I have a BLI C30-7, like this one.. not a blue line model but their Paragon series,
that has always given me problems with it's front truck. The front wheels want to lift up, especially on curves, which of course leads to either derailment or shorting on turnouts. I sent it back to BLI and was told that they, at that time, didn't have a truck to replace it so they exchanged the front and rear to see if that would fix the problem. It didn't. It's the only one of my locomotives to do this out of about 14 units. I've thought about putting a weight on the front top of the truck to see if that would help but it might cause clearance problems. Holding the unit up by it's belly tanks I see that the truck saggs a great deal, much more that similar units. In other words it seems to have a lot more play up and down. So my next thought was to try and tighten the screw that holds the truck to the engine. If I remember correctly, back when I first got it a couple of years ago I took the bottom plate off the truck and lubed the gears. I don't remember seeing a screw there that held the truck to the engine. It's a well made locomotive with good detailing and sound but useless on the high iron as it is.
Has anyone taken the trucks off a BLI diesel and how did you go about it.
Jarrell
Jarrell,Place the locomotive on a mirror and see if all the wheels are touching..It sounds like a warp truck..
Is there anything binding the truck?
Is the pickup wire to tight?
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I don't have any BLI units, but most loco (diesel) trucks are not attached with screws (except Bachmann), but rather use clips that snap into place to hold it. Generally a looser truck is more able to follow track irregularities than a tight one. I would open her up and check for naything that could be interfering with truck movement when it's on the track, like the truck wires, etc.
Jay
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Thanks fellas, I'll give it the mirror test and open it up and see if anything is binding. Hope it's something simple! I need some simple right now..
Check the pickup wires on the truck and see if one or both of the are causing the truck to lift in turns.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
SOUNDS LIKE a classic case of your 6 axlemotive doesn't like your track curveture.- .
6 Axle diesels.ARE 'ROAD Diesels used on mainlines, and many railroads have eliminated sharp curves for their newer BIG diesels. So should you.
FIXES are (1). go to a larger curveature radius., (2.) remove the ccnter wheels (or converting them to loose 'dummies)', (3)..Dont' run the engine.. Your choice..
TODAY 98% of toy HO equipment is designed to run on 22" radius. 4 AXLE DIESELS handle branch lines with sharper curveture. If you HAVE 22 Radius,, and still havewheels lifting , you have a problem; If not, talk to your Purchasing Agent...
What happens when you run the engine ine reverse?
And, when it comes down to it, it may be 40% of one thing and 60% of the other. IOW, it may not be just one problem. The tech at BLI didn't seem to find that the truck is not able to swing in a horizontal arc for some readily apparent reason...nothing sticking out or hanging down getting in the way, no flashing on the pivot faces, the warped truck as mentioned, improperly seated axles, wheels not positioned properly relative to the placement of other wheels/axles on either side (i.e., not line astern as they should be when all axles pressed tightly one side or the other?). And, as Don suggests, this is where you find that 22" curves are just not going to suffice, Jarrell.
Does this happen at all your 22" curves, regardless of the direction of approach? Is it always the front truck, regardless of which of the two trucks occupies that position? If the latter case is correct, then it's something about the environs of the truck, and not the truck necessarily. Flashing, or something improperly fastened nearby.
-Crandell
Crandell, you and Don could be right about the 22 inch curves, but I find it strange that my Atlas dash 8 diesel, BLI sd40-2, P2K E6, and a fairly large class A negotiate the curves quite handily, while this one engine does not. Run it in reverse and everything is AOK. Ahhh... there's the solution, just run that sucker in reverse!! The big boys do it all the time!
I guess it'll make a nice paper weight on my desk..
Thanks Jeffery, I'll check that!
Funny any time there is a derailing problem, it is all wise the tight curve. I have one 18 inch turn left and I run FP-45's, SD-7's, Dash 9's, GE AC 6000, E-6's, E-7's, SD-40-2, SD 50's, Erie Built, U-Boats, Big Boys, Class J's and Y-6b with out derailing problems?
Jarrell, I will go with Jeff on the wires to the trucks, I had a Athearn Dash 9 that derailed and that was the problem. Another thing to check is if the truck is catching a step or walk way. I have a PK SD-7 that would derail on left hand turns. I pulled the body and it tracked fine. Found one of the brakes where catching on the front steps. Fiddle around with it, I am sure you will the problem. If you are going to turn it into a paper weight, PM me. I like fixing problems. I have a CSX GE AC 6000 blue line I don't run much.
On taking the trucks off, they are held on just like a old Athearn Blue Box.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Did the problem switch to the other end of the loco when they swapped your trucks? If so, then it's probably the truck. If not, it's something in the frame or a binding wire as mentioned. Or maybe a burr on the frame. I'd take the shell off and just pivot the trucks by hand looking feeling for any kind of binding.
Diesel trucks are usually directional - that is, there is a front truck and a rear truck - interchanging them will necessitate reversing the wires to the motor, unless you're running DCC. Has anybody bothered to check whether the wheels are all in-gauge?
Wayne
Thanks Ken, appreciate the help! As soon as I can get 'round tuit' I'll pull the shell and check for wayward wires and watch for body parts getting in the way.
I've checked the guage of the wheels and they're perfect. I checked the track with the NMRA guage where this usually happens and it's fine. So it probably is something, like a wire, at times preventing the truck from making a turn. It's got to be either that or there is something about my track, that I don't see that's causing it. And I don't doubt that at all.
As I said, the engine... in reverse... tracks like a blue tick hound nose to the ground.
How many hours do you have on the engine? This is going to sound dumb, but a SD 50 I have would not track out of the box. Front truck climbed just like yours. Wheels where in gauge. Not finding anything wrong, I ran it, re railed, ran it and re railed ran it may it around one time and derailed. Ran it some more. It now tracks great, and same as your going back wards it was fine out of the box.
Only thing I could think of was the flange was in gauge, but there was a bur on the inside of the wheel. Or, wheel was just a little to wide below the flange where the gauge would not find the wide spot.
You could try swapping lead axel with the rear one.
I did run the SD 50 backwards a lot as well during the breakin.