We’ve all been there—one section of track seems fine, but suddenly your train stalls, flickers, or just won’t run right. Whether it’s power drop, short circuits, or track alignment issues, sometimes finding the root cause can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Let’s share our experiences and solutions:
How do you troubleshoot power issues?
What’s your go-to method for fixing track alignment or electrical hiccups?
Any tips for cleaning track and ensuring good conductivity?
I usually start with the simple stuff first. A lot of times it’s just dirty wheels on the loco, so I’ll run them over a bit of kitchen roll with some isopropyl on it and see if that clears things up. If the paper comes up black, you know you’ve hit the problem.
If that doesn’t fix it, I start tracing the wiring. Loose feeders or a bad solder joint have caught me out more than once. For track alignment, I’ll use a short straight edge and gently nudge things back—no need to force it.
For cleaning the rails, I just stick to a soft cloth and alcohol now. I gave up on those abrasive cleaners because they just seem to make things worse in the long run.
