OK, I'm starting to get a bit PO'd a bit. It's most likely my fault due to my inexperience and/or impatience, but it's seriously starting to get in the way of my enjoyment of the layout I've worked so long to build.
The derailment issues that I thought that I had fixed have returned. In one particular section on the mining/branch line (the section between the pond and the mountain between about 3/4 of the way through the curve around the pond and the end of the straight before reaching the curve around the mountain), the front axle on each of my GP38-2's wants to derail. The remainder of the truck follows soon behind, causing the fuel tank to short out the Zephyr.
I can manage to get it working well for about an hour or so by raising/lowering the outside rail with flat Plastruct strips (I believe that they're about .040" thick). After about an hour or so of continuous running, the derailments return, sometimes with more persistence than the last time. Sometimes just a few minutes gets it working, others it takes a few evenings of working for a bit, then getting so frustrated that I have to take a break to keep from doing something really stupid, then coming back to it, and repeating the process until I've had enough for the night and come back the next day.
I was running without issue on that line for long while. My issues began after ballasting the track. I've checked to ensure that there's no ballast in the way of the wheel flanges, and cleaned away what was there. I have no intents of repairing the ballast in that section until I can get that line to run reliably once more, and be darn sure of it.
I understand that there will be derailments, especially after running for a while. However, I should be able to put it back on the track and run it for more than 1 lap before it derails in the same spot once again.
The curves on this line are all 15" radius Atlas Code 100.
Below are the locomotives being run on this line:
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH80183
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH78918
I can run a OO scale Hornby Intercity 125 (Class 43 locomotive) and it's passenger cars on this line without issue (except for the occasional uncoupling).
On a somewhat related, but still separate note:
I'm having issues with running one of the GP38 locomotives. It's equipped with a Digitrax DH123AT decoder (
http://www.digitrax.com/prd_mobdec_dh123at.php) (both are, but I had to plug a dummy plug out of one of my DCC ready Athearn locos into the other one due to a totally unresponsive decoder. The wires on both are soldered in place.). When I first start running it, it runs fine. However, after a few minutes or so of running, the locomotive just stops. Sometimes a couple of swift taps to the roof of the locomotive get it going again, but after a few more minutes (sometimes less than a lap around the line), it'll stop again. Each time of doing this takes more and swifter taps, until eventually I'm affraid of breaking the shell. At this point, I put the locomotive on the programming track and run another locomotive. I keep the comm on the motor clean, and have tried running it without the shell, getting much of the same results (albeit with less or no audible noise. I'll explain this next.). Sometimes I do have to solder some of the wires back in place (usually the positive wires coming from the trucks, occasionally one of the motor wires).
As for the noise:
The DCC equipped GP runs fairly quiet with little or no noise, especially without the shell on. Once the shell is on, there is a little hum from the gears that gets amplified by the shell.
The DC GP is pretty loud. I know that there will be more noise from a DC equipped loco on a DCC track, however, this is rediculously loud. When the shell is in place, I can hear it above the roll and clatter of about 15 freight cars. With the shell off, it quiets down to about the level of the DCC equipped GP with the shell on.
I can handle the noise, it just sometimes has me a bit worried that something's wrong with the locomotives.
I'm sorry that this post is so long. I'm pretty frustrated with the problems that I've been having, and I'm ready to find a solution before I get frustrated enough to actually get rid of the layout altogether (hopefully I can think positive enough to convince myself that it's all worth it, and I've put too much work and money into this layout to get rid of it over some issues that I think I should be able to find some kind of a solution for).
Does anyone have any ideas to fix any or all of the issues I've mentioned?
Thanks in advance,
Shannon