Importance of leveling track

[hobo]

I have 8' radius curves on my mainline,all but one gave me no problem.I run an aristo rs3 which would derail everytime on the problem curve,upon close inspection watching the engine come around the curve,with my head on the ground.I noticed when the engine came into the curve,the wheels on one side would lift off the track,putting a level across the tracks showed one side was lower than the other.I simply leveled the track and solved the problem.This may be helpful to some other garden railroad newcomers like myself

[Marty Cozad]

Good thought HOBO, another is if your rail joiners are factory they may be alittle lose. I use this wire nipers to gentally tighten the joiner on both sides to help (aline) the rails better.
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/NTCGRR/tooljoiner.jpg
Using a scrap 3" rail you can adjust them as you install the track, or do it before ballasting.[^]

[bman36]

Hi there,
Level track is very important around the curves. When my wife and I set up a temporary layout on Father's Day we take along a box full of pre cut blocks...just for levelling. Thanks for sharing this with us. It's these tips that really help newcomers to not get frustrated with "real world" conditions. Later eh...Brian.