Does anyone have any ideas of how to prevent or minimize rolling stock, especially box cars and the like, from gently rocking side to side (as in the tops tilt back and forth) as they are pulled along the track? Is it the play in the connection between the truck and the floor of the cars?
The St. Francis Consolidated Railroad of the Colorado Rockies
Denver, Colorado
Hello,
There are number of causes, you do not mention what make car it is and if you have replaced the wheels with metal wheels. If you look at some OLD movies you will see that the Side to Side rocking is prototypical as long at it is within reason. One cause is uneven track, another cause is the wheels. I have changed out all my plastic wheels and replaced them with Bachmann Metal Wheels and I also have a few that rock from Side to Side. The Bachmann wheels are mot machined like other brands, thay are made by pour moltin metal into a mold. I hope this is a help.
Happy Railroading ,
Ron
I use mostly plastic wheels, I first check the back-to-back gage then I tighten the screw that hold the truck in place all the way in then back out the screw 1/8-1/2 of turn as i check for rocking and turning .
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.
Is your track level ?????
Dave's suggestion about the tightness of the screw holding the truck should be is also very valid.
Have fun with your trains
Yes, the rocking is caused by looseness in the connection between the carbody and the truck itself. My general rule of thumb is that you want one truck to swivel freely along all three axes; so it can rotate, rise up and down to compensate for dips and humps in the track, and rock a bit side to side to compensate for twists. The second truck you want a bit tighter. You want it to rotate freely--obviously--and also rise up and down to compensate for dips and bumps. You want this truck fairly tight in terms of rocking, though.
On many cars, the "kingpin" (the small post in the bolster into which the attachment screw is fastened) is longer than the truck is thick, so the truck is loose even with the screw tightened all the way down. That's fine for one end, but on the other, I'll take a file and file that down so I can snug the truck tight to the frame. Then I back the screw off just a hair so it can swivel. If the truck has built-in equalization (i.e., sprung trucks) then you don't need to worry excessively about the up-and-down motion. If they're rigid, and the shape of the bolster pad doesn't allow up-and-down motion of the trucks, you may want to take a file and round the bolster a bit, making it a bit more cylindrical-shape. (Just do this across the car; you want a cylinder, not a ball.) Then the truck should have some up-and-down play, but still be rigid side to side.
Later,
K
okay, great stuff, thanks gents...I knew I could count on your expertise.
Now I need to fix my trackwork.......
watch?v=hAGW4zZoMB4
WOW that made me feel good about some of my track
When I read about the evils of drinking I quit reading.
nice vidio , u got me at first. but then I thought it looked like our 1 to1 grade crossing be for it was fixed.
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