I have 14 Aristocrats rail cars and all work fine except for two. These two happen to be the newest cars that I bought from Aristocraft, they ALWAYS derail where as the older modeels keep on going over the "problem" spot for hours and never derail. As a result they have sat in their boxes for the last two years. I tried running them again this weekend and still the same problem. All my cars have metal wheels and the suspension springs are all intact. Has anyone else had this problem with newer Aristocraft cars?
Cheers
Iain
I would bet it's the wheel gage--have you check the spacing? There's nothing else it could be, except maybe the weight of the car.
check the wheel gage--aristo makes a very good wheel gage. If they are too close or to far apart, then are fsairly6 east to adjust. You can visually check them by comparing them against other wheels
Lain,
Have you checked the wheel gauge? If you have a Kadee coupler height gauge, there is a wheel gauge on the side. You can also check the back-to-back dimensions. Check the flange height as compared to the 'older' Aristocraft cars.
I would also check the 'problem spot', could be the rail gauge is not correct, Something is out of tolerance - make no assumptions, so check everything.
From my experience Aristocraft is pretty good at maintaining proper wheel gauge. I would first suspect flange height. You might have larger flanges on the cars in question. Larger flange will jump the rails when it encounters an obstruction the other cars roll right over. I had the same problem with a different brand and simply changing out the wheels solved the problem. I would run a quick test, swap the axles from one "jumping" car with the axles from a "running" car. If the problem is in the axles (flange or gauge) the problem will move to the "running" car. If the problem continues then there might be a problem with the trucks or car themselves. Some additional information from you might help find a solution.
Where is the "jumping" point, in a switch?, just after a curve, inside a curve, what is the diameter of the curve?
Which cars are we talking about?
Tom Trigg
They derail on a long straight section, not at the one switch I have. The cars are a boxcar and a hopper car. I'll check out the gauge and wheel widths and try swaping axles from a non jumping car to a jumping can. Thanks.
Long straight section is where they derail. OK, here is another set of possibilities. Since they clear the flange ways of the switch, I doubt it is either flange height or wheel gauge (could be but I doubt it.) Start at the derail point and work backwards. Look for any abnormality in your "tie cleats" for anything "taller" than the others. Check for properly aligned joints, is there a joint even slightly out of alignment. Are the rails level with each other, or does one make a quick dip? Check the free-play of the truck mount, is there a bit of wobble as well as swivel? If not, can you loosen up the trucks a bit?
I had a similar problem for a few weeks. My trains had been doing fine for five years and then all of a sudden everything jumped the rails at the same point every time it went in one direction. It took me three weeks to find the bit of gravel on top of the tie plate about six feet before the derailment point. I did not believe it possible until I filmed my derailment and then watched it in slow motion. The flange of the leading axle of three trucks was riding atop the railhead for the entire distance. Removing the "bolder" from atop the tie plate and loosening up the trucks a bit for some wobble and it all worked fine.
I think Tom has the answer. I would bet your track has a twist to it. If the side to side truck play is not enough, then it cannot compensate correctly for track imperfections. If you can get close to the track where the problem exist, watch the wheels as they pass through the area. I bet you will see the lead wheel lifting off the rail at a low spot. If you can loosen the truck mounting screw a bit, that will allow more side to side play and it should go through the bad area ok. Compare the bad cars truck side to side play with the good cars to determine how much play is normal.
Good luck
Mark
M. Gilger - President and Chief Engineer MM&G web
Web Site: http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/
To actually watch the wheels I "filmed" with the camera upside down. I took a chunk of "packing styrofaom" (from a microwave if I remember correctly) and cut a slot so that it would tightly hod the camera lens about one inch above ground level. I put a brightly painted Golf Tee inside the field of view about half inch from a tie. This gave me a marker so that I could count ties to the "fatal track error". If watching the wheels upside down is bothersome and your video software cannot rotate the image, there are a large number of Freeware video software packages out there (
Which cars are these specifically? Box, passenger, what?
There's different tricks to different cars.
(Buy an aristo gauge and set your wheels, no matter what.)
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
Tom,
What did you find out? We are all waiting with anticipation.
mgilger Tom, What did you find out? We are all waiting with anticipation. Mark
Tom, we are still waiting!
Dave
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
A month and a half later....
Greg
dwbeckett mgilger: Tom, What did you find out? We are all waiting with anticipation. Mark Tom, we are still waiting! Dave
mgilger: Tom, What did you find out? We are all waiting with anticipation. Mark
OK, guys, Iaim is the one with the problem. I told you how I found my problem with the camera.
i'm not confused Tom, just Mark!
Hum. I didn't think I was confused, at least not today, maybe yesterday....
Still waiting......
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