N scale track problem

[Anonymous]

I am new to the hobby and am completing a "Scenic Ridge" kit from Woodland Scenics. My project is somewhat documented at papasjournal.com. My problem is that my cars keep coming uncoupled. The engine (Atlas) runs great and never derails, but even one car will derail in places and come uncoupled - particularly up grades. The track is glued down (Atlas Snap) and I thought it was in good shape, but apparently not. The rolling stock is Lifelike and the wheels seem small to me. Should I try different rolling stock? The couplers are Rapido.

Another question I have is how to lay the last section of track (closing the loop) without bending and springing the section in order to get the joiners attached.

Thanks for your help.

[DSchmitt]

if the cars always derail at the same place check the track at that location However the cars are usually a big part of the problem.

I once had a very visible kink in the blue line on an NTRAK module, but the only cars derailing at that point had out of guage wheels. When the wheel gauge on them was corrected they ran through with no problem.

Another thing to check is the weight of the cars. Too light and they are more likely to derail. Life Like cars aren't the best, but with alittle work they can be made to operate reliably. Almost all my old equipment (some dating back to the 1968) has been retrofited with Microtrains trucks/couplers.

[Anonymous]

I weighted several of the Lifelike cars and it helped, but still had too many uncouplings/derailings. I went to a local train store, bought 5 Atlas cars with the same coupler and the problems went away. You get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

I agree as above. Check the weights of the cars and that the coupler heights are uniform. Check the wheel gauges and then look closely at the radius of your track. For an easy way to check how tight your radius is, put your longest car or coach behind the loco and check the bogie overhang.

[Wdlgln005]

With so few Lifelike cars, now is the time to salvage them with MTL trucks and couplers. Be ure to run your trains in Both directions to be sure all the joiners are smooth. You may find a bump going up that you can't feel going down.

MicroMark makes a clear plastic floor car that you can use to check your trackwork. Now is also the time to get a NMRA and Ntrak gagues to be sure all the track & all the wheels are up to snuff.

The last piece of track is always fun to fit in. Since the rest of the track is glued, you may want to cut a piece of flextrack to fit. Measure twice, cut once, then fit the railjoiners on the flex before returning them to the ends.

[Anonymous]

To get the last track piece placed, you can cut through the tie plates that are molded onto the first tie or two in from the end, so that you can slide the rail joiner all the way up onto the rail, then drop the segment in place. Once there, you can then nudge the rail joiner back out to link up with the previously laid track.