Friday, March 18, 2022

DCC Frustrations & Hopes

 In the last few months, the DCC system on Hedley-Junction started to fail... First, it was Rapido's SW1200RS locomotives acting funnily. For some weird reason, when we started using these locomotives, some issues with decoders started to appear. Other locomotives on the layout at the same time started to have serious problems. Motors acted weirdly, producing unhealthy noises, then, we loss control of them. Some would be be running perfectly forward but would run full speed at step 1 on reverse. Worst, for some, you could control the sound but they were idling, unable to move.

Then, I started to run some brand new locomotives from my collection and they would perform fine. A reset was performed on the DCC system and a few locomotives. Finally, all battery from the control cabs were replaced. It kind of worked, but we couldn't salvaged the SW1200RS which are, for the foreseeable future shelf queens until investigation kick off.


It was a really frustrating moment. Coming back from the lockdown, restarting the club meeting and feeling the mechanical aspect of the layout is crumbling apart was disheartening at best. So much efforts to reach that point wasn't fun at all. We are now embarking in a program to reset decoders, readjust each locomotives, clean and lube them. Two years of semi-hiatus wasn't great for the layout.


Also, over the last year, a strange chemical process started to attack the nickel-silver rails. Corrosion similar to rust started to pit the rail surface. Dark brown and black, these spots couldn't be removed by chemicals or polishing. A small test section polished with 320 grit sandpaper removed some spots, but they reappeared quickly. We all know sandpaper is never a solution anyway.


This corrosion creates all kind of issues with the locomotives. It's particularly problematic with sound equipped models. So far, it seems Athearn Genesis geeps are performing the best. I may be warming toward newer Athearn products to be honest. I'm not a fan of the flimsy details, but I have to admit after a two year hiatus, they are still performing brilliantly. However, most other locomotives aren't so lucky.


We've been investigating the rails using a magnifying glass and lots of micro abrasion can be seen. To be frankly honest, in the early days of the layout, our methods were coarse like many beginners and we didn't care enough for our rails. Now, we pay the price. However, the corrosion issue is strange. Temperature and humidity conditions didn't change since the early days of this layout. The spots appears everywhere, but are much more present in Villeneuve yard were a lot of ballast was glued down using powdered resin wood glue. I've wondered if this could have created a chemical reaction, but it doesn't seem to be a likely cause.


At the end of the day, fighting this corrosion is almost a lost battle as the last few months have proven. We do our best to keep track clean, but there is a limit to what we can achieve. As we speak, we have started to equip a few stubborn locomotives with keep alives. This isn't my first choice solution, but it certainly improves greatly performances by making the locomotives run flawlessly.


With these lessons learned, I know I'll take more care with rails on Monk Subdivision. Live and learn, once again!

13 comments:

  1. Resin based glues definitely impact the tarnishing rate of nickel silver, so why not the heavier corrosion too?

    I’m sorry to hear of all these problems, I can’t believe the ESU Loksound in the SW1200 have caused a problem across other locomotives though, surely it’s more likely an electrical gremlin in the system? However, I hope they can be resolved as the layout looks wonderful so far, and as you say there are perhaps lessons for future here, with your own project.

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    1. James, I always had my doubts about the resin based glue. Thanks for confirming that. I'll look into that. However, it must be noted the pitting occurs everywhere, including on unballasted tracks.

      As for the SW1200RS, I suspect they were the first victims of the system failure, happening to be on the track when things started to behave strangely. That said, before that electronic disaster, we had some issues similar to the ones documented by many modellers. They will be inspected in the future as we work out what went wrong. For now, it seems the rests have took care of the main issue. I'm glad our locomotive fleet is quite small though.

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    2. My experience is on small layouts, the rate of tarnishing increases massively just after ballasting. In some cases this persists for several months, others just a week or so… eventually things settle down. I noticed this more with resin glue diluted and applied in the usual manner. These days I use dilute matt medium. The problem still occasionally occurs though, but much reduced.

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    3. I should say, that the problem occurs everywhere too, not just where you’ve ballasted. I have no idea why!

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  2. After long periods of non-operation on my layout (sometimes a year or more similar to you) I also have found it frustrating just to get trains moving again. This is one of the reasons why my next layout will be a three-rail train layout. Those trains just seem to run no matter what.

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    1. I certainly wouldn't blame you for switching to 3-rail. In fact, the most fascinating thing with this hobby is how far it has gone in the last 2 decades and how little basic issues haven't yet been addressed. Electrical conductivity was always the Achille's heel of model railroading and is still. Sometimes, I'm jealous of R/C and garden trains.

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    2. I wonder how long before we all switch to Wi-Fi ‘radio control’ with on board Lipo batteries to be honest! It seems strange to me we’re still relying on wheels to transmit power amd control signals.

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    3. I wait for that eagerly!! Yes, I have made the same observations about tarnished rails after ballasting. As I said, the problem is relatively under control elsewhere, but where resin glue was used, the problem manifested later and amplify with time. I'll take closeup pictures next time. It's worth investigation.

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  3. Is your track handlaid? What kind of, or whose ballast do you use? What is the atmosheperic condition of the layout room--damp, dry, possible mould, etc? All may be contributing factors.

    Steve Lucas

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    1. The room is generally dry with some humidity in the fall. Track is commercial, all Peco Code 83. Speaking of ballast, it's a custom mix of sifted crushed limestone and some clay from a local quarry. Gosh... I'm starting to wonder if some minerals aren't reacting...

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  4. I think that limestone and clay are very stable,but are they reacting with the nickle silver rails?

    Steve Lucas

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    1. Years ago, there was an instance of corrosion of nickle silver rail laid on wood ties. The corrosion problem was traced to the use of Rit brand clothing dye to colour the ties.

      Steve Lucas

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    2. Interesting. I recall when Rit dyes were very popular but didn't know they led to corrosion issues. Electric current probably don't help either with these chemical reactions. The glue I used was DAP Weldwood Plastic Resin. I'll take pictures next time and publish them for the sake of discussing that matter.

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