefully.

I have dozens of locos and I have been able to get all of them to work properly with careful adjustment. Some ran fine right out of the box, but some took a long time to get working correctly.

The same is true for my passenger coaches, although there are a few that still cause problems, even after hours of slider adjustment. Even those normally only cause problems when taking a turn and not when proceeding straight, although that is still very frustrating. My California Zephyr for instance runs great when not turning but the slider of the observation car will often bring the train to a brief stop each time it passes through a turnout, luckily only when taking a turn. Moving from one track across several turnouts often causes a short each time the observation car makes a turn.

Good luck and don't give up, better running is possible but not guaranteed, even when running all Märklin equipment.
Regards,
Jim

I have almost all Märklin and mostly HO, although I do have a small number of Z gauge trains!
So many trains and so little time.
Offline JDennis  
#5 Posted : 02 May 2022 01:35:17(UTC)
JDennis

United States   
Joined: 04/11/2017(UTC)
Posts: 89
Location: Minnesota
Thanks for your reply Jim. That's pretty well what I expected. And yes, the three-ways are big offenders. Sounds like a bunch of tweaking in my future.

I have one set of short pax coaches and the last car has a slider that is short, hinged rather than the longer ones you more often see. It's being a problem, and may change it out for a different slider. Just trial and error until we get them all working.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Dennis
Offline dickinsonj  
#6 Posted : 02 May 2022 01:43:40(UTC)
dickinsonj

United States   
Joined: 05/12/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,730
Location: Crozet, Virginia
You are welcome Dennis!

My worst new coach set was the set of Silberlinge coaches for the push pull Insider train from a few years back. It also has a different slider and placement than usual and so far it has defied all of my attempts to get it to run properly. Pretty disappointing for such a pretty Insider model.

There are a lot of real advantages to 3-rail, but smooth running through turnouts is definitely not one of them. When I finally get around to my next layout the 3-ways will be in a very out of the way location.
Regards,
Jim

I have almost all Märklin and mostly HO, although I do have a small number of Z gauge trains!
So many trains and so little time.
Offline JDennis  
#7 Posted : 02 May 2022 02:12:24(UTC)
JDennis

United States   
Joined: 04/11/2017(UTC)
Posts: 89
Location: Minnesota
Yes, unfortunately I have some three-ways in some main-line tracks. If I can't resolve these problems, not too late to think about a re-design. The three-ways are amazingly handy, but cantankerous for sure.
Offline costing  
#8 Posted : 02 May 2022 12:40:41(UTC)
costing

Switzerland   
Joined: 20/08/2018(UTC)
Posts: 157
Location: Geneve, Geneva
Another source of grief if the rail guards, that in some case are too loose and don't guide the wheels correctly. I found that bending them gently towards the respective sides helps a lot. Use a wood dowel or some other round tool to push the tops out a bit. A bit of extra heat also helps in bending the plastic.

bend.png
JMRI on RPi & DCC++ / C-track / Marklin, Roco, ESU, Bemo locos / Christmas car collector
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by costing
Offline LocoLynk  
#9 Posted : 02 May 2022 19:26:04(UTC)
LocoLynk

United States   
Joined: 01/09/2021(UTC)
Posts: 13
Location: California, San Diego
I have also been dealing with similar issues - likewise especially with the 3 way turnouts but also the wide radius curved turnouts.

In terms of the 3 ways, Generally it is at low speed operations where the momentum is not sufficient to keep the slider in contact with the power studs, so they are not shorting but maybe the studs are too low and the power is interrupted. I have begun to inspect my sliders more closely as it is quite frustrating most of my 3 ways are in the goods yard where slow speed is the name off the game!

The wide radius curved turnouts I have had different experiences, where it is actually shorting - again slider alignment is key, but I had had some of my older wagons short where the wheel flange was touching the "divider" and the power stud so I bent the stud out very slightly and seems to have taken care of it.

thanks 1 user liked this useful post by LocoLynk
Offline Copenhagen  
#10 Posted : 02 May 2022 21:04:34(UTC)
Copenhagen


Joined: 23/04/2019(UTC)
Posts: 403
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
My problem with my only threeway turnout and a double slip has been that short locos lose wheel connection, probably because of short flanges and the plastic rails in parts of the turnout. It can be solved with some conductive paint and one place I fitted a strip of aluminum foil at the base of the track by the use of blu tack.

On some non Maerklin locomotives with short and flexible pick up shoes I have bent the slider slightly convex to prevent problems with the studs in curved turnouts.

Another problem can be with the slider touching the turnout tounge in curved turnouts and making a short. You can try and put a thin strip of tape on top of the tongue. Not ideal of course.
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by Copenhagen
Offline LocoLynk  
#11 Posted : 03 May 2022 03:54:59(UTC)
LocoLynk

United States   
Joined: 01/09/2021(UTC)
Posts: 13
Location: California, San Diego
Originally Posted by: Copenhagen Go to Quoted Post
My problem with my only threeway turnout and a double slip has been that short locos lose wheel connection, probably because of short flanges and the plastic rails in parts of the turnout. It can be solved with some conductive paint and one place I fitted a strip of aluminum foil at the base of the track by the use of blu tack.

On some non Maerklin locomotives with short and flexible pick up shoes I have bent the slider slightly convex to prevent problems with the studs in curved turnouts.

Another problem can be with the slider touching the turnout tounge in curved turnouts and making a short. You can try and put a thin strip of tape on top of the tongue. Not ideal of course.




It may come to something like that! thanks
Offline David Dewar  
#12 Posted : 03 May 2022 12:23:42(UTC)
David Dewar

Scotland   
Joined: 01/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 7,383
Location: Scotland
Sliders on coaches can be a problem. Make sure you have the correct slider for the coach. Also I have found that using the bar type coupler (current conducting one) helps and is better that close couplers. Try not to have a bend immediately after the turnout. If a coach is the problem adding some weight to it can also help. If it only happens with one or two locos or coaches and not the majority then the turnout will be OK and the problem will be with the slider.
Take care I like Marklin and will defend the worlds greatest model rail manufacturer.
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by David Dewar
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