Please help with test stand

If it has rollers it should be powered.  I would add an elevated track and power it to accommodate it.

Thank you Marty, the tender does not have any center rollers for the center track rail like the locomotive. Just wasnt sure if the wheels had to contact the outer ground rails of the track. Do you think it will work seeing how the tender has no center rollers? Another option I think I have is to support the front and rear trucks of the locomotive with blocks and use 2 of the rollers under the tender?

Brad

Check out this thread particular (NJCJOE) Joe's test stand...

I personally don't know if the tender needs the outside rail to function but if you create a setup like Joe then if your tender needs power and common it's covered.  This way you won't need another set of rollers either.  I too am in the process of making a test track and will incorporate a raised powered tender track to cover my bases.

Yea I saw that thread. Very nice stand. I'm not crafty at all and just trying to make due with what I've already got. It's a single level track test stand from Gary at gooddealsdcc.com. Thanks again Marty.

Brad

If the tender's trucks are plastic and there's no electrical wire underneath making contact with the axle, I can't imagine why it would need a connection to common.  If you have reason to believe a such a connection is/may be needed for the tender, you could connect a clip lead between common and the tender axle since it doesn't need to turn while on the test bed.

@MartyE posted:

Check out this thread particular (NJCJOE) Joe's test stand...

I personally don't know if the tender needs the outside rail to function but if you create a setup like Joe then if your tender needs power and common it's covered.  This way you won't need another set of rollers either.  I too am in the process of making a test track and will incorporate a raised powered tender track to cover my bases.

Interesting, Marty.

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm also in the process of building one based on Joe's concept using Fastrack. It will have LED's on each section to confirm power. I'm waiting on delivery of some binding clips for connections. I'm also in the process of figuring out what size screws I will need to screw into the FT from the underside. I'll post when it's completed. 

The wheels are metal and there is what appears to be a metal strap attached from one axle to another. That was why I was wondering if the wheels needed grounded to the track. I did however go ahead and prop the tender up on a piece of dense foam and popsickle sticks to get the right height and try and see if it would work. I also cut a slot in the bottom so the foam wasnt contacting the powered center rail (wasnt sure if that mattered) and it worked perfectly with all functions. The speaker, volume and smoke controls are in the tender so I wasnt expecting it to work. I figured with the tender not contacting the track it would sense a derailment and not power at all. I guess as long as it is plugged into the locomotive then thats all that matters. I will just cover the support I made with something so it looks better and use it. I'm learning as I go. Thank you for all the replies.

Brad

You don't need anything fancy for a bench test stand. Two pieces of 1X4 pine is fine. Make it however long you like. Cut it down so one board is shorter than the other. Mount some track. Ta da done. Took me maybe an hour to make. You can use 4 rollers to run a big articulated, like I'm doing with my DM&IR Yellowstone. Is it living room pretty? No. It's a test stand for my work bench, it doesn't have to be.

I just put 4 rollers down for even a 4-8-8-2 on a straight section of the layout with no problems. whatever hangs over hangs over. No big deal. I just don't need another apparatus in the train room.