726 bottoming out on 022 switches!!!

[lionel2]

I have a 1946 #726 berkshire and the cow catcher is sparking over switches.  The cowcatcher hangs way too low.  How do i fix this??  I dont wanna try to force the cowcatcher upwards.  It cause lots of sparks when i go over switches.  my 726 from 1947 is up high and does not drag.  thanks.

[PostwarMan07]

Maybe the spring is week that keeps the front guide wheel from poping up.  I have some trouble with my 1946 berk going over some switches and plan on getting a replacement spring.  Also likes to stop and fall in nuetral when passing over UCS tracks but thats another story.

[lionel2]

Man i have the same problems with my UCS track.  and it seems as if the spring is stiff.  I think the cowcatcher is bent down.  I love using this engine, but i cannot go over switches without it sparking.  I am also afraid since it sits low, that it might hit the track and fall off my layout.

[lionel2]

You think i should purchase another chassie for a 1946 #726 berkshire??  cause the rivets holding the cowcatcher are loose and it wobbles too.  thanks.

[DMUinCT]

   Nothing to do with the frame.   The Pilot (cow catcher) and cylinders is a separate casting held by a screw under the Pilot Truck.

   The 1946 ONLY (double worm drive) has the pilot (part No. 726-17) from the "Pre-War" 226E locomotive and does run closer to the track.  The 1947 to 1949 Berk uses a revised Pilot Assembly (part No. 726-111) and a whole new frame with more detail and running clearence.

   On your 1946 Berk, you may find groves caused by rail contact in the under side of the pilot.  You can file the Pilot (Cow Catcher) for added clearence or place a small piece of Black Electrical Tape on the bottom of it.

[RockIsland52]

Perhaps the addition of a very slim shim (washer or laundered shirt cardboard) so the fixed position of the pilot truck assembly relative to the loco chassis and hence the catcher/boiler is ever so slightly greater.  That would effectively raise the catcher off the track just enough to provide additional track clearance while not distorting the overall profile, still able to use the same pilot screws.  No?

Another thought.  Did you check how much wear-related radiussing has occured where the pilot axel passes through the pilot truck assembly?  The additional slack have lowered the chassis just enough for this to remain unnoticed over time until the catcher started to drag.  Same solution, shim.  Or a fresher pilot truck assembly. 

Jack

[lionel2]

I dont think the black tape would hold after continous rubbing on track.  cause my cowcatcher is riveted to the frame.  oh well..i will think of something

[martinden]

The tape is easy and cheap to replace. I've used tape on my 736 for years now. (I have a succession of temporary holiday layouts that end up having one or two or little dips in the track that make the pilot short out.) You just have to replace the tape now and then. Also, several kinds of tape will do. Black plastic tape -- but not the electrical type -- seems to work best for me. Electrical tape doesn't seem to stick as well. Scotch tape is OK, but it doesn't last long, and I'd stay away from duct or masking tape.

[dougdagrump]

How about a thin coat of clear nail polish or epoxy on the bottom edge of the cow catcher, just make sure there is no oil residue b4 application.

[lionel2]

Man its sad that i cannot use my oldest O gauge loco.  I think i am going to put some black electrical tape on the cowcatcher. 

[RockIsland52]

Apologies if my previous "solutions" post was a little off the mark.  I don't own a 726, so my experience with catcher track and switch clearance issues are from other steamers.  My observations and suggestions on the 726 may be off the mark.  I am also assuming the issue is with the engine catcher clearance, not the switches.

That being said, resecuring the loose catcher at the attachment point would be my first priority.  lionel2 said it was loose, rivets I think he said.  Followed by the tape if necessary.  Fast and easy fix.

But tape is not permanent and doesn't address the root cause.  I want to learn here.  I'm not trying to be right, so please correct me.

If after securing the catcher it is still contacting the track, certainly grinding a bit off the bottom of the the now-secured catcher would provide more clearance, even if the catcher  slightly bent as lionel2 suggested.  Still, fast and easy. 

Next, if these approaches still did not provided adequate clearance with the track, consider where the catcher is attached to the engine: if the 726 catcher is attached to the boiler shell (which is attached to the chassis which is riding on the front pilot assembly which is riding on the rails), then slightly moving the shell vertically and upward above the pilot assembly with the shim recommendation would seem to me to make sense and provide additional catcher clearance without distorting the profile and height appearance of the 726.

Next, if the openings through which the axels are riding in the pilot assembly are worn, that effectively drops the chassis, the boiler, and hence the catcher vertically down toward and onto the track.  Replacing the pilot assembly with one whose axel openings are not so worn would also raise the clearance between the catcher and the track.  The pilot wheels, even with a good pilot spring, still run "bottomed out"....the spring merely keeps the wheels planted on the track, especially on the corners.

Save that Berk and the shell that came with it.

Jack

[lionel2]

I am going to put some tape on the 726 now.  See how it does.  You guys have any idea how much an old stock motor for a my 726 is???  I currently have a small motor in my 726, but i would like to find a large stack motor for my 726, because the 726 originally came with the 726-1 motor with the larger field stack.  I seen one at the york train show in april, but the man wanted $75 for it.  And i have not seen any on ebay recently.  You know anyone that might have one for sale?  thanks for all the help with my clearance situation.