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.
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).
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.
Pete.
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..
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
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
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.
Fix it. "There is never enough time to do the job correctly, but always enough time to go back and make a correction".
Fix it but you don't have to tear it out, just adjust it a bit.
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.
hbgatsf What would you do?
What would you do?
Fix the glitch!
Rich
Alton Junction
Fix it!!!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
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.
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.
I'd be bugged enough by the glitches that I'd fix it.
Wayne
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.
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!
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?