Model Railway Forum

I have pulled all my son's old railway, (OO), from a cupboard and have started my own layout for the first time. At 60 years old, it seems like I may need a lot of support and guidance, having already run into a power issue. The stock/track is about 25 years, with some of that being second hand then! So far, the cork/track is laid and a little of the ballasting completed on a 8x4 board.
Mark.T

Welcome to the forum Mark.

We’re all still learning on here, so technically we are fellow novices.
Welcome.

Welcome Mark.

Welcome to the friendly forum. There’s lots to learn but luckily loads of advice and experience on here all freely given. You’ve certainly joined an addictive hobby.

Hi Mark and welcome to our forum.

Welcome Mark - this is a great forum.

LoneR113 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 6:42 pm I have pulled all my son's old railway, (OO), from a cupboard and have started my own layout for the first time. At 60 years old, it seems like I may need a lot of support and guidance, having already run into a power issue. The stock/track is about 25 years, with some of that being second hand then! So far, the cork/track is laid and a little of the ballasting completed on a 8x4 board.
Mark.T

What power issue?
I also the tracks need to be cleaned, after 20+ years in storage I expect they will be tarnished.

Welcome to the forum. We hope you gain much information and can then provide us with details of how you're progressing.

Firstly, I would determine what type of rail is being used in your old track - Steel or Nickel Silver rail. Older track is likely to have steel rails - Test with a magnet - fridge magnet will do! It will be attracted to steel rail but not to modern Nickel Silver rail. Hopefully its NS rail as older steel will often be contaminated with rust which is really hard to keep under control.
Next, look at the metal rail joiners (Fishplates) and the rail ends they connect together. The rails and insides of the joiner need to be clean and when pushed onto the rail are a tight fit. Loose or dirty joiners will give no end of electrical troubles rail to rail. Loose joiners can either be replaced with new ones or if not too bad, then once the rails are abutting inside the joiner and they are found to be slightly loose then carefully crush their bottom rail foot connection tight onto the rails with the aid of a pair of pliers.
Electrical connection to the rails is frequently via a 'plug in' power clip which needs to be 100% clean and a good connection to the rails undersides. Power track sections are better as the connection to the rail is factory made. But the very best connection is by soldering the feed wires directly to the rails outer web area or best to the rails undersides before track laying is commenced making the rail to wire joint virtually invisible.

Two things I would invest in are, a Track Rubber and a Fibre Pencil. The track rubber is used to keep the rail tops spotlessly clean while the Fibre Pencil is used to scrub clean the ends of rails and insides of rail joiners, plus it is used to clean rails where solder is to be applied.

Welcome to the forum Mark. Good place to get answers to problems.