SMACK! Bump-n-Go Trolley Strikes the End-of-the-Line Bumpers too Hard

  My thought is a strip of soft foam weatherstrip. Or maybe the fuzzy stuff for window channels.

 It might need to break-in too. Older, but mine was "too fast" also. But after about 15 hours (an hour each way, then split between just fwd & just reverese.)..and more axle oil, it loosened up, and it ran ok at low volts. Now it can creep slow enough to bump too soft and fail to throw the switch 100%, stopping. ("can not does")(dc volts too, RK #30-2545)

I've tried a few brands of bump-in-goes. Slow/realistic speeds usually mean no "go". I've learned to live with it. 

I haven't used Lionels new versions yet, but this MTH switches direction while moving much slower than most old post war units.

 If I forgo bumping to reverse, it runs very close to "scale speed" if not at scale speed...but then the lighting is so dim you cant see it, lol.

I haven't used Lionels new versions yet, but this MTH switches direction while moving much slower than most old post war units.

Sometimes Postwar units with reverse slides suffer from too much loving care. Well intentioned people grease the sliding parts and often bend the contacts to "improve" them. The grease collects dirt and hardens over time. The result is that it takes more force to operate the slide, requiring higher speeds and a harder bang.

Older Modern era units used the same mechanism and suffer the same problems. Not certain whether they are using reversing slides any longer or when they may have stopped.

CW, I think you would find a million uses for "T-9". It is a dry lube spray  I.e. a VERY slippery, very thin teflon wax film once dry (in a liquid carrier) devoloped for/by Boing for helping keep ice from fouling airplane flaps.

  It doesn't collect dust/dirt like a grease or oil and I bet would be ideal for dry fit moving parts like the reversing mech. in trolleys. I had good results at the very least with using it on many things.

The best was van door hinge pins, rust frozen for years. PB Blaster, Aerocroil, Crows oil, all failed regularly. One year I sprayed -T-9 and thought it failed too. Next spring while cleaning/waxing, I moved the handle and it open right up and never stopped.

Doesn't claim to be a penetrate, and worked great on every plastic I used it on too.

Not cheap, though I think the price may have dropped, I paid nearly $15 for a normal spray can over a decade ago, maybe two. Best money I ever spent on a spray lube, and would do it again with confidence. I've been nursing the last couple teaspoons for three-four years; I also learned I was over applying it, it doesn't need much to be very effective..

CW, I think you would find a million uses for "T-9". It is a dry lube spray  I.e. a VERY slippery, very thin teflon wax film once dry (in a liquid carrier) devoloped for/by Boing for helping keep ice from fouling airplane flaps.

Thanks.
I use Neolube.
It seems that some folks sell it for use as a blackener for side rods and such. But it is actually a lubricant.
Be forewarned, the pieces have to be disassembled, and I don't think you'd want to use it on bearings.
It will actually bond things together when wet. And it will definitely clog porous bearings.
A jar has lasted years in my shop, I think I purchased mine from Micro Mark.

By the way, I am down to my last bottle of clear Dri-Slide. It is no longer made. If anybody knows of a source for old stock bottles, I'd love to buy some more. 
(Clear Dri-Slide was another lubricant that went on wet and dried to leave a lubricating deposit. As far as I know regular Dri-Slide is still available)

Thanks for the heads up.  I recall Lee W using Neolube on a German loco years ago. It's blackening was nice. I figured it would also help gaurd againts wheels climbing rails, and keep them cleaner too (any comments on that type of perfomance?) 

   I also priced it... I think when I'm ready I'll settle on the version without the certification for use in nuclear power plants    I think T-9 is still  cheaper than either version of Neolube, lol. It's almost obviously thinner, but T9 is thin enough 99% of the time.  T-9 resembles dishwasher stains on glass & silverware after a few minutes of dry time

I also priced it...

I have a number of fluids in my shop that seemed to be very pricey when purchased. But they are used so sparingly, that the cost isn't really all that high.

I'd put Neolube in that category. Also products from Caig Labs.

Just looked up T-9 on Amazon, I can think of a lot of uses for it around my shop, primarily as a metal protectant. Thanks again for the tip.

You might want to try using a Lionel 1044 transformer, it has a  variable range of

o-11volts.  I run my cars with it and get much better slower speed.  My LW starts at 7.5volts much too high for good control...

Marty

Thanks to all responders who offered helpful info for control and lubing.

I set the speed control knob to the lowest DC voltage level possible. The INDUSTRIAL RAIL trolley now crawls at a slow speed with dim interior lighting, but there's minimum "smack" of the trolley into the bumpers.

I installed a Lionel lighted lock-on this trolley line as a handy visual indicator that track power is ON. However, the track voltage is now so low that the bulb of the lighted lock-on is barely lit. It's a useless display.

