Trackwork? is it a person thing, or train thing?

[Anonymous]

Hello, everyone, im currently working on the track on my n scale layout, and i notice that my steamer need to run on perfect track, and im currently looking though the pages of modelrailroader and i see some track with gaps inbetween the rails, tight radiusz and im guessing these people dont have problems? whis is it that i need to be perfect and these people dont?

[Jacktal]

Gaps in trackwork are normal,even necessary to allow metal expansion,as long as they aren't too wide.Most locos and rolling stock will handle gaps fine if the rails adjacent to these gaps are perfectly aligned,and I'd guess this is your problem.If the wheels are bouncing off the track because of a too wide gap or uneven track heights,or worse misaligned track joints,you'll likely have frequent derailments.

It is also true that some locos(specially steamers) and cars(the lighter ones) will have a more pronounced tendancy to derail,but yet good trackwork will cure most of this.I own eleven N scale steamers right now and all but one can handle less than perfect trackwork at reasonable speeds.You may also have to check your loco too,as it may have misaligned or out of gauge wheels.NMRA sells a fine tool for this purpose that will allow you to check both your tracks and your rolling stock.

[egmurphy]

Tight curves (as long as they are greater than the minimum required the loco) and steam engines are not by themselves mutually exclusive.

I'm in N with tight radius curves and steam engines, and in my opinion, yes, trackwork on tight curves needs to be as close to perfect as you can make it or steam engines will give you fits.

There is no problem with gaps between rails on straight sections. And engines will generally be more accepting of trackwork errors on straight or gently curved sections. But any gap or misalignment on a tight curve is just asking for trouble.

Don't know if you are using sectional track or flex track. I have flex track, and one of the things I learned early on was that it is necessary to solder the joints between adjacent sections before trying to bend them into a curve. Otherwise you wind up with a slight kink that you can barely detect but which will be unacceptable to steam locos.

And let me second Jacktal's recommendation of checking the gauge on your loco's wheels. One of my steamers was causing more problems than the rest and sure enough, it turned out to be too tightly gauged wheels on both the pilot, some drive axles, and the tender.

jmho


Regards

Ed