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4-8-4 tender derailing

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  • Member since
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  • From: Maryville IL
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Posted by cudaken on Thursday, December 31, 2015 8:09 PM

Da Stumer
As in car tire weights?

 Yep.

 Ken

I hate Rust

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Posted by Da Stumer on Thursday, December 31, 2015 10:58 AM

cudaken

 Peter, you can all so sand the base foam to make track area level. Far as weight, I use stick on tire weights. Should be able to get from a local repair shop pretty cheap.

 Cuda Ken

 

 

As in car tire weights? Ok, I'll look for some when I have the chance. The "crossover" s curve doesn't receive much traffic, and the traffic that it does get is slow. The outside track is the main line. I haven't had any issues with that s curve yet because of the s, just the hump. The layout is too small to run full size passenger cars, I stick with athearn cars, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, December 31, 2015 9:28 AM

Your track arrangement at that point also appears to have a couple of potentially nasty S-curves. Re-arranging things to eliminate them might help also.

But yes, Bachmann engines do seem to have very stiff wires between engine and tender. Even on a layout with 30"R curves and No.6 turnouts, I have a couple of engines I can't use the closer drawbar hole or the engine or tender derails.

Stix
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Posted by cudaken on Thursday, December 31, 2015 8:27 AM

 Peter, you can all so sand the base foam to make track area level. Far as weight, I use stick on tire weights. Should be able to get from a local repair shop pretty cheap.

 Cuda Ken

 

I hate Rust

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Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:52 PM

When I have time with dad, I will see what we can do. We removed the ballast a while ago to try sanding it, but gave up. I will give it another try, as that seems most promising. And replace the switch while I'm at it. That switch is kind of bent, too.

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:42 PM

I had a similar situation where two sections of benchwork joined and one was slightly higher than the other. I was using Woodland Scenics Foam Track Bed. I removed a section of the roadbed on the higher section and replaced it with a lower profile piece of N scale roadbed.  That made the joint about even.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:39 PM

Even if you solve the problem with the Bachmann locomotive I would still fix the problem with the track while you have the ballast removed and before you finish the scenery.

My 2 Cents

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:34 PM

All 6 wires are separate, yes. There is nothing that is holding them together in bundles, except for the plug/jacks that they are attached to at each end. The Lego bricks are my test of building a "saddle" that I put some weight on. It seems to do the trick. Now I just need to find some kind of weight to put on the inside.

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:28 PM

Hi Peter:

It looks to me like all you need to do is sand the cork roadbed down until you have a level surface. The roadbed may get a bit thin at the highest part of the hump but once it is ballasted nobody will know. You need to do both tracks so the whole area is flat.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by richg1998 on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:24 PM

I found that the plastic sleeve over each bundle cause stiffness in the wiring. Cutting the sleeve off made everything much more flexible. I cannot see if the sleeves are still in place. The six wires are separate from each other.

Rich

If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.

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Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:15 PM

 

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 8:03 PM

Rich, the roadbed is cork, so it is sand able. I am hesitant to remove the drawbar at the moment because it had an issue of disconnecting, so  I stuck a piece  a rubber washer thing on the pin to keep the drawbar more permanateley attached, and I would have to remove that and possibly have to attach one should I remove it. The connection there seems loose enough, to me it seems like the wires are a bit stiff. It is a nice good bundle of 6 wires that see, to be putting sideways pressure when entering a curve. Picking it up with, it feels like that anyways. I'll try to post a picture in a moment.

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 7:47 PM

I have never had much luck with adding weight to the trucks on locos or tenders.

One solution is to fix the hump.  What kind of roadbed are you using?

Try disconnecting the drawbar as I previously suggested and see if that solves the problem.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 7:33 PM

richg1998

Common issue with Bachmann tenders. I see the same question in the Bachmann forums and other forums. Add weight as was said.

I also slit the plastic tube covering each set of wires. Each bundle is more flexible and look more like hoses. I also coat them with black liquid vinyl.

I use a small pair of scissors from a sewing kit. The scissors have long thin points. Do this carefully.

Rich

 

As in wire insulation? I don't see anything else on the wires besides that. I'll see what I can do about sanding the roadbed, I already have the ballast removed at that spot, but the issues is caused by two parts of the table being at different heights. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the only way to correct that looks like rebuilding the benchwork in that spot. It is because different thicknesses of wood were used in different sections built at different times. As for adding weight, what can I use for that? I usually just run trains around unmodified, so I am really a noob at the fine tuning end.

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:59 PM

Its never too late.  Fix the problem with the track.  Willing to bet if you run 85' passenger cars over that hump they wont stay coupled.  Even if it means removing and relaying a section it is better to fix the underlying problem earlier than later.  Use Isopropyl alcohol and shop vac to remove the ballast (if you want to salvage it use a sock over the end of the shop vac to collect the ballast.) Next remove the track.  Using a sanding block sand down the roadbed until hump is gone.  Re-install track.  Test all locomotives And long rolling stock.  Ballast track, allow to dry. Test all locomotives and long rolling stock.

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:54 PM

Disconnect the drawbar connecting the tender to the locomotive.  If that solves the derailing problem, make the hole in the drawbar bigger and then reconnect it.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by richg1998 on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:53 PM

Common issue with Bachmann tenders. I see the same question in the Bachmann forums and other forums. Add weight as was said.

I also slit the plastic tube covering each set of wires. Each bundle is more flexible and look more like hoses. I also coat them with black liquid vinyl.

I use a small pair of scissors from a sewing kit. The scissors have long thin points. Do this carefully.

Rich

If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.

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  • From: ohio
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Posted by rs2mike on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:47 PM

You can try adding weight in the tender. I had a light mountain that would derail in backing manuvers. They are pretty light but in the long run you may need to try to find a way to fix your trackwork. If one is a problem others will also have issues

mike

 

alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)

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4-8-4 tender derailing
Posted by Da Stumer on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 6:40 PM

So, I have this recurring problem that I can't seem to fix. I have a bachmann standard line daylight, the newer version with dcc on board. On my layout, there is a spot where there is a slight hump in the track work, because of uneven bench work. On that hump is a straight  leading into a curve. When this locomotive goes around the curve, the pressure of the wires pushing on the tender plus the slight downward slope cause the front tnder truck to come off the tracks. It is pretty much too late to redo the benchwork, as this didn't become a problem until I had roadbed and some ballast down. Is me any way that I can rearrange the wires fro the tender, or anything else, to solve this problem? I can provide pictures if needed.

-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.

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