Weirdest one for me was a loco that would only move in reverse… forward was completely dead. Turned out to be a loose decoder wire barely making contact when the shell was on. Took me hours to find it!
A few quick tests I swear by:
Gently press down on the loco while powered—sometimes it’s just a contact issue.
Try it on a programming track to see if the decoder still responds.
Swap in a known good motor (if you have one handy) to isolate the issue.
Always clean the wheels and check those pickup wipers—dust loves to play tricks.
Would love to hear others’ “mystery solved” stories—or ongoing puzzles!
0
credits