Every modeler has that one repair that left them scratching their head for days—maybe it was a loco that ran fine in one direction but sputtered in the other, or a turnout that worked only when the room lights were off (yep, that happens).
This is the place to share your trickiest, weirdest, or most satisfying repair jobs.
What went wrong? What did you try that didn’t work? And what finally solved it?
I’ve definitely had a few “head-scratchers,” but one that stands out was a diesel loco that ran beautifully forward but stuttered and stalled in reverse—every single time. I cleaned the wheels, checked the pickups, even swapped decoders. Nothing worked.
Turns out, one of the motor leads was barely making contact when the frame flexed in reverse. A tiny solder joint had a microscopic crack that only separated when the motor was under strain in that direction. A proper reflow of the joint fixed it instantly. Took me days to figure out something so small!
Another odd one—a turnout that shorted only when the overhead room lights were on. Believe it or not, the culprit was a UV-sensitive photoresistor someone had installed years ago for automated detection… it was wired backwards. That was a rabbit hole!
What’s the strangest repair mystery you’ve cracked?
