Voltage drop

[rockershovel]

I’ve been experimenting with Lionel tubular track recently. Certainly learnt a lot about voltage drop! 

[Pete the Elaner]

& feeding every rail from copper bus wires beneath the track?

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

& feeding every rail from copper bus wires beneath the track?

 

I didn’t get to that yet, but something of the sort is definitely on the agenda. Right now I’m up to “effects of cleaning joints and laying joints straight”. 

 

Next step is to get some track screws and fix the track in place, to stop the joints flexing. I see why they have clips between track sections! 

[kevinlms]

25 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

 

I didn’t get to that yet, but something of the sort is definitely on the agenda. Right now I’m up to “effects of cleaning joints and laying joints straight”. 

 

Next step is to get some track screws and fix the track in place, to stop the joints flexing. I see why they have clips between track sections! 

If the joints flex, you are more likely to get open circuits than voltage drop. Although I concede that an open circuit, is the ultimate voltage drop, i,e there is no voltage at all!

[rockershovel]

40 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

If the joints flex, you are more likely to get open circuits than voltage drop. Although I concede that an open circuit, is the ultimate voltage drop, i,e there is no voltage at all!

 

Can’t argue with that... what does surprise me, is the degree to which the tracks can flex. I suppose it’s the slotted-together construction. I’ve also discovered that the centre rail insulators require close inspection! 

[kevinlms]

22 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

 

Can’t argue with that... what does surprise me, is the degree to which the tracks can flex. I suppose it’s the slotted-together construction. I’ve also discovered that the centre rail insulators require close inspection! 

I'm not familiar with Lionel track, but I assume the weakness is in the quality or otherwise of how well the parts clip together.

[Nearholmer]

All tinplate track is more or less the same.

 

When new, it is a bngger to get it to connect, because the pins fit very tightly into the tubular rail, but after about three ‘lay then dismantle’ cycles, the pins only fit loosely, and it has a tendency to self-disassemble as trains go round. Which is why the clips are needed.

 

i was watching a Standard Gauge layout on Saturday, with whopping great loco probably weighing 5kg or more belting a train round - the forces on the curves were causing the track sections to come slowly apart.

 

Add in a bit of oxidisation, and the joints semi-conduct at best. Cleaning the pins and inside the tube, nipping the tube tight, and graphite paste, or better still jointing paste (which has abrasive in it) if you can get some will all help.

 

Its not really a quality issue, more a limitation of the technology, often combined with the fact that the track is just plain old old.

 

Fortunately, I learned a lot of this the hard way when I was about five years old, so when I returned to coarse-scale 0, I made very sure I had nothing to do with tinplate track!

 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Nearholmer

[DCB]

I had lots of trouble with "Voltage Drop" outside one summer holiday with Triang super 4 track which was 100% poor fishpate contact, I actually had one red hot at one stage.  Using a bus circuit under the baseboard is rather impractical when using the dining table, probably better beside the track under the ballast shoulder.  Is Lionel track aluminium? if so I would guess soldering to it will be challenging.  Probably best to bin it or use R/C with on board batteries or good ol' Clockwork

[BR60103]

Old Lionel track not aluminum. I think steel plated with tin as it could be soldered.

 

Lionel used to (1950s) sell track pliers which had a round channel that would fit around the tubular rail head to squeeze it tight. Two sizes -- O and O27. I never saw one.

 

Real problem is loose railhead. You may be able to tighten it with needlense pliers on the flat bit.

[rockershovel]

I have a set of ad-hoc track pliers for O27! They are simply a pair of electrician’s crimps, part of a long-dispersed set which had separate tools for the different wire sizes. 

 

I do notice that some of the track I have accumulated, particularly the O27 stuff, has track pins which are clearly replacement items, slightly oversized.