My layout has been acting strangely, to say the least. It is a DCC powered layout.
Trains just stop working on most of it, and there is almost no reason. If i fiddle with the tracks of one block, a totally unrelated block shuts down.
The track is clean
Nothing can run on the outside loop of my layout, despite various feeders to each block unless i bump my throttle, and then the train will move freely, then stop right in the middle of a 9" section of straight rail. The real kicker is that the track section is only dead in the center. If i nudge it either way without anything bridging the gape between rails other than the rail joiners, it works. I pulled this track out, and it is still straight, so it does not appear to be out of gauge or kinked. the only block that works is the one where the common rail is wired in, and a couple of other blocks on that inner oval between. My indsutrial park never fails to fail, and for some god forsaken reason, nothing i do can ever get the rails to connect electrically.
Its as if the whole layout died. I might check to see if any wiring got yanked, but the layout had been operating fine until right after the holidays (the same thing it does every year), but this time its more catastrophic.
Should i totally replace or relay the rails and wire hook ups? Right now its all ancient sectional track i layed down 4 years ago. I have some spare flex track, but not enough for the whole layout. I'd also hate to do this, because i'd have to repaint everything. I've already resorted to replacing one block on part of my layout with flex track because of the gaps between sectional track (i'm thinking that part of the layout was the rest of the layout's achilles heal, because with it disconnected, nothing works right).
also, i can't get the solder to go between rail joints (I figured this might alleviate some of the porblems). No amont of flush or scraping/cleaning will get it to go where i want it. I know i've seen a billion articles on how to solder rail joints, but it never works.
Trains just stop working on most of it, and there is almost no reason. If i fiddle with the tracks of one block, a totally unrelated block shuts down.
The track is clean
Nothing can run on the outside loop of my layout, despite various feeders to each block unless i bump my throttle, and then the train will move freely, then stop right in the middle of a 9" section of straight rail. The real kicker is that the track section is only dead in the center. If i nudge it either way without anything bridging the gape between rails other than the rail joiners, it works. I pulled this track out, and it is still straight, so it does not appear to be out of gauge or kinked. the only block that works is the one where the common rail is wired in, and a couple of other blocks on that inner oval between. My indsutrial park never fails to fail, and for some god forsaken reason, nothing i do can ever get the rails to connect electrically.
Its as if the whole layout died. I might check to see if any wiring got yanked, but the layout had been operating fine until right after the holidays (the same thing it does every year), but this time its more catastrophic.
Should i totally replace or relay the rails and wire hook ups? Right now its all ancient sectional track i layed down 4 years ago. I have some spare flex track, but not enough for the whole layout. I'd also hate to do this, because i'd have to repaint everything. I've already resorted to replacing one block on part of my layout with flex track because of the gaps between sectional track (i'm thinking that part of the layout was the rest of the layout's achilles heal, because with it disconnected, nothing works right).
also, i can't get the solder to go between rail joints (I figured this might alleviate some of the porblems). No amont of flush or scraping/cleaning will get it to go where i want it. I know i've seen a billion articles on how to solder rail joints, but it never works.