I may give up on the "slow poke" INDUSTRIAL RAIL trolley and replace it with a  MTH trolley.  I have two MTH bump-n-go units running on the two other trolley lines on my layout, and both run along at an realistic pace without a jolting SMACK when striking the bumpers. MTH got it right -- their trade secret, perhaps.

Mike  (ritrainguy)

  So the bumper mech doesn't throw? (..."but there's min. smack" or "there is min. smack because it is slower now, but low lights)

Low lighting can be handled if your up to it. Failure to throw I'd look at the hole's, channel:s and slide surface's edges for flash and burrs. Knocking down all crisp edges with a file, etc. (leaving shine on flats alone)

 Ac is turned to dc for the motor & lights by four diodes or a bridge rectifier(4 diodes in 1 package) Look to see if the motor and lights are on one board, and is it feeding the motor's bump switch(s) too. Or,  if roller wires go towards a diodes/BR then to the switch or Rev board.

Find the + lead going to the switch/rev. (BR is labeled+/- and a diode band points to the switch (or a reverse board).There are only two switch wires to trace; so it's easy. 

Now a diode "eats" approx 1.5v. Two in a row eats 3v.. Cut the +/and add two 4 or 5amp diodes, in series, with band pointed at the switch.  Now you will need 3v higher throttle for that same speed, and the lights get brighter with 3 more volts to use.

  You could also remove the switch connection from the board all together add your own BR right to the roller/chassis ground, and feed the two dioes/ switch.

You'd be hard pressed to spend $10 doing it. Likely under $5.

I plan on doing it myself.... and getting rid of the green glow leds used for headlights too. They could have at least been yellow . 

Mike H Mottler posted:

Thanks to all responders who offered helpful info for control and lubing.

 

I may give up on the "slow poke" INDUSTRIAL RAIL trolley and replace it with a  MTH trolley. 

Well, that's what I did. The MTH trolley was an improvement, but mine is still faster than I'd like. BTW, I've had other issues with IR trolleys. Look great, but develop problems.

Early IR trolleys had plastic gears and other issues that cleared up once Atlas bought them out.  I have a later one and never had an issue with it - the bump switch is smooth and requires a lot less of an impact than 80s-90s lionel models.  

I believe that Lionel swapped to a momentary switch instead of a slide plate for the past couple years, which may work better for you.  There was also a work around in OGR a few years back, where a person used a device to make the trolley pause just before a bumper as if it were making a stop, then restart with less momentum.  I believe they were using a post war #60 trolley with good results.  

It would really be nice if we could get a new, affordable trolley with some basic features that have been available on locomotives for decades now...

LOL, I was confusing IR & Rail King 

No biggie as all info should still apply, but I was wondering why there was redesign, lol.

FYI, all the trollys with bump & go were slightly temperamental in my experience. The bump especially were most "rail critters" downside. Being light didn't help with that or to keep running at a creep.

If a new offering offers micro switch bumbers and a reverse board, that would be the one to try out because it would require so little effort to throw the switches.

  I'm curious if this is on a dedicated line and what your min. voltage output of the transformer is as well. I don't recall ever reading that min. on the mth Z1000.

  A slow down could be had by adding a resistor, or maybe a diode to the track near thebumpers lowering voltage there. Restarting can be done with inrush limiters (resistance drops as it heats). An inrush limite alone on the track there may work too. 

I'm betting that member was Dale H. He hasn't posted since last Dec. I sure hope he is doing ok.

Montclaire posted:

...

It would really be nice if we could get a new, affordable trolley with some basic features that have been available on locomotives for decades now...

Agreed.  I think the problem is the volumes are too low for the manufacturers to take notice.  To that end we end up with after-market after-thoughts like the Dallee Back N Forth controllers which include additional goodies like timed station stops.  But these devices are typically $50 or more which can be more than the price of the trolley or hand-car!

The "sad" part is cost of the electronics to perform functions such as decelerating/accelerating at the ends, waiting at each end before returning so that passengers can get off/on, and even directional lighting are very modest - less than, say, $5 or so per trolley.

The OP mentioned hand-cars.  These have the additional mechanical challenge of varying load on the DC motor as the pumping mechanism goes up and down.  For true slow-speed operation without stalling, this really means a speed controller.  But speed controller electronics is standard in modern engines and adds pennies to the cost of the above mythical electronics.

Some years ago, I expended quite a bit of DIY effort to modify an MTH handcar to run back and forth with the capabilities mentioned above.  It's an over-the-top task and I can't see anyone else trying it at home.  If a manufacturer stepped up, it is not particularly expensive as suggested earlier.