[Billy]

Hi folkes : first i wanted to say how much i enjoy the forums, and have had alot of ?'s ansered . i just need some help with a power issue i am haveing befor i start doing any scenery . keep in mind i an using your basic tyco transformers to power the lay out . and i have gone nuts with the amount of track say i have a 12 X 8 foot loop would it help to add another power point to the track at the far end or another transformer? the problem i am haveing is the tranformers heat up and shut off after 20 minits or so and the trains get slower at the far end any input would be helpfull as you all have been running trains alot longer than i Thank you Bill

 

[Stan kolak]

More power

Justr wrote a post to you, it got cancelled out. It appears your power pack is underpowered. I have a "tyco pak 1" rated at 6 VA or about 6 watts. It can run only single truck switchers and streetcars. This is about 1/2 ampere current draw. The bigger power packs are rated at 1,2, and 4 amp. I am checking out an MRC 4 amp power pack for the train club, it will run any engine, including brass ones that are heavy and draw a lot of current, amperes. Hopew this helps

 

[Billy]

Hello Stan : hey thanks for the info i am also using a PAK1 model 895 its really one of the better ones i have had. i am going to try a ground wire to one track and see if it helps then i will try another transformer with long wires .lol. becouse im not going to spend any more money right now i hope

 

[Billy]

pics

hello againg i was woundering i i could post some pics of my 1/72 scale models if any one was intrested but now i am into the ho scale stuff but i do know how to wether them. just let me know admin if it would be ok to post pic"s of other than train stuff

 

[Billy]

howdy folkes : well so this i what i have done i added another standard power pack to my first one same leads ofcorse not sure if this is the way to do it right but my power problem is no more . my engins are not the best but very nice. i really don't thingk i can burn them up as all you might have to do is change the brushes how ever i just add a little more power from the extra power pack on hills rest of the time not so much . and they really do work like new even at slow speeds. thats it just a tip for other new train folk .

 

[Stan kolak]

two power packs in parallel should do the trick for up hill travel. Most undersized power packs are Ok for level grades. The two together should not burn up the engine as you will not be "overvoltage". If you ran your train at 22 volts or more for a long time, the engine could burn out. However, the engine would fly off the track at this higher voltage. Good luck, problem solved.

 

[sptrains.com]

Are you sure it's a power pack issue. How are you supplying power to your track. If you're just putting it in at one spot through a terminal curve, you are probably experiencing voltage drop to the other side. What you need to do is get some terminal joiners or solder feeder wires every 4 feet or so of track then link these to a common wire. The idea is that you provide power around your whole layout, and you'll be amazed at the difference!

 

[Stan kolak]

Power on tracks

I have only one connectioin on a 35 foot oval, with no slowdown anywhere on the loop. The HO track is equivalent to a number 10 AWG wire , capable of handling 25 amps. Loose rail joints will cause an intermittent stop only. A dirty track will show a slowdown at the farthest point due to the increased resistance. Alweays clean the tracks on a slowdown occurance.

 

[Billy]

howdy guys: most of my track is two foot flex and i have solderd a small wire to each joint but had the same problem but really its a hole new railroad when i hooked up an extra power pak ( chepies) still have not had any more issues with power besides is kinda fun to have to control my trains than to just push a button and sit their but its all good