Micro Trains Tips

The Microtrains "B" unit dumies often have terrific rolling resistance.

MT has come out with some shims that can help correct the problem. The "newer" units are supposed to have the shims, but they don't necessarily. There are still a lot of "old" B-units in the pipeline. If you want to know if one has the shims or not, look at the bottom of the trucks. There is a "window" in the center of the truck (it's there to provide clearance for the worm gear in the powered units). If there is a visible black bar going across the window inside the truck, then it has the shim in it. If you're not sure, you can carefully remove the truck side frames to check, as well. (thanks to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Apparently you can get the shims from MT for 20 cents each, and a buck for shipping.

More information from Geoff & Bill & Jeffrey MacHan on cleaning and improving MT F Units:
If you take a MT apart, one strong suggestion: don't mix and match gears on a loco that's been run. The gears take a "set" very quickly, and mixing them up is not a good thing to do. Be certain the axles go back in the same truck and in the same left/right orientation.

Most common problems found?
1. Dirty wheels
2. Poor connection between axles and truck frame
3. If the loco has ever been disassembled by the owner, problems with the cat's whiskers and the truck
4. If the truck has ever been disassembled by the owner, the challenge of finding which axle goes in which truck, and left/right orientation

One of the most common whisker problems, and it has been known to happen with units that were assembled at the factory, not just the units that have been opened by customers, is that the whisker will actually work its way under the gear tower contact. This can cause the whisker to get somewhat bent out of shape and generally wreak havoc with the electrical conductivity. A normal symptom of this is if the truck will conduct power when it's turned one way but not the other and frequently not when it's just straight. (See Bill's Test Three.)

When cleaning MT F7 wheels using an MTL speedidriver brass brush, if you notice that the brass screws are conducting but that the wheels are not, then this is a sure sign of poor electrical conductivity between the wheel collar and the truck sideframe. Remove the wheels and give them and the truck well a good cleaning with rubbing alcohol to remove the crud they have collected.