LBF Coal Porter

[Anonymous]

Hello, I recently purchased and assembled 18 NYC LBF Coal Porters and about a third of them won't stay on the track. I've noticed that some of the trucks do not slew the way they should. I've adjusted the retaining screws several times to no avail and also removed the weights (which seem to bow the cars) and tried adding various amounts of "live loads" and running with no weight at all. Does anyone out there run these with success? If so, please, whats yours secret?

Thanks,
Jim

[Vampire]

Try checking the distance between the wheels on each axle with an NMRA standards gauge. Some may be too far apart or too close together. This really causes problems on curves and at turnouts. Adjust or replace wheels that are out of gauge. Also roll the wheels/trucks across a flat surface to check for excessive wobble.

You could also install a pair of trucks from a different manufacturer to see if they work any better. That would at least narrow down the trouble, although you're probably none too excited about replacing trucks on a dozen new cars!

I have a handful of LBF cars, including several of the coal porters. Only issue I've had was making sure the bolsters were square and aligned during assembly.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Persistance with the NMRA guage and close observation are the keys to solving your problem. No else one can see what you see on your layout but you. Slow down and start looking and thinking before you start bending, adjusting or cutting. That's the real deal.

[chicirjs]

I have a few long strings (30 cars) of the E&C/LBF Coal porters that I am able to run both empty and with "live loads". I agree with the earlier posts that checking the NMRA guage is the first step and that observing where, why, and how the cars derail is also crucial. Another thing to check is how freely the wheelsets turn in the trucks. LBF retooled their trucks a while ago, but the old trucks required a lot of work with the Reboxx or Micromark tool for reaming the trucks. Before using the tool, many of my cars rolled like a block of wood, but now, after reaming the trucks, they are just fine.

[Don Gibson]

Coal Porter

Are you sure it isn't spelled Cole Porter?

[tstage]

Don,

I KNEW you were going to chime in with something along those lines. Dont' worry Don, "it's alright with me"...

Tom