My mainline track has been in place for almost 25 years. It is flex track on cork which is glued to 1/2" plywood strips. The curves were drawn using a tool I made from an old yardstick and then sections were cut out and spliced together. Minimum radius was 24".
Over the years I have only had one problem. There's one spot where one of my freight cars would derail. The three other identical cars that I have did not have the problem so I assumed that there was a problem with that car that I couldn't figure out. The easy solution was to put it on a siding.
Fast forward to a couple years ago. I got a 4-8-4 Northern and low and behold it derails at the same spot. I saw a tip on here about using 24" sectional track to check the radius. When I did that it was off on that curve. A closer inspection revealed that I hadn't lined up two plywood sections correctly. I need to decide if it is worth the effort to fix it. The Northern doesn't fit my 1983 era, but it is a road number that was restored and is used for excursions. I had some heavyweights from my earlier days so I figured I could make it work as an excursion on my railroad. It would be a lot less work to just sell the locomotive and leave the track alone. The fix isn't going to be easy.
The voice in my head is saying fix it, but I have gone down rabbit holes enough times to take a time out and really think about the best way to handle it. What would you do?
Rick
Hi Rick,
Let's see. You have one freight car and one engine that don't like the curve. The engine doesn't fit your era (although excursion trains are nice) and the freight car is happy when it's parked. I think I would sell the locomotive and maybe replace it with something a bit smaller for your excursions, and leave the freight car where it sits.
I guess the bottom line is that the amount of work required to fix the track would seem to be far greater than the trouble it causes.
Having said that, if your replacement engine won't take the curve, then I would suggest getting out the chainsaw!
Cheers,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I would not fix it.
Sorry, but that is a liveable inconvenience in my book.
However, it would irritate me every day forever.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I'd be bugged enough by the glitches that I'd fix it.
Wayne
Will you lose sleep over the bad curve knowing it's there? It sounds to me that it is troubling you more than you realize. The fix may not be that bad to do. Can the mis matched plywood be shimmed or putty filled and sanded smooth before the trackwork? Maybe go a little further on each side and add easements to the curve?
I had a situation like this and chose to tear out the faulty trackwork. That way I wasn't bound to compromise on rolling stock.
The choice is yours. Good luck and have fun.
Pete.
Posted in very large font on the wall opposite the main entrance in a drill hall at the Canadian Forces Base Petawawa's buildings housing the Royal Canadian Regiment, First Battalion- Never pass a fault.
To me, the spinal column and circulatory system of a model railroad are the tracks and their power supply. Screw those up, even a little, and the whole thing is tainted. My trains gotta run....period. All of 'em.
I fix track problems. I will stop whatever else I'm doing and plug in my soldering iron, leaving a pick or something draped over the tracks to mark where I know a soldered feeder has let go or was obviously not done properly originally. I always meter a place where locos stall to see if it's the power feed. If I get derailments, and mine happen on a turnout or on a curve, I'll know the points were improperly lined or my outer rail needs to come up just a tiny fraction of an inch.
I know for a fact that Doc Wayne has modified tracks when they no longer suited his needs, and I ripped out and relaid three feet two layouts ago. It's not like it's a days or weeks long job. Most of these fixes take maybe six minutes, the bigger ones up to an hour.
Fix it!!!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
hbgatsf What would you do?
What would you do?
Fix the glitch!
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks for the feedback. It is going to bother me every day knowing that it is there.
I should clarify that the mis-aligned sections caused the radius to be smaller than what I had wanted right in the middle of a 200 degree arc. Fixing it will entail moving the approaching track at one end which is a straight run of about 20'. I guess I need to see if adding a slight curve in it will make the job easier.
Fix it. You will probably get other rolling stock that will also derail. Is it level laterally? A shim could do the trick. Otherwise, it's a 2 hour job...
Simon
Fix it but you don't have to tear it out, just adjust it a bit.
I would first do as Simon suggests, check to see if the rails are level. A some what smaller radius could( and in this case does) effect the loco but shouldn't effect a short wheel base rail car. If the rails are level and no kink in the curve then I'm in the fix it camp..
Fix it. "There is never enough time to do the job correctly, but always enough time to go back and make a correction".
snjroy Fix it. You will probably get other rolling stock that will also derail. Is it level laterally? A shim could do the trick. Otherwise, it's a 2 hour job... Simon
It is going to be much more than a 2 hour job. As I said earlier I will need to re-align a long section of approaching track as well as cutting the splice in the curve and redoing it.
floridaflyer I would first do as Simon suggests, check to see if the rails are level. A some what smaller radius could( and in this case does) effect the loco but shouldn't effect a short wheel base rail car. If the rails are level and no kink in the curve then I'm in the fix it camp..
The rails are level. I have always wondered why that one car didn't like the curve. When I have time I need to take another look at it now that I know I have a track problem.
Rick.
When I built my yard/scale house module. The lead directly to the scale track came off the cork roadbed to the top of the 2 inch foam base. Before I ballasted it was tested with a 2-10-0, a 2-10-4, and a string of quad hoppers. So I thought it was good to go. After the module was done and the lead track and yard burried in plaster, painted, weeds, trash, and all was done. The very first train show the problem reared it's ugly head. My 0-6-0, short hoppers and ore jennies would hit the ground at the transition. Where my longest equipment was shoved through without a problem I never thought the shorties would give me an issue. Taking the sheetrock saw hurt but I'm glad I did it.
Since the other similar freight cars run fine thru the curve, my guess is the problem one either has wheelsets that aren't correctly gauged, or something underneath the car is inhibiting the trucks from turning enough. Could even be a sticky coupler box, that's not allowing the coupler to swing left and right.
