Hi!
I've been testing the lower level and 2 percent incline on my under construction HO DCC powered layout. I can honestly say I'm a pretty fair "track layer" and have high standards regarding derailments and durability.
My test locos have all been BLI Paragons, and I started with the SW7 switcher and 6 axles switchers - both of which run beautifully over all the tested trackage. So then I got the 4-8-4, and it found a couple of minor problems which I soon corrected.
Then, I got the 2-10-2 and 2-10-4 locos, and they found even more problems. The first was an uneven section of curved track, and the other two areas were curves that are probably a bit too tight or uneven in radius. Fortunately, all these problems are in the same area, and I have room to widen the radius and smooth out the base.
My point to all this is that I had some faulty track areas, but only the 10 drivered locos would catch them.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Hi, Mobilman44!
I know exactly what you're talking about. I use an 0-6-0 to test most of my track as I lay it down but I have a brass Ma&Pa 4-6-0 that is the TRUE TEST of good track! It's a sweet runner and I love her but if there's any, and I mean ANY, defects she'll find them. I can run 2-8-2s and other bigger engines through the same area with no problems though. Go figure!
It's good knowing that if the 4-6-0 makes it anything can make it. Yes....the wheels are all in gauge and there is no interference between the lead truck and anything including the cylinders!
Enjoy!
Roger Huber
Roger,
I suspect most of us who have been modeling for some time have a special finicky loco.
In my case, the 2-10-2 (and virtually identical 2-10-4) tend to find track errors, while the small SWs tend to find electrical errors, and the long PAs or Es tend to find clearance errors (on curves). My "mistake" was not testing with the 10 drivered units sooner than I did.
All that being said, I got the benchwork realigned (off vertically 1/4 inch), and redid the two curves in question to a 1 inch larger radii (26 & 27 in) than they were originally. I've got 8 feeders left to hook up, and then will test, test, test. Then, maybe I can move on to putting in the main level!
By the way, would "stinkadena" be anywhere near "passagetdowndina"???
mobilman44 By the way, would "stinkadena" be anywhere near "passagetdowndina"???
mobilman44,
Yep.....that's the one! Never trust air you can't see!
Roger
Truely, a Texas or Santa Fe type engine, having a rigid frame that would facilitate that number of drivers, would be pretty discriminating. There is some up and down "slop" but they are pretty demanding engines. One thing I found was the tendency of long-framed locos to actually "lift" the ponies off of the rail if there is a hump of any size, and to "push" them off of the rails on a too-tight curve. Good testers? You bet! Something better yet: Better planning from the onset. If you are a good track-layer, congratulations! Poor or substandard trackwork can be the biggest PIA in the world, next to the US Treasury...