# A few newbie questions



## Antigan15 (Apr 12, 2010)

Hello all,

I'm not exactly new to the hobby (I've been playing with trains since I was a baby) but up till now it's been largely for fun, and less for realism. I am curious to know, however, a) what a 'run' means (such as 'I invited Bill and John over for a run to test my new layout) and b) where exactly they learn all the 'proper' way of doing things. I've heard them tell stories down at my local store about how the express was running late because the shunter engine was in the hands of a newbie etc etc, and I was curious if they actually operated it like a mini railroad.

Also, I'm having some trouble with my track. I have a Bachmann Spectrum set, with a Baldwin 2-6-0 engine hauling 3 passenger cars. It came with the higher quality nickel-silver(could be wrong on that, it's the grey bedded kind), and it worked fine when I got it, but after several months in storage it's beginning to have sections devoid of electricity. Sometimes my engine will stop all together, sometimes it will have enough momentum to carry it over the dead track with just a little bump to show where it is. Can anyone tell me the proper way to clean track? I'm a poor college student, so a track cleaning car is out of the question right now.

Thanks,
Antigan15

Edit: Also, can someone explain DCC to me, and how much would replacing or converting my engines cost? I have the Baldwin, an 0-4-0 Bachmann shunter, a 4-6-0 Daylight, and a UP U-boat diesel. They're all either very old (the diesel was bought way back in '94) or very cheap (the shunter is a $25 engine) but I'm loath to get rid of them now, y'all know how it is with engines


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

Antigan15 said:


> Also, I'm having some trouble with my track. I have a Bachmann Spectrum set, with a Baldwin 2-6-0 engine hauling 3 passenger cars. It came with the higher quality nickel-silver(could be wrong on that, it's the grey bedded kind), and it worked fine when I got it, but after several months in storage it's beginning to have sections devoid of electricity. Sometimes my engine will stop all together, sometimes it will have enough momentum to carry it over the dead track with just a little bump to show where it is. Can anyone tell me the proper way to clean track? I'm a poor college student, so a track cleaning car is out of the question right now.



I had this problem shortly after I got my train set. The problem was the engineer ended up getting a DUI the next day due to a major crash during his drunken stupor. What I found was that the connections between my tracks weren't very solid. I ended up paying a couple of bucks to buy a set of connectors and went through and made sure that all the tracks were connected properly.

The engineer now has to blow before he gets to run the trains.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

....and that last straight line is just begging for a punch line, Brad!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Antigan15 said:


> Can anyone tell me the proper way to clean track?


Pick up one of those "eraser looking" rubberized track cleaning bars at your local hobby shop. Like this:


http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/949-521

As for power-loss, make sure your track-to-track connectors are tight, not bent, etc.

Good luck!

TJ


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## Antigan15 (Apr 12, 2010)

How do I know if they're loose?

I may have been playing around with trains since I was a kid but I should warn you this current two year old set holds the record for survival in my house. I intend to keep it that way gentlemen, no worries (tempting as head on collisions are....)

Thanks all,
Antigan15


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Antigan15 said:


> How do I know if they're loose?


Simple method: Give 'em the old tug test. They should feel quite snug, with good friction grab. If not, remove, straighten out and tighten with needlenose pliers, and reinstall. Or, better yet, buy some new connectors.

Guicci method: Use a multimeter to check the track-to-track conductivity (resistance, voltage drop, etc.). Any bad connections should raise some red flags here.

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

...and common-sense method: if every time your electric pickup wheels cross the connection, the train stops, they're probably loose.


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

Reckers said:


> ....and that last straight line is just begging for a punch line, Brad!


I meant for a blood alcohol level


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