Oxidation of the track rails due to a reaction between the alcohol and an unsuitable metal. Most likely a low nickel content in the conducting rails
Thinking back on my youthful slot car days, this does seem to be a good explanation. Looking at those numbers quoted earlier, of 3.75 in 1000, that 3.75 equates to well less than 1/2 of one percent. Or to say it another way, 99.625% should not be oily. .325% is quite insignificant, and should never be noticed.
Okkkkkkkkkkk...turned it around..weeeeeeeeeeee !!!! It used to start slipping 1/3 of the way up. Now it makes it 2/3 of the way before it slips ! Success is measured in inches...eh ? :-( BTW...I dont think the Train Gods would find any sacrifice suitable for the language I've been using out there the last few days :-(
I'll asked again…Remember a few months ago you were having issues with a black/gray residue appearing on the rails overnight? Did you ever figure out what the cause was? And is it still happening?
Sorry Glenn...musta missed your reply earlier. Never really figured the reason. Best guess was possible condensation when it was getting well below freezing out there and then turning the heater on in the AM. Or having it warm while out there and then the air chilling fast when the temp dropped at night. I did use NX and I havent had the problem since
Well it is an improvement so you are 66 and 2/3rds there. But on a serious note is this the only loco of this type you have? And what are the differences between any other six axle loco and this one. It is not an issue it seems of enough weight for traction or it would not make it up the first time. So the mystery of what changes after a couple of laps and runs on the hill. If it was a residue left from anything in the alcohol it would have done it consistently and other locos would have the same issue not just this one. When the alcohol dries whatever other components that do not vaporize will end up being concentrated, so again the problem should have presented on the first lap or maybe the second. Not having anything near to this myself I have to ask if it has any traction tires. If all the drive axles are spinning which I believe you said they were then to me something is shifting position slightly and causing a drag eventually on the uphill with the, I assume body mount couplers, now pulling on the shell with the drag of the consist behind. Fuel tank dragging because of body shift or pilot drag. Hmmm. Another test is to try running the loco in the normal orientation and pushing the same consist. If it runs okay in that mode then it would narrow down to the body shift caused by the pull on the couplers possibly.
George, This doesn't happen to be the first loco you ran on the layout after applying NO OX is it? This is a way out there question/suggestion.... NO-OX is a grease. There are bound to be places on the layout that it didn't get fully buffed out. Maybe the loco picked it up. I understand that NO-OX is really hard to get off, maybe the wheels are coated, the track is coated and the two are not agreeing. This loco and cars have run on the layout enough to pickup / clean the excess NO-OX off the track and the other locos when tested saw relatively clean track and didn't pickup any NO-OX on them. I have a friend that just spent a month putting NO-OX on his whole layout and he noticed about a 5% loss in pulling power because of it.
I might have missed this answer but, have you tried checking to see if the drive shaft and/or universal joints are slipping?
Actually the opposite is what transpired. The No-Ox was put down at least 3 months ago. Trains at that time ran thru it along with all my cars. This loco is only a couple weeks old so didnt get No-OX'd.
Hiya Allen... I havent pulled the loco apart enought to see...but...when it stops and slips...i have put a screwdriver against all whells and I can tell they are spinning. If a driveshaft or u-joint was slipping I would think the wheels wouldnt turn at the rails ;-)
Hey George, Oh that's right, I did see something mentioned about applying a screwdriver to the wheels. Sorry. Not always the case, but if the shaft or universals are slipping, it may be intermittently slipping, might be just enough to slow it down. I'm not saying it the case here, but at this point, it's time to start looking at everything just to rule it out. I think I would still double check them if and when you ever have the frame apart, just too make sure at this point.
Hey Rick, I know real RRs are 'rails' . What I mean is I use 'realroaders' when discussing a model RR situation and wish to point out something done on the real one, because some folks don't know the term 'rails' to mean the 1:1 guys.. My inbox is open now....Did ya reach Salma Hayec yet ?.. M
George, If you already did this and I missed it, then just ignore. Since you had to take the shell of to remove the wheel gear towers that would have been the time to look at the drive parts. You did loosen the two halfs of the engine frame and not just yanked the trucks out? OK, if they just come out real easy, but never force them out if tight. If tight loosed the two frames a little. So you cleaned out all of the lube in both trucks and each rolls smooth as silk when moved by hand? That is the way it should move and with no binding of any kind. No lube of any kind should be used until the engine is run with perfectly working gear tower trucks. Others may use oil or lube, but I find it makes no difference in how my engines run if the gears, worm and drive shaft installed properly and are kept clean.
Hiya Ken... Yuppers..loosened the frame screws...and dropped the trucks. I did notice the white grease was up in the worm area too...but was more concerned about the amount in the gear towers...wowsers !! I cleaned up the trucks and popped em back in...tightened the frame screws (not to much). It didnt improve the runnng much at all :-(
