I am totally new to Z! Can anyone give me a referral to a site that explains how things work? I am trying to figure out how the manual track switching device on the old (very old) set up I purchased works. They do not have wiring that I can see and the photos of manual switches look like what is on my board. Any help for this newbie? Tillman in Florida
They should have a little kite shaped box next to the points and there is just a little white nub that you slide to move them. Simple as that. The New MT track is the same except the slider is black. Oh and welcome to Trainboard. There is some great guys and great information to be had here.
Welcome to Trainboard, Tleddy. Like Joe said. to switch the points, all you have to do is slide the white knob on the black covering on the side. There is no need to wire the switches. The power comes from connecting it to power tracks
Thanks for the rapid replies!! Now i just have to clean the tracks and the locomotive wheels for power transfer and I will be good to go... any advice or caveats on the process?? Tillman
Tillman, add oil to the gears, and watch out for the hard oil syndrome. Hard oil syndrome where oil turn into solid, and the engine wont move. Lets hope you dont have that problem.
What type of oil should I use to properly lubricate the engines? Where dod you apply it? One more question. is there a cleaner you can buy for the engines? Is rubbing alcohol okay? Thanks in advance.
Well, it is a bigger problem than I thought. The armature shaft through the upper bearing is worn out and missing... :-( It is an older model switch engine by Marklin and I wonder if there is a reputable repair facility that is known by the forum. Tillman
Tillman, I use the Stikas to repair my engines. Glenn & Sandy Stiska 1045 Porter Drive Largo, FL 33771-1229 Phone: 727-535-3819 Dave, becareful using alcohol to clean your engine. It could take the paint off To clean the engine trucks and gears, I use rc motor cleaner. Another way is use ultrasonic cleaner. Of course, take the shell off first. Then lubricate the engine again with Labelle #8. Dont over do it. I apply the oil with a toothpick, so you dont apply too much oil by mistake.
Tillman, what do you mean that the shaft is worn out ? Can you take pix and post ? At the top of the screen is Railimages. It is kinda funky posting pix so the easiest way that I know is either post them somewhere else and then you can easily link to to them (keep them under 1280 x 1024, 800x600 is fine, 640x480 acceptable size). If you use Railimages, open another incidence of Trainboard, then click the Railimages. You will have 'this' Trainboard open that you use to Reply and there is a yellow icon of a mountain or maybe a postcard like look. After uploading your pix in the Railimages Gallery (a pain, keep an eye out for the Gallery you are putting it in (yours !) and then go there, click the picture and then right click the picture to get the Properties which will be the link you want to copy (just like you do in WindoZe), then paste in the other Trainboard with the Reply box that you clicked that yellow icon. You can always Edit your post if you get it wrong. Again, easier to somtimes link to an outside photo server on another site. .
Per axle. But if you consider the number of cars an average train consists of, American trains are 10 to 15 times heavier than those here in Europe... But I confirm, if you consider mainline track in Europe, MTL track is closer to prototype than Marklin's. Happy new year to all, Dom
