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 Posted - December 08 2011 : 07:18:57 AM
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Hi guys, I just pulled my tyco train set circa 1987 from my attic. I built a new board and tacked down all the track. I noticed I am missing one of the connectors that attach two pieces of track together. My loco gp-20 santa fe won't consistently run. I read about testing the motors and it works great when I touch one wire to the front wheels and one to the back. So I think my loco is ok. The tracks themselves had some corrosion that I removed with emery paper. The loco also runs the opposite direction of the switch (switch in forward train runs in reverse) If i tap the track the loco will move a couple inches and then stop. At some points it will go half way around but then stop. My son (4 yrs old) could not believe I had a train set in the attic and wants it running under the christmas tree sooooooo bad haha. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 07:43:30 AM
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]Hi guys, I just pulled my tyco train set circa 1987 from my attic.
>> Hope it doesn't get too hot up there!
The loco also runs the opposite direction of the switch (switch in forward train runs in reverse)
>> Turn the engine around. It's simple polarity of the track wiring. or move the wires opposite their current position.
If i tap the track the loco will move a couple inches and then stop. At some points it will go half way around but then stop.
>> Still missing the track joiner? LOL. Anyway, often they get bent and weak, if you could put the track together easily, they may be wore out and need recrimping. They need to be stiff when you put the track together. Common problem. I'd simply replace them all. Test them like this, place two pieces of track together, put them on a slick surface, and with one finger on each piece, try and slide them apart. If you can do this easily, replace the joiners or recrimp them ALL. They should be stiff enough to hold the track together firmly. If they require almost no effort to separate, then they are not making good electrical contact.
Other issues include the contacts on the engine wheels, or the wheels themselves may be so dirty. Get some rubbing alcohol and clean off the wheels, if you have a small brass brush, wouldn't hurt to burnish the METAL wheels with it, NOT the plastic ones!
My son (4 yrs old) could not believe I had a train set in the attic and wants it running under the christmas tree sooooooo bad haha. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
>> Good luck with your project, keep us up-to-date on your progress.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 07:48:15 AM
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Thanks for the info. This poor train set has been involved in about 5 moves. One of the plastic cars for the autoloader turned to powder when I picked it up lol.
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 10:16:38 AM
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quote:Thanks for the info. This poor train set has been involved in about 5 moves. One of the plastic cars for the autoloader turned to powder when I picked it up lol.
Originally posted by jreeder41Â -Â December 08 2011Â :Â 07:48:15 AM
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I'd say it suffered from heat damage. Was it the Camaro or the AMC AMX ? I have about 15 of those Auto loader cars ( whole train cars, not just the automobiles ), since I love AMC cars. Storing items in unregulated temp areas usually degrades these 1970's era plastics, not good for them. Just bakes the oils right out of the plastics. Anyway, hope to hear a success story on getting your engine to run consistently. Always a challenge when they haven't been run regularly.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 2:38:15 PM
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| Brianstyco has some excellent videos on how to service the locos on this site and on Youtube. His info and videos has helped me greatly. Hope to see a few pics of your set then. Best regards J.
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 3:09:44 PM
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Yes, Brian does. Thats how I got my So76 POTUS. Thanks Brian!
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 5:13:20 PM
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Was it the Camaro or the AMC AMX ?
Actually it was what looked like a 50's jaguar. Three was three of them in the box. Not sure where they came from. My autoloader had the AMX's on it.
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 9:15:06 PM
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| Start by cleaning the pick up wheels, then then the motored wheels if needed, if it still jerks around and your track in connected all the way, I would say the axle areas or brushes in the motor need to be cleaned. Pretty much you want any place power flows through to be as clean as possible.
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Posted - December 08 2011 : 10:39:35 PM
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If it were me, I would probably just get new track. But that's probably overkill.
If not new track, then I would at least replace all the rail joiners. They just don't hold up well to repeated use. You can squeeze them back into shape, but it's never as good as new and they tarnish and are hard to clean. I don't know if you have a hobby shop, but if you do rail joiners won't set you back much at all.
The next step, as others have mentioned, is to make sure all the loco's wheels are cleaned. In extreme cases I have used an emery board or even a wire brush on my dremel. Brian has some youtube videos that will give you great advice on general maintenance.
Welcome aboard, and good luck!
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Posted - December 17 2011 : 08:51:06 AM
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I received my new rail joiners from modeltrainstuff.com along with a new Pennsylvania caboose and tanker. Now the train works wonderfully! My son, daughter and I played with it for about an hour last night  Thank you guys very much for the help. Of course now I have the bug to put together an all PA railroad train set. I have the caboose and a tanker car.
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Posted - December 17 2011 : 6:34:24 PM
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quote:I received my new rail joiners.... Now the train works wonderfully!..now I have the bug to put together an all PA railroad train set. ....
Originally posted by jreeder41Â -Â December 17 2011Â :Â 08:51:06 AM
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Nothing's stopping you.  Plenty of stuff out there to make that possible. Glad your train is back running full time, all the time. Amazing what a simple thing like changing track joiners can do for running pleasure. Loose joints are a major cause of aggravation with floor-level trains. Glad it's working for you. Wait until after Christmas, then you can stock up on PA train sale items 70% off. 
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - December 19 2011 : 07:22:35 AM
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Here's my son Brian with our set.
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Posted - December 19 2011 : 11:30:04 AM
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| Glad to see it up and running. That pic reminds me of my son and my 4 month old daughter loves to watch the train go round and round.
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