FWIW I usually find I tend to greatly overestimate the difficulty of projects. I put them off for a long time, then when I finally fix it I wonder why I waited so long. I'd hope you could fix it without having to re-do an entire long straight section, perhaps just introduce a gradual curve the other direction creating an S-curve (with a straight section between the curves longer than your longest car or engine of course).
I'm obsessive about track work and smooth running trains. When I'm running trains and find a glitch, I stop running and start fixing. It might be a simple problem like a tight truck, or something worse.
Some years ago, I bought some Rivarossi coaches specifically because they said they would run on my 18 inch radius curves. One didn't. I measured carefully and discovered I had actually made the curve too tight with flex track. It was maybe 17 3/4 inches. I had to rip up the whole curve, but I got it to work.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
How long have you benn running the layout and how many times has this been a problem?
It seems to come down to struggling with the irrationality of fixing it....only seems to effect a very limited amount of equipment......, or having to emotionally deal with the irritant of knowing there is a problem.
Eliminating the irritant is an easy fix. Just go on vacation and drink a lot of booze. Come back a month later and you will have forgotten all about the problem that isn't really a problem anyway.
The irritant will be gone, and you'll have more fun eliminating the irritant than relaying the track.
- Douglas
Fix it!!!!!!!https://melvineperry.blogspot.com/2014/12/december-22-2014-ho-turnouts.htmlMel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, CaliforniaGrowing old is a bummer, aging is definitely not for wimps.
hbgatsf snjroy Fix it. You will probably get other rolling stock that will also derail. Is it level laterally? A shim could do the trick. Otherwise, it's a 2 hour job... Simon It is going to be much more than a 2 hour job. As I said earlier I will need to re-align a long section of approaching track as well as cutting the splice in the curve and redoing it. Rick
I'm a guy that gets up from dinner to replace a light bulb that burns out over the dining room table, even if it is one of many bulbs in the fixture. These bigger fixes on the layout never seem as daunting once started and/or done, so I am in the FIX IT! Category.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
As I said yesterday I needed to step back and think about this some. The responses I got have helped.
It will be easy enough to remove some track nails and move the track around to see if that helps. If that doesn't work I can cut the track in the straight section to see how far I need to move it to fix the problem.
At that point I should know how much more work will be needed and I can decide if it is worth proceeding.
Thanks again.
doctorwayne I'd be bugged enough by the glitches that I'd fix it. Wayne
I feel the same way, Wayne. I got an Athearn Genesis UP Big Boy for Christmas and some Walthers passenger cars. They didn't like the radii of the curve at one end of the layout. I cut the scenery with a Dremel and removed all of the scenery and track. I have styrene templates that I bought years ago from a company that doesn't exist anymore. Other than a curved turnout, all of the track is flex-track. There were some sections of the track that were reusable. Now, running my excursion train with no issues makes it enjoyable to run it.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Well, I tried. I put about 5 hours into the project and couldn't get the Northern to run through the curve without derailing. I was able to enlarge the radius of the curve a little by putting cork on the outside of current track but that didn't work. I was about to start to realign the approach and realized I had never taken the locomotive all the way around the layout because of the problem I have been disucssing. I decided to check the other curves before I put any more time into this.
I am glad I did. It doesn't like anything under a 27" radius. Since I have a number of 24" curves that I am not going to change the Northern is back at the roundhouse awaiting sale.
I am disappointed BLI lists this model as needing 22" curves. My experience shows that is not valid.
hbgatsf Well, I tried. I put about 5 hours into the project and couldn't get the Northern to run through the curve without derailing. I was able to enlarge the radius of the curve a little by putting cork on the outside of current track but that didn't work. I was about to start to realign the approach and realized I had never taken the locomotive all the way around the layout because of the problem I have been disucssing. I decided to check the other curves before I put any more time into this. I am glad I did. It doesn't like anything under a 27" radius. Since I have a number of 24" curves that I am not going to change the Northern is back at the roundhouse awaiting sale. I am disappointed BLI lists this model as needing 22" curves. My experience shows that is not valid. Rick
BLI has disappointed me too many times for me to continue as one of their customers. Their quality control leaves much to be desired.
Sounds like there is some sort of interference between parts that might be causing the issue.
Anyone tried calling BLI and telling them that the engine doesn't seem to like 24 inch radius curves, mentioning that their literature states that it should run on 22 inch or better radius, and asking them if they have any suggestions?
hbgatsf I put about 5 hours into the project and couldn't get the Northern to run through the curve without derailing.
I put about 5 hours into the project and couldn't get the Northern to run through the curve without derailing.
Also, are all of the rail joiners soldered throughout the curves so that there are no kinks?
My BLI Northern has no problems on 32" radius curves and will perform just fine on 30" and 28" radius curves. On my first layout with its 24" and 22" radius curves, the Northern had issues, but that was because of kinks on unsoldered curves and less than perfect radius when using flextrack. If you have soldered curves and perfectly formed curves, the Northern should be able to negotiate the curves without derailments.
Count me in for fixing the issue.In doing that, you might encounter something else thtat's been bothering you or you find another area you'd like to change. Altering the layout is a great idea (side note: hands up who changed their layout after seeing someone describe something here or in an MR article?).
Get rid of the loco that doesn't work for the era, or only use it for excursions.
Answers to some questions:
- all joints were soldered while straight and then formed into curves. There are no kinks.
- locomotive's driving wheels derail. They can't navigate the 24" radius.
- I checked curves with some 24" radius sectional track that I bought for that purpose. Except for the section that started this thread all curves are laid correctly. The Northern derails on any that are less than 26.5".
Since I am not going to tear up the whole layout for this locomotive I will sell it and consider this an idea that didn't work out.