Switch derailments with LGB and ProSwich switches

[Dcomp]

I have R3 LGB switches and 2 R3 ProSwitches.  Running an RS-3 Aristo diesel with Aristo rolling stock.  I get consistent derailments on both brand switches.  Mostly when the switch is thrown to the curved track position.  A few of the cars are very light and I wonder if that contributes to their derailment.  It seems like the plastic channel around the frog is raised and raises the flange of the wheel.  Running a car back and forth, you notice a significant jolt when the wheel hits the guard rail and is moved over.  I have tried adding a brass strip to the guard rail that lengthens it and makes the space between the guard rail and the stock rail more narrow.  This helped but is not a consitent fix.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the travel through the switches reliable?

 

I have modified the LGB switches to lengthen the guard rails to move the trucks over to the

[ttrigg]

I hear two possible problems. Aristo seems to have 'taller flanges' than other brands. The higher plastic in the flangeway will cause problems. The lead axle in the truck will ride up on the plastic, when the trailing axle hits the plastic it will cause the lead axle to 'kick up' and jump track. Take a small rotory tool and carve away about half of the plastic in the flangeway. DO NOT remove it all in a single pass. After each carving pass, run a truck over the section to see when the wheel remains in contact with the rail head. Second problem: How tight are the trucks? Do they pivot freely? Do they rock from side to side? If not, loosen them up a bit.

[ARIA]

My contribution comes late but might be of interest to some of us as I encountered similar issue on a switch. After lengthy observation of posible cause I decided to apply the same recommended solution made by ttrigg hereabove. In my case, this led to no improvement of the situation. So possibly a deeper carving ? But as I had my nose close to the switch, I noticed that the movable curved closure rail was not keeping the 45 mm constantly. There was a curvature (camber) defect. This was not obvious to see as it is light defect and I did not found an easy way to correct it. Finally I exchanged the switch which is now in the engine shed access control. So under the 5 kg of our engines there is no further issue !!

[PVT Kanaka]

Mind if I pile on?  I just removed and replaced two small LGB swithces (~ 1ft long, 30 deg turn) for similar reasons.  Things were derailing.  Mind you, these are OLD (~30 years), and they may have been stored improperly, warping things slowly.  Here are the issues:

1. I sighted down the rails of one, and I noticed my cars were rising up on one side.  The through rail (correct term, I hope) pinches inward just before the points, causing cars to rise up and derail.  Heavier cars and locomotives seem OK.  I am weighing between trying to grind the inside of the rail or just replacing it.
2. The other switch also throws lighter cars.  The points no longer are flush with the rails on the frog.  I inspected the switch, and, based upon breaks in the plastic on the back side, I suspect it may have also been deformed somehow.  In this case, I am debating grinding the points flush and deepening the groove in the frog or simply retiring the switch.

Happy to take opinions on solutions, and I hope in return I may have given a possible means to diagnose your own issue.

Aloha,

Eric

[Rex in Pinetop]

Guys,

I'm working on a problem of tie "shrinkeage" of some of my hand made switches.  The shrink was as much as 3mm which results in frequent derailments.  One long time friend suggested I try cypress instead of cedar as it is suppose to be better in weather.  Another friend (an Oregon logger) gave me some scraps of old growth cedar that he had after doing the trim on his new house.  He said those logs had been cut more than 30 years ago and were stacked up until he finally decided to build his home.  I'm building another switch from that cedar heart wood.  Another friend retired from a railroad career said that I might try looser spikes and look for something to make plates out of so the rails can shift as needed.  He said todays solution is concrete ties which don't shrink or walk away to become someones landscaping material.  Each of those ties weight about 700 lbs.

Rex  

[Greg Elmassian]

The very first thing to do is check the gauge on the wheelsets. Most rolling stock is undergauge from the factory, that can play havoc in switches.

It's also a lot easier to correct than a switch.

 

Greg

[Rex in Pinetop]

Yes I checked the wheel gage on the derailed loco's and cars.  They were within limits.  I used the track gage that came with my rail bender.  The switch ties shrunk by as much as 3 mm on my hand made switches hence my effort to find out what happened.  My new coffee table in our Pinetop house also shrunk during the same period.  I'm guessing that the cause is our super dry climate here in AZ.  I can't change that so I'm looking into new materials for my hand made switches.

Rex 

 

[ttrigg]

Had a some what similiar experience. Over the years our redwood fence developed gaps of almost half inch between the 6 inch redwood fence boards. Wife wanted to replace the boards but wanted to close the gap. Over the following 3 years we bought 10 boards  a week. I cut some into half inch strips to be used a spacers as I piled the boards on the patio. When the 'air dired' boards were used there were a few that had warped a bit, but in the nine years since the replacment job the boards are still in full contact with each other. 

Buy some new lumber and air dry it for a few years, in the short term, pull the ties, flip them over and reinstall. Just a thought.

[Greg Elmassian]

Rex, I was replying to Dcomp, the original poster of the thread. No one suggested that he check his wheel gauge.

 

Greg

 

Rex in Pinetop

Yes I checked the wheel gage on the derailed loco's and cars.  They were within limits.  I used the track gage that came with my rail bender.  The switch ties shrunk by as much as 3 mm on my hand made switches hence my effort to find out what happened.  My new coffee table in our Pinetop house also shrunk during the same period.  I'm guessing that the cause is our super dry climate here in AZ.  I can't change that so I'm looking into new materials for my hand made switches.

Rex